Colmar, a quiet and often overlooked city, has a charm all its own, with its old quarter featuring narrow streets lined with medieval half-timbered buildings, where time seems to stand still… It has several museums worth visiting, including the Unterlinden Museum, home to the extraordinary Issenheim Altarpiece, and the Bartholdi Museum, which pays tribute to the city’s native son, the creator of the Statue of Liberty. Its restaurants, true to Alsatian tradition, are second to none and satisfy even the most discerning gourmets. As for the city’s hotel options, they are as varied as they are high-quality.
The most beautiful hotels in Colmar….
L’Esquisse Hotel & Spa
Opened in July 2021, this five-star hotel, a member of the MGallery Collection, has many things going for it. Its ideal location on the edge of the Champ de Mars park makes it a peaceful haven just a 5-minute walk from the heart of the city and its attractions. It’s the new place to be and undeniably the best hotel in Colmar ! Behind a striking green metal facade that echoes the park’s linden trees, it offers 57 rooms, including 52 guest rooms, 3 suites, and 2 apartments. The elegant decor, with its bold design, is dotted with nods to Auguste Bartholdi. This is evident in the stone and marble blocks placed in the entrance hall and used as a coffee table in the lounge, the copper veneer on the reception desk reminiscent of the famous statue’s robe, and the gigantic mask, dominating the bar and bearing the statue’s likeness. In the guest rooms, some of which feature a terrace, The design features neutral tones and high-quality materials: hardwood floors, custom-made furniture, and thick rugs with geometric patterns. The best part? The bathrooms, adorned with black mosaics. As for the two top-floor apartments, they offer plenty of space—83 and 185 m²—and understated luxury.
Hotel Esquisse
2 Avenue de la Marne, 68000 Colmar, Tel.: 03 67 68 20 00
Hotel La Maison des Têtes, Colmar
In this building dating back to 1609, now a 5-star hotel and a member of Relais & Châteaux, there are 21 rooms with understated decor where white and wood take center stage. Right in the heart of downtown, across from the famous Maison Hansi, you can’t help but notice this Colmar hotel, whose facade is adorned with about a hundred small carved stone heads. Its owners, Marilyn and Eric Girardin, showcase a skillful blend of tradition and design. This is evident in the two restaurants: La Brewery A historic restaurant with a quintessentially Alsatian decor—wooden alcoves, period stained-glass windows…—where you can enjoy the great classics, with sauerkraut at the top of the list, and Restaurant Girardin, a one-Michelin-starred establishment featuring an ultra-minimalist and contemporary decor. The best part? The inner courtyard, where you can dine as soon as the weather permits.
19 Rue des Têtes, 68000 Colmar, Tel.: 03 89 24 43 43.
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Le Colombier
This 4-star hotel, housed in a Renaissance mansion, features 45 rooms and suites. The hotel offers a delightful blend of 21st-century design and the building’s classical architecture, complete with an inner courtyard featuring a stunning monumental fountain.
7 Turenne Street, 68000 Colmar, Tel.: 03 89 23 96 00
Hotel Quatorze
Just a stone’s throw from the cathedral, Little Venice, and the museums, this 4-star boutique hotel in Colmar is housed in a former 19th-century pharmacy. Here, too, you’ll find the authenticity of a historic building combined with contemporary decor. The hotel features 13 rooms, including 2 suites, a breakfast room, a bar, and a charming boutique with a unique selection of items. A spa with a hammam, sauna, and relaxation room adds the ultimate touch of glamour to this Colmar hotel.
14 Rue des Augustins, 68000 Colmar, Tel.: 03 89 20 45 20
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Restaurants in Colmar…
Since Alsace is the region with the most Michelin stars in France, we certainly don’t turn down the local specialties: foie gras (invented in Strasbourg in 1780), bæckeofe (a dish made with three types of marinated meat and potatoes cooked in white wine), sauerkraut, Rhine-style matelote, Munster cheese, and Kougelhopf.
La Maison Rouge by Petit Jean Colmar
Just a stone's throw from Little Venice and the Marché Couvert, La Maison Rouge is housed in an 11th-century building. Under the leadership of Jean Kuentz, formerly of Ferrandi, Alain Dutournier at Le Carré des Feuillants, and Jean-François Piège at Le Grand Restaurant in Paris, the menu features classic and refined dishes: burrata ravioli with wild garlic emulsion, chicken and foie gras pâté en croûte, saffron risotto with shellfish, veal shank confit for 72 hours, milk-fed lamb shoulder with creamy polenta…
9 Rue des Écoles, 68000 Colmar, Tel.: 03 89 23 53 22
The Painter's Studio
This contemporary fine-dining restaurant, which boasts a Michelin star, offers a chic yet relaxed atmosphere. In his beautiful 15th-century house, Chef Loïc Lefebvre showcases local ingredients.
1 Rue Schongauer, 68000 Colmar
Bord’eau
This aptly named restaurant owes its name to its location along the Lauch River in the heart of Little Venice. As the second restaurant of two-Michelin-starred chef Jean-Yves Schillinger, the menu incorporates Asian influences while remaining true to its Alsatian roots.
17 Rue de la Poissonnerie, 68000 Colmar, Tel.: 03 89 21 53 65.
Wistub Brenner
In the heart of Little Venice at the Wistub Brenner, set in a traditional atmosphere, Master Restaurateur Agostino Di Foggia serves traditional Alsatian cuisine: Comté cheese and cervelas sausage salad, Papi Lucien’s onion tart, sauerkraut, and braised pork shank with Pinot Noir sauce; outdoor seating. It was named «Wistub of the Year» in 2014.
1 Turenne Street, 68000 Colmar
A few great places to visit in Colmar…
Alsatian Cookie Factory
This artisanal bakery has been a leader in Alsatian cookie-making since 1996. Here, you can buy the famous «bredele,» Riquewihr macarons, chocolate storks, Kougelhopf, and more…
16 Rue des Boulangers, 68000 Colmar
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Fortwenger
Fortwenger gingerbread has been made according to tradition for 200 years,
They come in blueberry, three-chocolate, and almond flavors… You can also find chocolate Saint-Nicolas figures, Florentines, and leckerlis…
32 Rue des Marchands, 68000 Colmar
Jacques Bockel
This family-run artisanal shop has developed original and fun chocolate creations such as colored pencils, bouquets of roses, and chocolate animals: cats, dogs, pigs, dolphins, geese… It’s worth noting that the shop is ranked among the best chocolatiers in France (4 bars).
15 Rue des Serruriers, 68000 Colmar
Signorini Tartufi
As the name suggests, this is a truffle specialty shop, offering more than 120 truffle-based products to tempt our taste buds. A nice touch: the free tasting.
55 Grand Rue, 68000 Colmar
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Places to visit…
«Little Venice»
Named for the original alignment of the houses on either side of the Lauch River, this world-famous neighborhood—an icon of Colmar—stretches from the Koïffhus to the Turenne and Saint-Pierre bridges, passing by the Quai de la Poissonnerie. Boat tours are available.
Pfister
Don't miss Colmar's first example of Renaissance architecture, featuring a wooden gallery, an octagonal turret, and murals; it was built in 1537 for the hatmaker Ludwig Scherer.
11 Rue des Marchands, 68000 Colmar.
The market hall or covered market
In this covered market, which opened in 1865, you’ll find the best local produce: fruits and vegetables, a butcher shop, a deli, a cheese shop, a bakery and pastry shop, a fish market… In one corner, you’ll notice a fountain topped by a statue of a little winegrower by Auguste Bartholdi—but it’s a copy! The «real» statue is at the Bartholdi Museum.
13 Rue des Ecoles, Historic Center, Little Venice, 68000 Colmar.
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St. Martin's Collegiate Church
A major work of Gothic architecture in Alsace, it was built between 1235 and 1365. Several restoration projects—the most recent of which was completed in 1982—have uncovered the foundations of a church dating from the year 1000.
18 Place de la Cathédrale, 68000 Colmar.
The Bartholdi Museum
The birthplace of’Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904) offers a glimpse into the sculptor’s private life. Spread over three floors, the exhibition features models of the nine public monuments created between 1856 and 1902 for Colmar, a reconstruction of his last Parisian apartment, and three rooms dedicated to Bartholdi’s American monuments, highlighted by “Liberty Enlightening the World”: models, drawings, paintings, engravings, and photographs.
30 Rue des Marchands, 68000 Colmar.
Hansi House
The Hansi Museum, located across from the Maison des Têtes hotel, takes us on a journey to discover this brilliant artist, born in 1873. His numerous watercolors depicting everyday scenes, posters, and caricatures portray daily life in Alsatian villages during the German occupation between 1871 and 1919. On the ground floor, a large gift shop offers souvenirs and Alsatian specialties.
28 Rue des Têtes, 68000 Colmar.
The Unterlinden Museum
Housed in both a former 13th-century convent and a contemporary building, this museum contains a magnificent collection of sculptures and paintings from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, including the Issenheim Altarpiece, carved by Nicolas de Haguenau around 1510 and painted by Mathias Grünewald from 1512 to 1516, is considered one of the masterpieces of Western art. Not to mention a collection of modern art featuring works by artists such as Monet and Picasso and Dubuffet.
Place Unterlinden, 68000 Colmar
Adine Fichot-Marion
