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Photographed by Jack Yan

 REGULARLY find my way to France. Some of it can be blamed on upbringing, studying with the Services Culturels of the French Embassy at age six. The consequence of that is a Parisian accent, but strangely an ear that is more finely tuned to the conversations of the southern French.
   There is a theory that down south, not only do folks talk a bit more slowly, they do so with a slight accent that appears to be closer to what Anglophones think is French. I’m not sure if this is true in my case, but my comprehension seems to worsen the further north I get. Colmar, or any place in the Alsace, is contrastingly comfortable despite being in the northeast: not touristique like Nice, not fast-paced (by French standards)
While there were plenty of tourists when I visited, they did not overrun the Alsatian town as some of the Cinque Terre towns in Italy
like Paris. It is French enough for the Francophile without its history being rubbed in your face as more historical locations can be known to do. It embraces the visitor as a place that has taken the best of both sides of the border—and wishes to absorb more.
   It is perhaps no surprise given the region’s chequered past. It was Swiss half a millennium ago and independent until 1798 when its inhabitants voted to become part of France. Germany occupied it between 1870 and 1918. It seemed not to mind being slightly confused about whether it sends out a French character. Colmar feels more multifaceted than Switzerland, less than an hour away to the southeast, and which seems to draw sharp divides between its regions and their predominant tongues. Despite past conquests (or as a result of it giving rise to both beauty and historical significance), Colmar was spared bombing during World War II, preserving this town of 70,000.
   While there were plenty of tourists when I visited, they did not overrun the Alsatian town as some of the Cinque Terre towns in Italy. Nor did these tourists, including one group of Caucasian–Americans travelling on the proceeds of their pension plans, feel particularly out of place. Plenty of Germans were there on the Sunday I arrived, probably to sample the food and the local bakeries. About the only tourism-related venture that seemed out of place was a vehicle disguised as a train, running through Colmar’s cobbled streets, with tourists as passengers in its many carriages. Walking really did beat this, not just because of the satisfaction of self-discovery, but because of style.
   I had driven in from Germany myself earlier in the day, after a tour of car museums. The autobahnen are wonderful for speedy journeys and there were numerous signs pointing to Strasbourg and Mulhouse as I neared Switzerland. While I could have stayed in Mulhouse—known for both a Peugeot factory and the National Car Museum—Lucire’s New York associate publisher Ann Fryer had strongly recommended Colmar. She and her classmates in her high school days would come to the part of Colmar called ‘La Petite Venise’ from Luxembourg and that a canal ride was to die for without playing to the stereotype of going to the grande version in Italy. We can add a dash of Italy (even Italian cuisine along the canals) to the France, Germany and Switzerland that Colmar possesses.

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MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: It is possible to drive on some streets in the old town, but not recommended. TOP: Colmar’s streets are worth the exploration and walk, for art museums, bakeries and restaurants. ABOVE: A tour in the old town—this distant “train” was the only thing out of place in Colmar.

 

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