Viking Optional Tours: Colmar WW2 vs Medieval Village of Colmar

[flgirl543]

Trying to decide which tour is best. We are definitely interested in WW2 history, however, the village of Colmar looks beautiful and is also not to be missed. If you do the Colmar WW2 Memorial tour, do you have the opportunity to see the village of Colmar at anytime during the trip to or from the WW2 tour?

[sherrysings]

We chose the village of Colmar tour and were very disappointed. We were not taken into anything, just a walk around that was rushed and crowded. A nice museum but not enough time to go in. We wanted to go to Colmar on our own via public bus but it was a holiday and the bus schedule was not operational. It was a quaint town but certainly not worth the 49 euro price.

 

We spoke to many people that took the WWII tour and they said it was wonderful, very informative and moving. I would opt for that one if I had the chance to do it over.

[AZDonRose]

We did the OPTIONAL WWII Memorial Excursion on our Viking Rhine Cruise in April 2014. This tour still rates as #1 out of ALL tours we have ever taken. And that is due to our guide, whose name was Malcom, a high school history teacher in the area. When he detailed the history from this area, particularly about Audie Murphy, it was if we were transported back in time to the exact battles that took place on the Colmar region. I am not a history buff, but Malcom moved me to tears with his storytelling abilities. It felt as if we were actually there witnessing history. After the first part of the tour, we were bused to the Musee Memorial de Combats de la poche de Colmar - a small museum filled with artifacts from everyday war life of French, German and American soldiers.

[knoxclone]

Agree totally with AZDon - Would highly recommend the Viking WWII tour - best excursion we had. It was a very well done and we also had a wonderful tour guide, a young Czech woman, whose grandparents parents were liberated by the Allied forces.

[seabreezer]

Colmar is really not that interesting compared to the other towns you're likely to see. I toured it with a different cruiseline but it just seemed like more of the same. Go with what you are mostly interested in.

[CoralReef]

We did the WWII optional tour and it was wonderful! Malcolm was a great guide and story teller, with incredible historic details. The Audie Murphy story was so amazing, you can hardly believe it actually happened.

 

The Colmar Pocket museum in Turckheim was fascinating. They have Hitler's cognac glass, engraved "AH", donated by a GI who liberated the Eagle's Nest. Also numerous other exhibits. Most poignant were the soldiers' daily rations and letters home.

 

We did drive through Colmar briefly, as well as several other scenic villages. Our rest stop was in an absolutely lovely small town, flowers everywhere, with a stork guarding her babies in a nest high above the village square.

 

We saw plenty of scenery and beautiful small towns on the WWII tour, and the history was fascinating. Highly recommend.

[philw1776]

Did not take it but everyone who took Viking's WWII Colmar tour loved it. Great guide.

 

That said we took the Village Colmar tour. Great guide, a Francophile German whose grandfathers fought in the war. One made it back. I liked cozy Colmar better than Strasbourg. Our guide took us to the section of Colmar aptly known as Little Venice" where I took some of the most beautiful photos of our Rhine cruise.

 

That same afternoon I walked off the ship and climbed the hill overlooking Breisach and enjoyed the view and the stroll down the other side, along the riverfront park back to the ship.

[bellemere]

We did the optional World War 2 excursion of Colmar during our Christmas Markets Viking River Cruise 2014. We had a World War 2 veteran in our group and we were very touched by his reactions to the tour. Great tour if you are interested in World War 2.