re: Colmar France

I spent four nights there a few years ago and we loved it. It is ideally located for trips to all of the small villages on the route du vin.

Things to eat and drink: besides being in the heart of Alsatian Reisling and Gewurtraminer country, Alsace has some pretty great cremants (champagne or sparkling wine by a different name since champagne can only be champagne if it comes from...Champagne). They also do some interesing pinot gris and can be counted on for decent pinot noir. If you aren't a resiling or gewurtz fan give them a chance. The Alsace varieties are known for being dryer and less sweet than the mass marketed German brands. As far as cru or grand cru wines go, this is one of the cheaper areas to buy from. For wine tastings, Louis Sipp (Ribeauville) and Dopff Au Moulin (Riquewhir) were great. For food, the Alsatians do a great Flammekueche or tarte flambee. Think thin crust pizza with creme fraiche and onions and/or bacon, meunster cheese, etc. They also are known for their choucroute and their coq au vin (uses thier local whites in an interesting way). For a splurge meal, Auberge De L'ill was fantastic. I'd recommend an afternoon sitting so that you can enjoy their creek side patio for drinks before and after. Auberge De L'ill

Other food of note is Ferber preserves (found anywhere in france but local to alsace; bring a bunch back as gifts for yourself), their love of pork in the area, and if you are looking for fine dining the region (Alsace) held the highest number of michelin starred restaurants for a while. Not sure about now.

Things to do:

Colmar itself is beautiful and nice to walk around in (if a bit small). The real gem is found in the towns to the north (Ribeauville to Kaysersberg). When we went we started in ribeauville and walked via vineyard roads (with the vosges to one side and valley to other) through hunawihr, riquewihr, and on to kaysersberg. Just use google maps. It was a great days spent between wine houses and tarte flambee restaurants. Remember that tastings there are free, spitting is the norm, and buying a few bottles is expected and polite. Bring some travel wine glasses and stop at pretty views with some cheese and bread to enjoy the views. If you feel like making the walk up to Kaysersberg's castle (Château de Kaysersberg) it would be worth it. Kaysersberg has many places to eat for dinner.

Random: Alsace loves their storks and is known for them. There is a stork refuge and you can see their nests all over the region. We had a memorable moment after dinner at the splurge place above where the Haeberlin grandma came out to feed their two storks with leftover shellfish from the kitchen. The giant birds really are cool to watch.

Strasbourg is cool for a day trip and the old town is very neat to walk around. Great Cathedral too.