La Petite France Colmar

The Little Venice quarter of Colmar is a canal-lined stretch of the Alsatian town's old fishmongers' and tanners' district, where colourful timber-framed houses lean over the narrow Lauch river. Flower boxes crowd the balconies in summer, and flat-bottomed boats glide beneath low bridges past former market gardens. The district preserves the layered look of a prosperous medieval and Renaissance town on the wine route, each house painted a different hue. Visitors stroll the quays and cross small footbridges to riverside restaurants.