Colmar Never Enacted a ZFE, Its Wine-Route Base for 2026

Colmar does not have a low-emission zone: the town is absent from both the national Bison Fute portal and the environment ministry’s regulatory list of zones in force, so no Crit’Air sticker is required to drive in. That leaves the old town itself as the only real constraint — its lanes are tight and best left on foot, with the Koifhus market, the Dominican church and La Petite Venise all within a short walk of the central car parks. Use Colmar as your base for the Alsace wine route.

Do You Need a Car?

For Colmar itself, you don’t. The old town is compact — the Koifhus covered market, the Dominican church, Maison Pfister, La Petite Venise — everything is within a 20-minute walk of the central car parks. The train from Strasbourg runs regularly and takes about 30 minutes.

A car is essential for:

• The Route des Vins d’Alsace — 170 km of vineyard road from Marlenheim to Thann, with dozens of villages not served by any useful bus
• Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé — the most visited wine villages, all within 20 km
• Kaysersberg (birthplace of Albert Schweitzer) and the Munster valley
• Crossing into Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany — 45 km east, an easy half-day trip
• The Ballons des Vosges regional park, reachable in under an hour

Skip the car if:

• You are staying purely in Colmar to eat, drink Riesling, and wander the old town
• You plan to do a guided wine tour — several operators run minibus tours from Colmar that include tastings

Driving in the Old Town

La Petite Venise looks navigable on maps. It is not. The canal-side streets around Quai de la Poissonnerie and Rue des Écoles are pedestrian zones, and the surrounding alleys — Rue des Marchands, Rue des Têtes, Rue Berthe Molly — are either pedestrian or so narrow that two cars cannot pass without one mounting the pavement.

The practical approach: drive to one of the parking areas on the ring road, leave the car, and walk in. Colmar’s old town is small enough that you will not walk more than 10-12 minutes from any of the main car parks to any point of interest. The ring road itself is straightforward — one-way in places but well signed.

Parking

Parking Rapp — Rue Berthe Molly, directly north of the old town. This is the most central option. Around €1/hour, cash or card. A 5-minute walk brings you to Place Rapp and then the Musée d’Unterlinden. Fills up on busy summer weekends by mid-morning.

Parking Unterlinden — immediately next to the museum on Place Unterlinden. Slightly more expensive at around €1.50/hour, but the location is hard to beat if the museum is your first stop. Covered, which matters in Alsace’s wet autumn weather.

Parking Champ de Mars — to the south of the old town, near the train station. Cheaper, larger, and rarely completely full even on busy days. The walk north to La Petite Venise takes 12-15 minutes through unremarkable streets, but it is entirely flat.

Christmas market parking: From late November through late December, normal strategy breaks down. Parking Rapp and Unterlinden fill by 10:30 on Saturdays. Use the P+R from Eguisheim to the south or the Sundgau park-and-ride — both have shuttle buses running directly into the centre, and the wait is far shorter than driving in and hunting for a space.

Getting to Colmar

From Strasbourg (70 km, 45 min): A35 south, entirely toll-free — one of the few motorways in France that costs nothing. Fast and well-maintained. The drive through the Rhine plain is flat and easy.

From Basel (70 km, 50 min): A35 north from Basel or A5 from the German side, crossing at Neuenburg. No toll on the French side.

From Freiburg, Germany (45 km, 40 min): A5 south from Freiburg, cross the Rhine at Breisach or take the B31 west to Neuenburg and join the A35. A good option if you are combining an Alsace-Black Forest trip.

From Paris: TGV to Colmar via Strasbourg or direct: around 2h15 by train. By car it is 450 km on the A4/A35, about 4.5 hours with a stop — the train is faster unless you need the car for wine country driving.

The Alsace Wine Route

The Route des Vins d’Alsace runs 170 km from Marlenheim in the north to Thann near Mulhouse in the south. Colmar sits almost exactly in the middle, which makes it the obvious base.

The route is signposted throughout — look for the brown “Route des Vins d’Alsace” signs. It threads through dozens of villages, most of them variations on the same gorgeous theme: half-timbered houses, geranium-covered windowsills, a Romanesque church, a wine cooperative you can walk into off the street.

The best villages within 30 minutes of Colmar:

• Eguisheim — 5 km south, 10 minutes. Circular medieval streets, excellent local cooperative. The most complete of the wine villages.
• Riquewihr — 15 km north, 20 minutes on the D3/D1b. Car-free inside; park in the large lot at the south gate. Probably the most photographed village on the route.
• Ribeauvillé — 15 km north, 18 minutes. Three ruined châteaux above the village, a good Saturday market, less crowded than Riquewihr.
• Kaysersberg — 12 km northwest, 15 minutes. Fortified bridge over the Weiss river, excellent restaurants.

Driving the route: The D road through the villages is not fast — it is designed for stopping, tasting, and doubling back. Allow a full day for a proper north-south run, or pick 3-4 villages and do them properly rather than rushing through 10. Narrow streets inside the villages mean parking is at the village entrances.

Tastings and driving: Many caves (wineries) along the route offer free tastings, but obviously you need a designated driver or to spit. The wines are serious — Alsatian Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris — and poured generously.

Day Trips by Car

Speed Limits

Speed cameras are common on French roads, including fixed radar on the A35 and mobile units on the D wine route roads. Fines are automatically mailed to rental car companies, who pass them on to you.

Fuel

Supermarket stations in Colmar (Leclerc, Intermarché) are the cheapest option. Fuel in the wine villages is rarely available — fill up before a full-day wine route drive.

Required Equipment

France requires all drivers to carry:

• Warning triangle
• Reflective safety vest (must be accessible from inside the car, not in the boot)
• Spare bulbs (recommended but not strictly required for foreign-registered cars)

Breathalyser kits were once mandatory but the fine for not having one was suspended — you will still see them sold at petrol stations. Rental cars typically come equipped with a triangle and vest.

Emergency Numbers

Related Guides

• Complete France Driving Guide — rules, fines, Crit’Air explained
• France Tyre Laws — winter tyre rules for mountain passes
• Driving in Strasbourg — Alsace’s capital and its ZFE zone
• More City Driving Guides