Colmar Christmas markets: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour through Colmar’s Christmas-market squares: 5 stops, about 1.0 km, about 15 minutes of walking plus about 30 minutes of listening. Start at the Dominican Church on Place des Dominicains, home to Martin Schongauer’s Madonna of the Rose Bower, painted in 1473. Continue to St Martin’s Church, the Gothic collegiate church under its coloured tile roofs, then to Maison Pfister, the painted house a hatter built in 1537 on the rue des Marchands. Follow that street to the Koïfhus, the customs house of 1480 where the Decapole towns met, on Place de l’Ancienne Douane, and finish in Little Venice, along the Lauch and the Quai de la Poissonnerie.
- Stops:
- 5
- Distance:
- about 1.0 km
- Walking:
- about 15 min
- Listening:
- about 30 min
Two ways to do this walk
Colmar with Mappu
Walk Mode, in the free Mappu app
It knows where you are, tells you about everything you pass between the stops, answers your questions and keeps you on the route. Your phone stays in your pocket.
A 2-hour live walk, €4.99.
50 credits from the Starter pack. One-time purchase, no subscription.
Self-guided audio walk. No guide accompanies you. Not affiliated with the sites.
Free: the audio guides
Listen to each stop’s audio guide in your browser and find your own way between the stops.
Walking directions in Google MapsColmar Christmas markets: how long does the walk take?
About 45 minutes in all: about 15 minutes on foot over about 1.0 km, plus about 30 minutes of audio at the 5 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Colmar Christmas markets: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Dominican Church, St Martin’s Church, Maison Pfister, Koïfhus, and Little Venice. The longest stretch between two stops is about 0.4 km, about 6 min on foot.
Christmas markets: walk the old town
In the weeks before Christmas 2026, markets fill the old town’s squares, and this walk passes Place des Dominicains, Place de l’Ancienne Douane, and Place des Six Montagnes Noires. Its audio guides tell the story of the squares and the buildings around them, not of the stalls.
Market dates 2026
Place des Dominicains
November 23 – December 29
Audio guide nearby: Dominican Church
Place Jeanne d’Arc
November 23 – December 29
Audio guide nearby: St Martin’s Church
Place de l’Ancienne Douane
November 23 – December 29
Audio guide nearby: Koïfhus
Place des Six Montagnes Noires
November 23 – December 29
Audio guide nearby: Little Venice
Official dates: noel-colmar.com · checked on October 25, 2026
Route and map
Indicative route. While you walk, watch where you're going, mind the traffic and follow local signs and rules. The map is an aid, not a safety guide. Terms
Follow Mappu’s map: the route runs along the streets from stop to stop, and the stories keep playing as you walk.
To get to the first stop, or if you’re far from the route, Google Maps has walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
A Gothic church built for the Dominican friars between 1283 and 1364, it now displays Martin Schongauer’s Madonna of the Rose Bower, painted in 1473.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: St Martin’s Church · about 0.4 km, about 5 min on foot
Stop 2
Built between 1234 and 1365 under roofs of coloured tiles, Colmar’s largest church is a collegiate church that locals have long called their cathedral.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Maison Pfister · about 0.1 km, about 1 min on foot
Stop 3
Built in 1537 by the hatter Scherer, this corner house with painted façades, a two-storey oriel and a wooden gallery is often called Colmar’s first Renaissance building.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Koïfhus · about 0.2 km, about 2 min on foot
Stop 4
Colmar’s oldest public building, the customs house finished in 1480 taxed goods on its ground floor while the deputies of the Decapole met upstairs.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Little Venice · about 0.4 km, about 6 min on foot
Stop 5
Once the quarter of butchers, tanners and fishmongers, this canal district on the Lauch grew from a marsh tamed by Colmar’s market gardeners and winegrowers.
about 6 min of audio
The stop stories are AI-generated audio guides and can contain mistakes. Check opening hours and tickets on the official sites.
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
Route checked by Mappu on October 25, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.