🇫🇷 Colmar: France’s Must-Visit Fairy-Tale Town 🏰

I finally saw the real-life inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki’s magical worlds! This colorful town in eastern France is straight out of a storybook — warm, whimsical, and utterly enchanting. It inspired Howl’s Moving Castle, and Miyazaki spent 12 days here sketching! The reality show Chinese Restaurant was also filmed here. 📸 Super photogenic with tons of iconic spots: 1️⃣ Petite Venise: French romance meets German half-timbered architecture — perfect “canals and bridges” scenery. 2️⃣ Fontaine Roesselmann: Town square & Chinese Restaurant filming location. 3️⃣ Vieille Ville: Pink butterfly house 🦋. 4️⃣ Maison Pfister: Historic half-timbered house (built 1537) — Sophie’s home in Howl’s Moving Castle! 5️⃣ Bartholdi Museum: Birthplace of the Statue of Liberty’s sculptor. 6️⃣ Saint-Martin Church: Gothic medieval style (closed Mondays, free entry). 7️⃣ Brasserie des Tanneurs: Gorgeous red fairy-tale building. 8️⃣ Au Vieux Pignon: Where Howl and Sophie walked in the sky! 9️⃣ Rue des Clefs: Charming street with souvenir shops. 🔟 Toy Museum: Exhibits toys from the 19th century onward 🧸. - Adults €6.50, ages 8-15 €5.50, under 8 free. 1️⃣1️⃣ Unterlinden Museum: Art/history museum with Monet & Picasso 🖼️. - Open Wed-Mon (9 AM-6 PM), closed Tue. Tickets: €13. 🚄 Transport: Paris to Colmar: 580 km → 6.5h by car 🚗 or 2.5h by high-speed train. Stay in the Old Town for easy exploring (everything’s within ~1 km). 🍽️ Restaurant Recommendation: Airlunch: A surprise find! Chinese buffet with seafood, sweet & sour pork, oil-drizzled chicken 🍗. Affordable and authentic. Address: 10 Rue Emile Schwoerer, 68000 Colmar #WhereToGoOnHoliday #HowlsMovingCastle #Colmar #FranceTravel #FairyTaleTown