A Walk Around Colmar

Colmar is an adorable town and the canal makes it very photogenic. It has a German feel with its half-timbered houses. The old town is predominantly traffic-free so it's a great place to wander.

We followed Rick Steves walking tour, which started at the Customs House. Colmar was a trading powerhouse in the 15th-17th century and the leading member of a league of 10 Alsatian cities, the Decapolis.

The members of the Decapolis met here at the Customs House. It was beautifully decorated with a green tile roof.

Just next to the Customs House was the home of General Jean Rapp, one of Napolean's most trusted generals.

Beautiful canal lined with half-timbered houses.

Covered market, open Tue-Sat from 8:00 am to 6 pm. The Saturday morning market is located at Place St. Joseph.

Petite Venise--adorable neighborhood lining the canal. You can take a 30-minute cruise on the canal for €6.

The other way to tour Colmar is to take a tourist train. There is a white train (40-minute tour) and green train (30-minute tour) for €6.50. Both trains leave from the Unterlinden Museum.

Rue des Marchands, leading from the Customs House. Rick Steves says that the king of Malaysia loved this street and recreated it in Kuala Lumpur. What I found online was a resort in Kuala Lumpur with half-timbered buildings: http://www.colmartropicale.com.my

I'm sure it looks much better without the green construction on the left.

Maison Pfister--home of a wealthy merchant, dating from 1537. That's a spiral staircase in the white tower.

Meter Man--the man carved into the corner of a building is a drape maker and he's holding a bar. The bar is Colmar's measurement of 1 meter. In the middle ages, it was common for cities to have their own unit of measures.

The other famous son of Colmar is Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. There is a museum dedicated to him--€5 admission fee but free on July 4th. Leaving Colmar, in the direction of Strasbourg, is a replica of the Statue of Liberty--4 times smaller than the one in NY harbor.

Church of St. Martin--built in 1235.

Maison des Tetes--house of heads. Another wealthy merchant's house. It's decorated with over 100 heads on the facade. It's across the street from an Esprit store.

Close-up of statue on Maison des Tetes--this one is a jester with pig's feet.

The Unterlinden Museum was under construction when we were there so we did not visit. It houses medieval stone statues and works by Monet, Picasso and Renoir. The star attraction is the late-Gothic Retable d’Issenheim, which is currently displayed at the Eglise des Dominicains—same ticket as the Unterlinden

Throughout town, there were storks' nests. We saw many nests but not a single stork.

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