WHAT TO SEE IN COLMAR AT CHRISTMAS

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Day 2: Mulhouse - Eguisheim - Colmar (Christmas Markets: Place de Dominicains, Place Jeanne d'Arc, Place de l'Ancienne Douane, Marché des artisans, Marché Petit Venice)

After a night in which we slept as children, the alarm sounds at 6:30 in the morning and is that before continuing our trip through Alsace by car, we have to work for a while in the morning before passing through Eguisheim, one of the most beautiful villages in the area, then go to what will be one of the most impressive destinations in this area of France and where we have many places what to see in Colmar at Christmas.
It's 8 in the morning when we go up to the third floor of the Kyriad Hôtel Mulhouse Center, which has been our accommodation in Mulhouse, to enjoy the most complete and varied breakfast, which charges us with energy to start the second day of this trip to Alsace at Christmas.

It is 9 in the morning when after checking out we go to the parking lot, just below our hotel, as we explained yesterday when we arrived in Basel, the Alsace airport, to pick up our rental car in Alsace and make our way to Eguisheim, the enclave that will be our first stop of the day.

Road to Eguisheim from Mulhouse

Since Mulhouse to Eguisheim we have 40 kilometers, which we do in just under 30 minutes, finding the first minutes of the journey, while we leave Mulhouse, with a fog that continues to accompany us part of the road, alternating with some sun rays that make us see ourselves surrounded by lovely landscapes.
It's 9:30 when we arrive in Eguisheim, much quieter than we expected. The first thing we do is park the car outside, where there is a fixed rate per day of 3 euros, which we pay with coins, since the machine does not accept cards or tickets, something to consider and more if it is the First place you arrive for the day.
Before starting with the visits to the points of interest of Alsace you can check if it is profitable to book this tourist card.
We start the visit to Eguisheim surrounding this beautiful town in which its streets are located in the form of concentric circles and was declared as "most beautiful village in France"In 2013. The best way to begin to know Eguisheim is to surround it on the outside, in order to locate itself and of course, understand the peculiar architecture of its streets.

Typical houses of Eguisheim

After the full turn, we enter this idyllic town through one of its alleys, reaching the second circle, where we started to really feel, as if we were inside a Christmas story.

Streets of Eguisheim

It is from here when the ornaments and lights begin to appear in all the houses, in which you would lose one by one delighting in each of the details that make you feel like a child in that children's story that we have all read ever.

Christmas in Eguisheim

The best way to get to know Eguisheim is by walking, like most of villages of Alsace and it is that this area of France seems to be specially designed to taste it on foot, little by little and without looking for specific places, since every corner awaits a surprise, each one more interesting and surprising.

Christmas ornaments in the streets of Eguisheim

Thus, circling, losing ourselves through some beautiful cobbled streets, surrounded by an incredible atmosphere and walking practically alone, we are seeing how little by little, every minute that passes, more people arrive at this little Alsace town, we arrive at one of the most photographed corners of Eguisheim where we have to wait a few minutes to be able to take a picture in which no tourist leaves and that is that at this time, after 10 in the morning, buses and many organized groups begin to arrive, which subtract a bit of calm from These lovely towns.

Eguisheim in Alsace

From here and being already at 9:30 in the morning we go to the Noel Market, located in the Place Du Marché, where we find a small but impressive corner of story, adorned with no more than 20 booths in which many Christmas items and typical Alsace cuisine are sold that delight anyone.

Place Du Marché in Eguisheim

Christmas in Eguisheim

Christmas Markets Eguisheim
Dates: from November 28 to December 30
Hours: every day from 09:00 to 19:00 except Saturdays until 20:00
In Eguisheim we can find the Christmas Market at the Place du Marché where we find about thirty stalls where a variety of handicrafts, local products and of course, Christmas products and crafts are sold.
Every year the dates of the different Christmas markets change, so we advise you to look at them in the corresponding section of the website of the Tourist Office

Eguisheim

What can we say besides that there has been no better way to start this trip to Alsace at Christmas?
Eguisheim is a true wonder and we have had the great luck of being able to meet him first thing in the morning, when we have been practically alone, enjoying its incredible cobbled streets and red roofed houses.
It is 11 in the morning when we return to the parking lot and we start towards our new address of the day, the Ibis Center hotel, where we will stay the next two nights in Colmar at Christmas.
We are only 8 kilometers from Eguisheim to Colmar, which we already travel without fog and arrive at Colmar at 11:20 in the morning. We park the car in the hotel car park, just in front of the reception, for 7 euros a day and then check in to leave everything ready and spend the rest of the day getting to know everything what to see in Colmar at Christmas.
We start by heading to Rue Vauban, right next to the hotel to reach the hotel in a few meters Market of the Place Jeanne d 'Arc a small gastronomic Christmas market, where the smell takes us to a world where the most delicious gastronomy has just appeared.

Christmas Markets Colmar
Dates: from November 20 to December 31
Hours: Monday to Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. On December 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on 31st the markets close at 5:00 p.m.
In Colmar we can find 5 markets in different locations:
- Place de Dominicains: more than 60 wooden booths showing artisan products
- Place Jeanne d'Arc: market dedicated to local and gastronomic products
- Place de l'Ancienne Douane: more than 50 wooden booths in which to find the most Christmas products
- Marché des artisans: handicraft market that is located inside the Koïfhus Palace
- Christmas market for children - Petite Venice: a paradise for the little ones.
Every year the dates of the different Christmas markets change, so we advise you to look at them in the corresponding section of the website of the Tourist Office

Streets of Colmar

After a walk around the 10 stalls that make up this small market and resist succumbing to fill the suitcase with food, this afternoon it will be time to make a gastronomic purchase, we continue the tour heading to the San Mateo Church, very close to the market and is that in Colmar both the markets and the points of interest are quite close to each other and more when walking is one of the best activities of everything what to see in Colmar at Christmas.
A good option to know the history and curiosities of this beautiful city is to book this free tour of Colmar Free! With guide in Spanish.

Church of San Mateo Colmar

What to see in Colmar at Christmas

After this brief stop we go to the Maison des Arcades, an old Protestant parish house, located next to the Church of San Mateo.

We follow the Grand Rue until we reach the Mercado de l'Ancienne Douane, perhaps the most lively in Colmar, with 50 seats, where we can find a bit of everything, including the typical mulled wine so typical in this area of France.

Christmas in Colmar

This area of Colmar is also called Tanners district, since these professionals were installed here in the typical houses of the area, with their typical wooden frames.

Typical ornaments in a Colmar store

After this visit we arrive at Internal market du Koïfhus, where we can find an impressive perspective of one of the most photographed corners of Colmar incredibly adorned. Inside we can find crafts wrapped in a cinnamon scent that we already take for granted will accompany us the rest of the trip.

Internal market du Koïfhus

Views of one of the most photogenic corners to see in Colmar at Christmas

At this point of trip to Alsace and after taking only a few hours here, we have to say in honor of the truth that if you are a person who likes crowds, it is best to forget about approaching Colmar at Christmas coinciding with weekend. Colmar today is a nest of people in every corner, being practically impossible to see anything in peace. The Christmas atmosphere is and to a large extent, but for us who for example run away from the crowds, this is done a little Lasted, since there are times when we can hardly move in some of the markets. Seeing this the decision has been to leave tonight from 10 to enjoy the lighting and on Monday, the day we will go to Strasbourg, leave first thing in the morning, about 7-8 to enjoy this area of Colmar At a few hours we intuit there won't be many people. A great evils, great remedies, as they say.

Christmas corners of Colmar

Colmar at Christmas

And having said that and already taking for granted that the restaurants will be bursting, something that we check on our own skin after trying it in 4-5 different from the most central area, we opted to enter the Brasserie Schwendi, just in front of the Hotel Saint Martin, one of the most expensive in Colmar, at least at this time, when we looked at it exceeded 250 euros a night, where we read that it is not necessary to book and despite the tail (do not be scared if you see much) we did not take more than 5 minutes in sitting down

More practical information to prepare your trip to Alsace
- 10 essential places to visit in Colmar
- 10 essential places to see in Alsace
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Alsace

We ordered a Rostie Forestiere, which is a specialty dish of the house made with roasted potatoes and bacon, apart from the ingredients you choose, served in a kind of dish, plus a scallop with garnish, water, beer and coke plus two Express for 45 euros.

Eating at Brasserie Schwendi in Colmar

After this quiet time, even though the restaurant is totally collapsed, we return to the streets of Colmar with renewed energies, returning to Ancienne Douane market for a walk, at this time a little clearer.

Canals of Colmar, surrounded by the Christmas Market

From here and trying to avoid the crowd a bit, we decided to go to the area of Le Petit Venice, before going through the Petite Venice market, focused on the little ones and where nothing else to see it, we understand that it is the perfect corner for the smallest of the family.

What to see in Colmar. Christmas at the Petit Venice Market

This area of the city is especially beautiful, especially at this time, in which it seems that many people have chosen to focus on the Christmas markets of Colmarand has left this area more clear.

Petit Venice Colmar

Right next to it we find the Colmar Covered Market, where we do not enter, but where we have read you can find a variety of typical foods from the area, including an area where you can taste them.

Colmar Covered Market

After strolling through this area we walked away a little reaching the bridge of Boulevard Saint Pierre, from where there are great views of le Petite Venice.
From here we enter the Barrio des Tanneurs, to get back to the Grand Rue, from where we follow the route to now visit 4 famous houses in Colmar: the Bartholdi Museum, Corps de Garde, Schongauder House and Maison Pfister, located one at side by side, practically forming a circle.
After taking a look around the area we headed to the Saint Martin Cathedral, where if you are, we recommend entering. It is visited in a short time and is free, but we will not lie if we say that we have seen many better. It is these visits that can be made, but not essential.

Church of San Martin in Colmar

From here and with much of the itinerary what to see in Colmar at Christmas we go to the Dominican Church, where next door we find the Dominican Square Market, also being the last of the 5 markets of Colmar that we can visit at this time.

Christmas decoration in Colmar

In this area we also find the Maison des Tetes, one of the most beautiful in the city and also one of the most photographed.

Maison des Tetes

With this we finish the points we had what to see in Colmar and being almost 5 in the afternoon, we decided that it is time to start strolling through the center of Colmar, for its most tourist part, looking for the most photogenic points to return tonight and try to enjoy them without so many people.
And so without almost noticing and as an anecdote we will stop at Musee Bartholdi, where the creator of the Statue of Liberty was born, where we will be in a few months and since we have better flight, there is no one who resists some flight offers.

It's a little after six in the afternoon when we see that people only concentrate on the most central points, as is also normal.
In our case, being quite contrary to these holidays and little given to celebrate them (we always try to spend them outside as for example on the trip to Japan, when we were in Casablanca, Meknés and Fez or on the trip to Israel and Palestine ...) the truth is that there are times when we have been a little saturated with lights, shops and Christmas decorations.
Music and, above all, so many people, in our case it ends up taking its toll and it is in the form of a need to spend some time alone. So we decided that it is time to return to the hotel, for a while, to be able to rest. Although we also have to say that this Christmas saturation We will compensate in a few days away from this environment and we are going to Guatemala and Honduras in a few days!

It's 7 in the afternoon when again loaded with Christmas energy, we get lost again by the Colmar markets at this time still open. Seeing that the restaurants are even more crowded than this noon we chose to have dinner at one of the Christmas stalls a couple of sweet crepes and a mulled wine for 8.50 euros. This dinner is going to be cheap!

Night arrives at the Christmas Markets of Colmar

Christmas stalls in Colmar

The mulled wine in Alsace is an institution at Christmas. It costs 2.50 or 3 euros depending on the site and 1 euro deposit is left for the glass in which they give it to you. You can fill this glass as many times as you want, paying the liquid and not paying for the glass again. When you return it, they also return the euro deposit you paid. In our case, telling that the glasses are pretty good, most are made of hard plastic, but with Christmas decorations and the name of the town (in each town it is different and in some there are clay cups), we choose not to return them and take them as I remember this trip

After this impromptu dinner it is time to go back to tour all our tour of Colmar Today, camera in hand, to take photos at night.

Night comes to Colmar

Colmar at Christmas

We have to wait until 9 at night to start to notice how people start clearing the center of Colmar, at which time we fully enjoy our trip to Alsace at Christmas.

Streets of Colmar

How can it be otherwise, after touring the most central area of Colmar, we go to Petit Venice, where we find a totally different corner than we had seen this afternoon, although less crowded, at this time with no one, Incredibly highlighting the lights and Christmas decorations that look like never before.

Petit Venice

Colmar

It's after 10 pm when we believe that the time has come to return to our accommodation, the Ibis Center hotel to rest, although before it comes to return to the most central streets of Colmar, at these practically deserted hours, giving an image totally different from what we could enjoy throughout the day.