Christmastime near Colmar
 

Hi! I'm looking for some input on the Colmar section of my Europe trip in December:

• Tue (Colmar hotel): Train to Colmar via Basel; visit Basel Christmas market
• Wed (Colmar hotel): ???
• Thu (Strasbourg hotel): ??? (note: luggage with me after 11AM checkout); train to Strasbourg
• Fri (Strasbourg hotel): Explore Strasbourg

I have about 1.5 days in the Colmar area. I certainly want to spend time in Colmar, but I'd also love to visit a few towns around Colmar. The focus of the trip is Christmas markets, food/wine, and charming ambiance. Since it will be a week day, it looks like Eguisheim and Riquewihr will have Christmas markets and Keysersberg and Ribeauville will not. I initially planned to rent a car on Thursday, but the only AT rental I can find is $250 for that day alone... plus I've read that parking is a bear.

So now I'm looking at these two options:
1) Take the Christmas shuttle that runs on weekdays to Eguisheim. Visit only Eguisheim and spend the rest of our time in Colmar.
2) Take a taxi tour that goes from Colmar-Equisheim-Kayserberg-Riquewihr-Colmar for $175. I thought we could do this tour Thursday morning (9AM-2PM) and store our luggage in the taxi. They give you about an hour in each of the small towns.

Which option would you choose? Would I be missing out by not visiting Riquewihr (or others)? Do you think there's plenty to do in Colmar and Equisheim? Any suggestions for a wine lover? How would you spend time on Thursday with luggage in tow (we're staying at an apartment without a front desk)? Is the taxi tour too whirlwindy? I might be able to customize it to drop Kayserberg and get more time elsewhere, but then is visiting Riquewihr worth extra money over just the Eguisheim shuttle?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas! Thanks!

We were in Colmar the week before Christmas 2019. It was lovely and we explored the local area by local bus, Christmas market shuttle bus and walking. There's also trains. Don't forget there are regular buses as well as the Christmas navette. On one day, we took the bus to Ribeauville, walked to Hunawihr, Riquewihr and on to Kayserberg (on the quiet back roads, no traffic), then bus back to Colmar. All very easy and explored the villages on the way, sampling food and wine. We took the navette to Eguisheim another day. I don't think I would move hotels as Strasbourg is only a short train ride away. The only problem we encountered was a French train strike, which meant some challenges getting to Colmar from Basel and we weren't able to do our day trip to Strasbourg. We had four nights in Colmar and could very easily have spent much longer.

I'd also suggest not changing hotels as Colmar and Strasbourg are close together. We had the week of Christmas once staying in Strasbourg and visited Colmar and Obernai by train, fairly short journeys from memory. Strasbourg was attractive, busy and with quite a few different Christmas markets to enjoy. The towns we visited were very quiet with a lot of places closed. We found it incredibly cold on that trip, fairly unpleasant outside sometimes (water fountains had frozen solid). Regarding your luggage, you might be able to find luggage lockers at the train station, if not in the smaller towns, then maybe Strasbourg.

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I guess staying in both Colmar and Strasbourg is a little silly. If I stay in Colmar, then I can take the Christmas shuttle to Riquewihret al on Friday!

• Tue: Train to Colmar via Basel; visit Basel Christmas market
• Wed: Explore Colmar
• Thu: Daytrip to Strasbourg
• Fri: Daytrip to small towns with shuttle
• Sat (Stuttgart hotel): Train to Stuttgart

Looks brilliant to me. Hopefully I can adjust or find new accommodations.

Wait, dang it, my days were wrong. I actually arrive via Basel on Monday, so I won't ever get to use that weekend shuttle. I guess the regular bus will have to do!

I might be mis-remembering but thought we took the Christmas navette to Equisheim on a week day - it's worth checking. I seem to recall that there was one navette there and one back, that day, giving us half a day there. Of course, things will change year to year.

You're right. Maybe we'll feel satisfied with only Eguisheim and using the shuttle to get there. Thanks.

Strasbourg market is a must see!! We've stayed 2x at Hotel du Corbeau..great accommodations and location..We find it easier to stay in one location and train..Can't wait to return in 2022

Yes! I can't wait for the Christmas markets! It was hard to narrow it down, but we plan on visiting Basel, Colmar, Eguisheim and/or Riquewihr, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Esslingen, and Ludwigsburg. It will be my first time in Europe in December and I'm so excited!