We spent the morning walking around Strasbourg. The Christmas Markets do not open until late morning so we walked around other areas. This morning was the first time we had some sunshine this entire trip and it was nice. At the same time, it was the coldest it has been, right around freezing.

Little France was beautiful in the light.

We made it down to the covered bridges. This is part of the defenses of the old city from the 13th-17th centuries. There are 3 remaining towers. 

We then had a driver talk us to Riquewihr, a small medieval town in Alsace. We were here a few years ago and wanted to come back for the Christmas Markets since we were so close by. This  town is like a Disney village. In fact, this town was reportedly used as the model for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as Belle’s village. It is beautify and essentially untouched as it was not damaged in WWII and is essentially as it was in the 16th century, although it has defenses which date back to the 13th century. It was originally the property of the Dukes of Württemberg and served as a “wine village.” It is still surrounded by vineyards. They have a Christmas Market near the entrance of the town, but the entire town is decorated for Christmas.

From there we went to Colmar, another of the classic French old towns. Colmar dates back to at least 884, its first historical mention. Like Riquewihr, Colmar has a preserved old town, but, it is surrounded by a modern city, whereas Riquewihr is solely an old village. Colmar is known for its Christmas Markets. There are 5 around the old town.

Colmar is the birthplace of Frédéric Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. Because of this, these markers are all around the old town.

We stayed around Colmar until evening so that we could see the lights and then we took a train back to Strasbourg.