One day in Colmar, France

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My visit to Colmar, during my last week in France, turned out to be the best day of the summer. On the map, Colmar, about 70km from the hub of Strasbourg, might be easily mistaken for a sleepy little European village-town. But it is not quite what you would expect among the rural pastures of Alsace. It is spectacularly beautiful, unique in its architecture, interesting in its history and conveniently located. I spent a year in Strasbourg, unaware of this 'tourist jewel' so close by. Sure, it had great reviews on all the travel sites, but so do many other must-see places in Europe. You really have to visit it to experience its true charm and beauty.

When I finally decided to spend a day in Colmar, it was on a wonderfully sunny day in August. Strasbourg has several trains that take you to Colmar in 30 minutes (and it costs only 25 euros including the return). As soon as I got out of the station, I was greeted by the mesmerizing, sky-blue water of the fountain in the station's courtyard. Several signs pointed me towards the city center (centre ville), which took me 25 minutes to walk to. I did not possess a city map nor a list of the city's attractions. So, I navigated the little streets to reach the tourist office (again, plenty of signs and maps present on the streets). A very helpful and friendly guide provided me tourist maps and was also kind enough to explain the route to the Statue of liberty! (free wifi at the tourist office)

You see, Colmar is the birth place of Auguste Bartholdi, the French sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty. A 12m replica of Liberty now resides in a corner of the town. Unfortunately, I had to catch a bus to reach it(number 7 towards Zl Nord from the 'Theatre' stop to 'Atlas Fly'). The statue is present at the intersection right in front of the bus stop. It is located atop a small mound in the middle of the roundabout. Hence, there is no pedestrian access to the statue (unless you are a bit adventurous or the traffic is light). If you time your journey right, you can catch the same bus on its way back to the centre.

The tourist map lists about 30 spots taking one on a walk through the city. Many of these are old buildings of historical signifance that can be viewed only from the outside (such as Voltaire's residence). All in all, it took me less than 5 hours to complete a thorough sightseeing. Since they close by 5pm, I found it best to hit the museums first. (access free if you are a student in Alsace) There is the Bartholdi museum with photos and drawings of several of Bartholdi's designs, the Unterlinden museum of art and history of the region, and the natural history musuem. The Dominican church with its high ceiling and stained glass windows and the Collegiate church are also must-sees.

After a spot of lunch, I strolled through the bylanes and streets not marked on the tourist map. I found myself in the midst of local cheese and wine at the covered market or marche couvert. Quickly passing through the numerous stalls (it was too warm a day to be at the covered market), I came out the other side to the famed 'little Venice' part of town. It was literally picture-postcard perfection, Some locals ply boats along these canals but I was content to enjoy the view from a bench on the sidewalk. I basked in the sunlight for quite a while, soaking up the beautiful scene. I felt it was the perfect culmination to a perfect day. As dusk finally fell, I tore myself away from the spot and slowly made my way back towards the station.

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