Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th September 2024 (days 5 and 6)
Colmar is a town in the Grand Est Region of north east France. The area of the centre-ville known as “La Petit Venise” is very picturesque with its beautiful timber-framed buildings and canals. As a result, it is a honey-pot for tourism, …and very busy.
The railings had enormous numbers of padlocks attached, each declaring the undying love of the couple placing them there. Coincidentally, the local souvenir shop had the red, heart-shaped locks on sale and they had clearly done good trade.
Most of the buildings here are very old and are decorated to emphasise this age.
Many have interesting details on display:
The Maison Pfister was built in the Renaissance in 1537, for a local wealthy hat-maker:
Tourists could get around on the “petit train” or take a more leisurely ride on a horse drawn bus.
Jeeves, Michelle and Layla made the most of the large place-name letters in front of the fountains.
There are many private little courtyards off the main streets.
The early 14th century gothic styled church is another jewel in this town with its ornate stonework and flying buttresses.
I love the grotesque gargoyles which are sort of beasts, but not.
The amazingly detailed stonework continues inside the building:
Auguste Bartholdi, the creator of the Statue of Liberty in New York (with some help from Gustav Eiffel), was born in Colmar. There is a college named after him and a museum.
There is also a small replica of the Statue of Liberty, on a roundabout in the main road from Strasbourg.
"See-u-Later" 