Greetings from Colmar: Through the Black Forest to La Petite Venise

France
Written by Stefan W.
Colmar's Petite Venise canal with colorful half-timbered houses, flower boxes and autumn leaves on the water
Greetings fromColmar

Colmar · Alsace, France · October 2025

Through the Black Forest, across the Rhine, and into a fairytale town of canals and candy-colored houses.

After our quick stop in Switzerland on October 21, 2025, Philipp and I kept driving west, right through the Black Forest and across the border into France. Our destination: Colmar in Alsace, one of the prettiest towns in Europe. Four countries in two days. Not bad!

Our day, step by step

  1. Drive Through the Black Forest
  2. Border Into France
  3. Walk Colmar's old town and its lanes
  4. See La Petite Venise and the canals
  5. Shop French bread and cheese for the road
  6. Home Back into Germany
on the road

Through the Black Forest into France

The road through the Black Forest squeezes between steep rock walls, with trees glowing yellow and orange on the cliffs and rockfall nets hanging overhead. Then the hills open up, and before you know it a blue sign with a ring of yellow stars appears: Frankreich, 400 m. No border control, no stopping. That's Europe today.

Road winding through a rocky gorge in the Black Forest with autumn trees on the cliffs
Cliffs and fall colors in the Black Forest
Blue EU sign reading Frankreich 400 m at the border between Germany and France
France, 400 meters ahead
the old town

Colmar's colorful streets

Colmar looks like a giant gingerbread village. Every house seems to be painted a different color: orange, sky blue, lemon yellow, mint green, pink, each one with dark wooden beams crossing the front, wooden shutters and flower boxes. Some houses were already decorated for fall with corn and dried leaves. The town sits right on the border between French and German culture, and you can see both everywhere: French street signs and cafés, German-style half-timbered houses.

Father and son selfie on a wide cobblestone square in Colmar with old houses behind
Philipp and me in Colmar
Row of orange, blue, pink and yellow half-timbered houses along a wet cobblestone street in Colmar
A rainbow of houses
Blue, cream, pink and yellow half-timbered houses with fall decorations of corn and leaves in Colmar
Dressed up for fall
Close-up of a bright orange half-timbered house with black beams and beige shutters
Bright orange and black beams
Mint green half-timbered house with green shutters on the Rue des Tisserands in Colmar
Mint green on the Rue des Tisserands
Narrow alley between a yellow and a green house with a cobblestone gutter down the middle in Colmar
Lanes barely wide enough for two
Painted orange corner with stone blocks and the number 17, next to a half-timbered street in Colmar
Old stone and painted corners
the highlight

La Petite Venise

The most famous part of Colmar is La Petite Venise, "Little Venice." Here the little Lauch river winds between the houses, which lean right over the water with balconies full of flowers. Restaurants have terraces built out over the canal, flat wooden boats wait for passengers, and in October the water was covered in yellow leaves that reflected every color around it. It's easy to see why everyone has their phone out here.

Wide view of La Petite Venise with the Les Bateliers restaurant terrace over the water and colorful half-timbered houses
La Petite Venise
The canal in La Petite Venise with leaves floating on the water and a green half-timbered hotel
Houses leaning over the water
Two flat wooden boats on a leaf-covered canal in front of a yellow building with red geraniums
Boats waiting for passengers
Canal in Colmar lined with yellow-leafed trees, old houses and a wooden boat dock under a purple umbrella
Yellow leaves on green water
Cobblestone walkway along the canal in Colmar with yellow and pink half-timbered houses and a red Renaissance house
Along the canal
Yellow and blue half-timbered houses with tall chimneys at a bridge in La Petite Venise
The busiest bridge in town
The red sandstone covered market of Colmar with magenta shutters behind a bridge over the canal
The Marché Couvert, the covered market
Yellow souvenir shop with La Petite Venise lettering, a stork toy and postcards
Storks are the symbol of Alsace
a french picnic

Bread and cheese for the road

You can't leave France without real French bread. We stopped at a shop for a crusty pain de campagne, a rustic country loaf, for just €1.95, plus some French cheese: Fol Epi, mild and nutty, and a pack of Leerdammer. A perfect car picnic.

Crusty French country loaves including pain de campagne for 1.95 euros in a bakery case
Pain de campagne, €1.95
Holding a pack of Fol Epi French cheese in the car, with Leerdammer cheese on the seat
French cheese for the drive

Then it was back across the Rhine. The blue sign hidden in a hedge said Bundesrepublik Deutschland: welcome back to Germany.

Blue EU border sign reading Bundesrepublik Deutschland half hidden behind a green hedge
Back in Germany

Tip: park outside the old town and walk in. Colmar's center is small, flat and best seen on foot. Don't miss the bridge views in La Petite Venise.

Good to know

Where
Colmar, in Alsace, France, about 20 km from the German border at the Rhine
Don't miss
La Petite Venise, the canals along the Lauch, the covered market and the half-timbered streets
Getting there
Through the Black Forest and across the Rhine. No border controls inside the EU.
Money
Euros, same as Germany
How long
A few hours for a walk, or a full day with a boat ride and lunch
see you on the road

Have you been to Colmar?

Tell me your favorite street in the comments, or send me a question if you're planning a trip to Alsace.

More travel stories →Ask me a question
Stefan W.

Stefan Weihermueller has loved wood-working from a very young age, but it wasn't until he worked for many years in the manufacturing field and gained experience in programming that the idea for his business Custom Wood Design was born.

www.custom-wood-Design.com
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