Every design for Colmar

Colmar calls itself the capital of Alsatian wine, and its setting explains why: the city lies on the western edge of the Alsace plain, right at the foot of the Vosges, in a climate unusually kind to vines, with the Alsatian Wine Route running past. Strasbourg lies to the north, Basel to the south and Freiburg to the east.

The feeling Colmar leaves is one of water and old stone. La petite Venise, where canals slip between old houses, is the scene people remember first, followed by the Maison Pfister and the Maison des Têtes, with vineyards and the Vosges always on the horizon. The well-preserved old town carries a past that swung between French and German rule, and the Musée Unterlinden keeps the Isenheim Altarpiece. The city is also where Auguste Bartholdi, creator of the Statue of Liberty, was born.

The Musée Bartholdi and the canals of La petite Venise sum up why people carry Colmar with them: a small city that is both Alsatian and entirely its own.