France: Colmar, Train Times and When to Go

Why Colmar is the France stop to plan around

Colmar sits in Alsace, in the Grand Est region, close to the German border. The old town is the draw: half-timbered houses and canals, with the Alsace wine route running through it. Colmar is counted as the capital of Alsace wine.

The history explains the look of the place. Colmar has belonged to both France and Germany, and Swedish troops held the town for two years during the Thirty Years' War, which is why the streets read as neither fully French nor fully German.

Trains decide how much of France you can see

The French high-speed network turns the long hops into short ones. Paris to Lyon is 422 km covered in as little as 1 hour 41 minutes, and 30 trains a day run that route. Paris to Marseille takes about 3 hours 54 minutes, and Lyon to Marseille averages 2 hours 12 minutes.

The car question only comes up at the edges. Colmar sits on the Alsace wine route, and a wine route is a road: if you want the villages along it rather than the town at the end of it, that leg is a drive. The workable shape is a train between regions and a car for the last stretch, rather than one or the other for the whole trip.

The south and the north keep different calendars

Southeastern France runs hot and dry through summer, and the rain that does come arrives between October and April. Sunshine is plentiful all year, which makes the Mediterranean coast a spring and autumn trip rather than a July one.

Lyon sits in a different register. Winter there hovers around 6°C, cold enough for occasional snow around the Fourvière basilica and mild enough that the city keeps working. Pick the region before you pick the month.

Paris is an evening city, which buys you a shorter stop

Some of the major monuments in Paris open seven days a week and take visitors as late as 11pm or midnight. That changes what a short stop is worth: you can arrive in the afternoon, eat, and still see something substantial before bed instead of losing the evening to opening hours.

It also means Paris does not have to be the whole trip. Two nights there and a train south is a real itinerary, and the trains are what make it one.

A week in France buys two bases, not four

Every move between French cities costs half a day in stations and packing, so four bases in seven days is a holiday spent in transit. Two bases and a day trip is what a week actually holds.

If Alsace is on the list, give it its own stop rather than a day trip from a city. Colmar is on the wine route, and the route is a day of its own.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best time to visit France?

May, June and September work best for most of the country. The southeast is hot and dry in summer with sunshine all year, so the shoulder months give you the light without the heat.

How do you travel around France without a car?

By high-speed train, which handles the long distances better than driving does. Paris to Lyon is 422 km in as little as 1 hour 41 minutes, with 30 trains a day on the route. You only need a car for the last stretch into the countryside.

What is the best itinerary for France for first time visitors?

Paris, Lyon, then Marseille, in that order, because the trains run straight down the line. Lyon to Marseille averages 2 hours 12 minutes on the TGV, which is short enough that the two cities are one trip rather than a choice between them.

Can you do Paris and the south of France in one week?

Yes. Paris to Marseille takes about 3 hours 54 minutes by train, so the transfer costs you an afternoon rather than a day. A week holds two nights in Paris and four in the south without rushing.

Is it better to visit France in spring or autumn?

Spring, if the south is the plan. Rain in the southeast falls between October and April, so autumn puts you into the wet half of the year there. If the coast is the point of the trip, go before that window opens.