How to Spend a Day in Colmar with a Toddler
Traveled in August 2024
Colmar is a storybook village in France best known for being the inspiration for Belle’s village in Beauty and the Beast. Being a bookworm myself, Belle was my favorite Disney princess growing up. When I realized how close Colmar is to Basel, I knew I had to squeeze in a side trip at the end of our Switzerland adventure to experience the charm. While Colmar might not seem like the most toddler-friendly spot at first – especially since one of the main draws is taking photos (and let’s be real, toddlers aren’t known for their patience) – there are actually plenty of fun activities to keep little ones entertained between photos. Keep reading for fun ways the whole family can make the most of a side trip to Colmar!
How to Get There
Colmar is located in the Alsace region of northeastern France, close to the border with Germany and Switzerland. Colmar is actually closer to Basel in Switzerland than it is to Paris. The train ride from Paris to Colmar takes 2.5 to 3 hours. In contrast, the Colmar is only a 45 minute to 1 hr train ride from Basel. Because of this, it’s a great side trip to add to a trip to Switzerland!
How to Get There:
There is a direct train from Basel to Colmar (45 min). The train platforms to France in Basel SBB are platforms 31-35, so follow the signs to those platforms.
There are 2 ticket machines on the platform for the French trains (SNCF). You can use the ticket machines to buy return tickets from Basel to Colmar, but the French ticket machines are not as user-friendly for English speakers as the Swiss machines. You can also buy the tickets from the SBB ticket counter in the main station if you don’t want to bother with the ticket machines.
From the train station, the old town of Colmar is a 15-20 min walk away. You pass by the Parc du Champ de Mars on the way to the old town, so it’s a great first stop.
I had read in older blog posts that you need to validate tickets for French trains. But I don’t think that’s necessary now that tickets use QR codes. When we got on the train the conductor just scanned the QR code on the ticket. The tickets are valid for trains on that route at any time on that day. So if you buy a return ticket, you can take any train in the afternoon returning from Colmar to Basel.
Cost: since this train goes to France, it is not covered by the Swiss Travel Pass and there are no discounts with the Pass.
Things to Do in Colmar with a Toddler
These things to do in Colmar with a toddler are listed in the order you will encounter them when walking from the train station to the main town. Starting with the park is a great way to burn off some pent up energy after that train ride. It also helps keep the kids happy from the start, so they’re more willing to tolerate, and even enjoy, sightseeing afterward.
Parc du Champ de Mars
This park has a play structure, a carousel, and 2 fountains. One of the fountains has water that shoots up at different intervals. You best believe our kiddo got soaking wet running through that fountain with the other French kids and had the time of his life. We didn’t expect to get completely soaked and didn’t bring a change of clothes – but you can learn from our mistake and pack one just in case. Playing in the fountain was our kiddo’s favorite part of this day in Colmar. This park also has the “COLMAR” sign for photo ops.
Little Venice and Fisherman’s Quay
Little Venice (La Petite Venise) and Fisherman’s Quay are the quintessential photo stops in Colmar. This is where you’ll find all the tourists because it is gorgeous here. The little bridges adorned with flower baskets overlooking those colorful half timber houses – it’s all just picture perfect. You can really live your Beauty and the Beast dreams here.
Lunch at The Covered Market
The covered market is full of local produce and is a fantastic place to stop to grab something to eat. From what I read, restaurants in Colmar book up quickly for lunch. It’s stressful to keep reservations with an unpredictable toddler, so we opted to try our luck for lunch in the market. The baked goods we bought from the bakery in the market were amazing (must be that French butter!). And we all enjoyed our tarte flambees from Citron & Basilic in the market. A tarte flambee is a pizza-like tart with a very thin crust, topped with cheese, onions, and bacon.
If you can plan ahead and make a reservation, Restaurant La Soi is famous in Colmar for tarte flambees because that is all they serve. They are a teeny tiny restaurant with only 6 seats, so reservations are a must.
Miniature Train Tour
There are two different miniature trains that run through Colmar, the green train and the white train. These miniature trains give you a little tour around the old town of Colmar and have individual headsets so you can listen to the guided narration. The white train is free for children under 6. Tickets are available from the driver or from the Tourist Information Office. We didn’t get to this because our kiddo fell asleep so we took an earlier train back to Basel.
Wander Around Town
The entire town of Colmar feels like a fairytale. One of the best things to do is just wandering around the town and popping into the various shops to soak up the atmosphere. Colmar is also home to a couple iconic houses, famous for their charming and picture-perfect facades.
Here are a few picture-perfect houses you won’t want to miss for the quintessential Colmar photo ops:
- Maison dite “Au Pelerin” at the corner of the Grand’Rue and the Place de l’Ancienne Douane
- Au Vieux-Pignon down the street from Maison dite “Au Pelerin”
- Maison Pfister at the corner of Rue des Marchands in the old town.
- Maison des Têtes (House of Heads) at 19 Rue des Têtes.
- Koïfhus (Old Customs House)
Gondola Ride
To see the houses of Colmar from a different angle, you can take a gondola ride down the canal. The ride lasts 25 minutes. The ride is free for kids under 4. But since it is a flat bottom boat with no rails, it’s probably best for less wriggly toddlers.
Christmas Markets
Colmar has one of the most famous Christmas Markets in Europe. We visited in the summer so missed the holiday excitement. But based on our experiences with Christmas Markets in other European countries, I can imagine that the Christmas Markets in Colmar would be magical in such a fairytale setting.
Reality Check of Visiting Colmar in a Day with a Toddler
To be honest, Colmar was beautiful, but with the hordes of tourists in the middle of the day, it felt a bit like I was in a theme park instead of a real place. In hindsight, I think staying overnight in Colmar would be best to do it justice. That way you can actually enjoy the surroundings without being elbow-to-elbow with other tourists. That being said, there are moments of tranquility. At one point, we surprisingly found ourselves alone on one of the bridges overlooking the fisherman’s quay in the Little Venice area. A couple minutes later, it was swarming with another tour group, but that moment alone was magical while it lasted.
