With its medieval half-timbered buildings and Christmas ornaments, Colmar looks almost not real. This picture-perfect gingerbread town looks exactly like you saw in a fairy tale book when you were a kid.
Fairytale Christmas in Colmar is like your childhood dream about winter magic that has come true. It’s hard to think of any other place that feels more appropriate to celebrate Christmas.
With its medieval half-timbered buildings, tiled roofs, bridges, picturesque canals, and ornaments, Colmar looks almost not real. This picture-perfect gingerbread town looks exactly like you saw in a fairy tale book when you were a kid.
Colmar – a gift of a fairytale Christmas
In daylight, you are drawn to take a leisurely walk through this beautiful town taking snapshots with your phone of almost everything you see. It makes you completely immersed in the holiday atmosphere.
But the real magic begins when twilight smoothly turns into night – countless garlands and festive decorations are lit on the streets, Christmas markets begin to work on the squares, and the air is filled with the sweet aroma of mulled wine.
Renowned for its well-preserved old town, Colmar is a city in the Alsace region of France that transforms into a fairytale town during the Christmas holidays. Even after the stunning Christmas beauty of Strasbourg, Colmar could capture your imagination more.
Colmar – an open air architectural museum
Colmar is one of the most picturesque Alsatian cities. Numerous architectural landmarks reflect eight centuries of Germanic and French presence. Colmar is an open air architectural museum that exhibits all architectural styles, from the late Gothic and Renaissance to eclectic and modern. Baroque, rococo, gothic, classicism, and eclecticism – all styles of architecture are wonderfully and harmoniously mixed there.
The pearls of this collection are well-preserved half-timbered houses and other buildings of the late middle ages and the Renaissance.
By the way, the backdrop of the Japanese animated fantasy film “Howl’s Moving Castle” is Colmar. Its director Hayao Miyazaki was enchanted and inspired by this magic town Colmar. He went to Colmar to study the architecture and the surroundings for the setting of the film.
And no matter the style, you can see decorative storks at every turn because they are the symbol of Alsace.
Colmar’s Christmas markets
Colmar is consistently named one of the best Christmas markets in Europe. They run for about 5 weeks, from the last week of November through late December. The largest one is on the city’s central Place de la Cathédrale.
Colmar – the capital of mulled wine
Colmar is not only a city of beautiful old houses, but also the capital of Alsatian wine. Mulled wine is the Colmar’s signature winter drink, especially around Christmas. It’s usually made with red wine, various mulling spices, and sometimes raisins. It has to be served hot. As soon as the Christmas markets are opened, the whole old town is filled with its sweet aroma.
Mulled wine in Colmar costs €2.5 for 200ml. It’s served in so beautiful and festive plastic cups that people want to keep them like souvenirs. That’s why you need to leave a €1 deposit for a cup.
Colmar is the city that gives you a gift of a perfect Christmas and life-long memoires. Fantastic decorations, amazing smells, and jaw-dropping architecture make you completely overwhelmed with Christmas cheer. It is a fairytale town where you want to return again and again.
“And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent…” – Taylor Caldwell
