Colmar

Colmar is about 40 minutes from the villa by car and makes the loveliest day trip in Alsace. The old town is so well preserved that time seems to have stood still here — colourful half-timbered houses, cobbled lanes and little squares that invite you to linger.

The heart of the town is Little Venice — a quarter where the canals of the Lauch wind between rows of flower-decked houses. It is at its best early in the morning, before the crowds arrive, when the façades are mirrored in the still water.

In the Tanners’ Quarter, where tanners and fishermen once lived, restored 17th-century houses stand side by side. The Rue des Tanneurs is one of the most photogenic streets in town. Walk slowly, explore the passageways, and you will keep finding new corners.

On Tuesdays and Saturdays the covered market turns into a feast of regional specialities: Munster cheese, fresh tarte flambée, baeckeoffe in its earthenware dish and, of course, wines from the nearby Alsace Wine Route. A good reason to plan your visit around a market day.