Colmar Market (Marché de Colmar)

Colmar is one of the most appealing towns in Alsace, a place of half-timbered houses, canals and flower-filled windows, and its markets are among its pleasures. The Marché Couvert, the covered market, is the town's everyday food hall, standing beside the river Lauch in the Petite Venise quarter, and it gives visitors a chance to see the town's food culture at close hand. It occupies a building of the 1860s in a neo-Gothic style, with a stone facade and an iron-and-glass roof that lets in natural light, and its architecture is a reminder of the grand market halls built across Europe in the nineteenth century.

The market was built in 1865 to give traders a sheltered place to sell their goods, and it stands on the edge of the old town, near the quay and the river where boats once brought produce. After a period of decline, the hall was restored and returned to its original function, and it now holds around twenty stalls offering the best products of the region. The goods on sale include fruit and vegetables from the Rhine plain, cheese from the Vosges, including the strong-smelling Munster, butcher's meats and charcuterie, fresh fish, bread and pastries, and Alsatian specialities such as kougelhopf, the ring-shaped cake, and bretzels. Wines from the Alsace Wine Route, particularly Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris, are widely available, and the traders are generally glad to offer advice.

The market is a good place to put together a picnic or to buy gifts to take home. It is open most days of the week, with different hours depending on the day, and it is closed on Mondays, so check before visiting. The interior is lively on Saturday mornings, when residents do their weekly shopping, and quieter at midday. The covered hall is also pleasant in wet or cold weather.

In winter, the word market takes on another meaning, since Colmar is famous for its Christmas markets. Several markets are set up in different squares of the historic centre, with wooden chalets selling decorations, gifts, gingerbread and mulled wine, and the old streets are decorated with lights. The atmosphere is festive but crowded, and visitors who want to see the town in peace should consider going outside the season.

The market is close to other sights. The Petite Venise district, with its canal lined with colourful houses and flower boxes, is a few steps away, and boat trips on the Lauch leave from the quay. The Unterlinden Museum, which houses the Isenheim Altarpiece, a masterpiece of German Renaissance painting, is in the old town, along with the Collégiale Saint-Martin, the Maison Pfister, with its ornate wooden balconies and painted facade, and the House of the Tanners. Colmar was also the birthplace of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. The market suits food lovers, families and wine enthusiasts, and it is within walking distance of the railway station.