MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: The Collégiale St-Martin. ABOVE, FROM TOP: Fountain in the town square. The Bruat fountain, a tribute to the admiral of the French fleet, by Bartholdi. Bartholdi’s monument to Gen Rapp. Swan and cygnets in the canal in old Colmar.

   One of the instincts a traveller develops is the ability to find a “haunt” for dining, in which one feels comfortable. I have several dotted around the world and can recommend many of the places along the Petite Venise canals. However, Les Bateliers by the Pont Turenne (33 3 89-24-05-71) was remarkable for a delicious menu, admittedly suited more to carnivores. Bookings are vital to secure an outside table, but it is the food that makes Les Bateliers more than sitting by a canal. Expect to pay €50 for a meal for two, more with wine.
   Wine, thankfully, is relatively inexpensive here. The tourist centre has information on wine tours, since Colmar is one of the stops to

As I neared the centre of the town, old gave way to new: a modernist town square’s flagpoles, displaying French and European Union flags, fountains, plus a Bartholdi statue of Napoleonic hero Gen Jean Rapp

any wine route tour in this region, though that topic alone warrants a future visit—and preferably not one when I have to drive. A must-see for connoisseurs is Domaines Schlumberger (www.domaines-schlumberger.com, 33 3 89-74-27-00), at Guebwiller, 26 km southwest of Colmar, but in town is the Cave du Musée (11 rue Kléber, 33 3 89-23-85-29), a wine shop that has a particularly good stock of Alsatian wines.
   I continued my walk, asking a postal worker where the nearest poste was. She pointed me toward the centre of Colmar.
   Along the way, I was impressed by the Gothic–Renaissance style of the Collégiale St-Martin, in which Schongauer’s Virgin in the Garden of Roses (1473) is housed. I did not go inside, but like so many things in Colmar, the exterior was beautiful enough.
   Colmar continued to surprise. As I neared the centre of the town, old gave way to new. A modernist town square had flagpoles, displaying French and European Union flags, and fountains, plus a Bartholdi statue of the Napoleonic hero Gen Jean Rapp (1853), one of the sculptor’s first commissions. Nearby is the Amiral Bruat fountain, also by Bartholdi, dating from 1864, surrounded by figures that were redone by Choain after the originals were destroyed in 1940. After posting some documents, I felt this modern Colmar was not for me. The old town had a stronger draw and I began walking back to the Hôtel Turenne.
   The only thing that could top my walks around Colmar over the last two days was a canal ride. I went down to the canal, spying a sign for bookings. Regrettably, it said that there were no canal rides on Mondays, a lesson learned the hard way—and an excuse to return to Colmar at another time, for the experience of good food, Alsatian wine and a romantic ride in one of the most internationally minded towns in France. There was comfort in knowing that a swan and her new family, which I had spied moments before, would not be disturbed. •

Jack Yan is founding publisher of Lucire.