OMG- I am like a mad woman running around, smiling like the Cheshire Cat and exclaiming incoherently. Anne just kind of follows me peacefully around like her usual calm, angelic self but I have no doubt she is internally rolling her eyes.

From the moment I stepped foot in Colmar, one of Alsace’s most famous towns, I was smitten. Colourful half-timbered buildings that looked like gingerbread houses come to life lining twisting cobblestones streets…

… colourful wooden window shutters…

… flower boxes and street gardens spilling over literally everywhere with the colours of the rainbow…

… even a tranquil river (strangely bright green apparently due to a climate protest) flows through its medieval streets.

Add in French bakeries, wine tastings, boutique shops…

… and restaurants…

… and it would be seriously hard to imagine a place more picture-perfect.

Wandering its streets really is like stepping into a fairy-tale. There’s several turrets which would be just perfect for Rapunzel to let down her hair from…

… tiny cottages that would make the ideal home for seven dwarfs…

… and a candy-coloured bakery that Hansel and Gretel would love to get their teeth into.

But in a town full of beautiful things, I would have to say that Petite Venise is the most beautiful.

This group of half-timbered buildings lining the beautiful canals just oozes charm and feels purpose-built for tourism though, in reality, it’s looked much the same way for centuries (minus the heart shaped padlocks clipped to all the bridges).

I’m sure this is a big part of the reason that Colmar is considered one of the most beautiful cities in France. And we have three wonderful nights here.

While oohing and aahing we notice the most impossibly cute flower festooned little restaurant sitting right on the most picturesque canal. It is not open and I speak to an impossibly cute young waiter who tells me they don’t take reservations and we will just have to wait in line… he advised coming early. Anne decides to just stay while I run around and take another thousand pictures. Eventually they open and we pretty much get our choice of tables overlooking the canal. Such a magical experience with yummy food, including my first crème brûlée for this trip (my favourite dessert) and the most delicious Riesling we have had so far.

Apparently during Christmas, this area of Colmar turns into a holiday wonderland… as they take their Christmas decorating very seriously. In the picturesque streets, the succession of stalls, Christmas decorations and lights sweep you up in the magic of the Christmas season and it has been voted the best Christmas Market in France. I would love to come back for this genuinely exceptional Christmas experience one day!

But no point thinking of the future when I am in paradise now.

So many gorgeous details everywhere that I really love… from the stunning forged iron signs for the shops and restaurants… carved details in the timber of the half-timbered houses… historic lace balconies… hand painted details… to strange and random little windows…

… an enchanting carousel…

… beautiful church doors…

… and weird kitchy sort of ornaments (even big teddy bears) hanging outside many buildings and I’m not sure if they are awful or cute… or maybe both 😂🤷🏼‍♀️.

And I am totally obsessed with the window boxes so full of flowers and greenery that you wonder how they grow in such a small space.

On our last evening we take a little canal cruise. And, yes, a canal cruise in Colmar isn’t quite the same as a gondola ride in Venice- but it was a lovely way to relax and enjoy a slightly new perspective on the gorgeous architecture and green nature in Colmar’s La Petite Venise!

Canal cruises here take place in delightful little flat-bottomed wooden boats…

… that glide through the canals while a guide shares the history and charming details of this fairy tale village.

And it was just as lovely as it sounds as long as you duck to get under a couple of the bridges… and stop talking in the residential ‘silent zone’ (oops… be quiet Angela 😂) so as to not upset particularly grumpy neighbours (yes, people actually get to live here)!

Got up in the early morning again but a little too late for the beautiful pink sunrise that presented itself but it was still golden…

…and I could almost have Petit Venice to myself except for a few people rushing to work and some school children. The fairy-tale felt very real with perfect reflections at this time of day in the still waters of the canals.