What are the best things to do in Colmar in one or two days?

Updated on October 7, 2026

In brief

The Unterlinden Museum (Musée Unterlinden) opens Wednesday to Monday, 9:00 to 18:00, closes on Tuesdays, and charges 14 euros for a full-price adult ticket.
The Petite Venise boat ride with Sweet Narcisse lasts 25 minutes and leaves from the Pont Saint-Pierre bridge, daily.
Colmar station is about a 15 minute walk from the old town, and the fastest trains from Strasbourg take about 30 minutes.
Eguisheim is about 7 km from Colmar, Kaysersberg about 11 km, and Riquewihr about 14 km, each about 15 to 20 minutes by road.

Why Colmar is worth a day or two of your time

Colmar packs Gothic churches, Renaissance merchant houses, canals, and a world-class altarpiece into an old town compact enough to cross on foot. One full day covers the highlights at an easy pace. A second day lets you add the wine villages around Colmar, which are a short drive away but hard to link by public transport.

Colmar is also where Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, was born in 1834, and his statues dot the old town.

The catch is crowds. Petite Venise and the streets around the Koifhus fill with day-trippers from late morning on summer weekends and in December. Start early, and keep museums for the busy middle of the day.

The top things to do in Colmar, one sentence each

The top things to do in Colmar are all inside or right next to the old town, so you can link them on foot without a car or a bus. The list below runs roughly north to south, from the Unterlinden Museum to Petite Venise.

The Unterlinden Museum (Musée Unterlinden), in a former convent, holds the Isenheim Altarpiece, painted by Grünewald and carved by Niclaus of Haguenau between 1512 and 1516, and fully restored in 2022.
The House of Heads (Maison des Têtes), built in 1609, owes its name to the more than 100 small carved heads and masks on its facade.
Saint Martin's Collegiate Church (Collégiale Saint-Martin), built between 1235 and 1365, is the Gothic church at the heart of the old town, with a lantern-topped tower rebuilt after a fire in 1572.
The Pfister House (Maison Pfister), built in 1537 for a hat maker, is the painted Renaissance house with the wooden gallery that appears on most Colmar postcards.
The Bartholdi Museum (Musée Bartholdi), in the sculptor's birthplace at 30 rue des Marchands, shows his models and drawings, including his studies for the Statue of Liberty.
The Koifhus (Ancienne Douane), finished in 1480, is the oldest public building in Colmar, the former customs house.
The Tanners district (Quartier des Tanneurs) lines a short canal with tall half-timbered houses whose high open attics were once used to dry hides.
Petite Venise (Little Venice) is the canal district along the Lauch river, best seen from the Quai de la Poissonnerie.
The Sweet Narcisse boat ride is a 25 minute trip on an electric flat-bottomed boat through Petite Venise, at 9 euros for adults and 4 euros for children aged 4 to 10.
The covered market (Marché Couvert), a brick and iron hall from 1865 on rue des Écoles, houses about twenty food stalls, from cheese to bakery.

A good one-day order: the Unterlinden Museum at 9:00, then the old town sights, the Bartholdi Museum after lunch, and Petite Venise by boat late in the day.

How do you get to Colmar and get around once you are there?

Colmar is easiest to reach by train: the fastest TER and TGV trains from Strasbourg take about 30 minutes, and direct TGV INOUI trains from Paris take as little as 2 hours 20 minutes. Colmar station is about a 15 minute walk from the old town.

Getting to Colmar: the main options compared
Option	Typical trip	Time	Best for
Train from Strasbourg	TER Grand Est or TGV INOUI to Colmar station	About 30 minutes on the fastest trains	Most visitors coming for the day
Train from Paris	Direct TGV INOUI from Paris Gare de l'Est	From about 2 hours 20 minutes	A first stop in Alsace
From EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg	Bus 11 to Saint-Louis station, then TER to Colmar, or by road	About 45 minutes to 1 hour by road	Fly-in visitors
Rental car	A35 highway, then a city garage at the edge of the old town	About 1 hour from Strasbourg	Adding the wine villages on your own
FJ13 private driver	Hotel pick-up, drop-off at the edge of the old town	Door to door, at your pace	Groups of up to 7 and village days

FJ13 is not the best option for getting to Colmar itself: for a couple with light bags, the train is fast and costs far less. Compare options in Strasbourg to Colmar.

To reach the villages without a car, Fluo buses leave from Colmar station: line 830 to Eguisheim (about 15 minutes, Monday to Saturday only) and line 816 to Riquewihr (about 30 minutes, with a few departures on Sundays). A single Fluo ticket costs 4 euros.

When is the best time to visit Colmar?

The best time to visit Colmar is a weekday in spring or early fall, when the old town is calm in the morning and the vineyards around Colmar are green or turning gold. Summer weekends and the Christmas season are the busiest. Avoid a museum day on Monday or Tuesday.

In winter, note that the Bartholdi Museum closes every year from January 1 to February 5. The rest of the year it opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00.

In late November and December, Colmar turns into one large Christmas market, and the plan above gets much slower. For dates, hours, and crowd tips, see the Colmar Christmas market.

Day trips from Colmar with FJ13 private driver

FJ13 is a private transport company with driver, based in Entzheim next to Strasbourg. For visitors staying in Colmar, your FJ13 driver picks you up at your Colmar hotel, at the same price as a pick-up in Strasbourg, and drives you through the wine villages around Colmar. The price is per van, for 1 to 7 passengers.

A typical day links Riquewihr, Kaysersberg, and Eguisheim, with self-guided time in each village. For tastings, FJ13 works with Dopff & Irion in Riquewihr and Domaine Weinbach in Kaysersberg, and suggests La Winstub du Chambard in Kaysersberg for lunch. Tastings and meals are not included.

Pick a format: the Alsace villages half-day tour, the full Alsace Wine Route private day tour, or the Alsace Grand Cru wine tour. Your driver knows the region and shares local tips along the way. On a full day, a certified guide-conferencier (optional, extra cost) can join you.

Tell us your dates, group size, and hotel in the quote configurator.

Frequently asked questions

How long do you need at the Unterlinden Museum?

Allow about 2 hours at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar for the Isenheim Altarpiece, the cloister, and the other collections. Arrive at the 9:00 opening, before the groups. Last entry is at 17:30.

Which Colmar sights are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?

In Colmar, the Bartholdi Museum and the covered market close on Mondays, and the Unterlinden Museum closes on Tuesdays. The Sweet Narcisse boat ride runs every day, so keep a Monday or Tuesday for walking and the boat.

Can you book the Petite Venise boat ride online?

Yes. Sweet Narcisse takes bookings online by card, or on the spot by cash or check. Boats leave daily, 10:00 to 11:45 and 13:30 to 18:00, from the Pont Saint-Pierre bridge, with commentary in French, English, or German.

Where can you buy picnic food in Colmar on a Sunday?

The covered market (Marché Couvert) on rue des Écoles, at the edge of Petite Venise, opens on Sundays from 10:00 to 14:00, with stalls selling bread, cheese, charcuterie, and fruit. On other days it opens at 8:00, except Mondays.

Where is the Statue of Liberty in Colmar?

The Colmar Statue of Liberty replica, about 12 m high, stands on a roundabout at the northern entrance of the town, on the road from Strasbourg. It sits well outside the old town walking loop, so most visitors see it from a car, a bus, or a van on the way in.

Can you see Colmar and Eguisheim on the same day?

Yes. Eguisheim is about 7 km from Colmar, about 15 minutes by road or by Fluo bus line 830 from Colmar station (Monday to Saturday only). See Colmar in the morning, then spend the afternoon walking the circular lanes of Eguisheim.