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Colmar
200 km
Friday 17 July
A medium mountain route in the Vosges with three passes is the ideal occasion for firebrands who feel comfortable with intermediate challenges. The road between Vittel and Colmar has all the makings of a tricky stage.
Le Grand Hôtel© Vittel tourism congress
• 2-time stage-town
• Population 6,200
• County town of Vosges canton (88)
In 1971, the Town of Vittel engaged in an ambitious project: the preparation of the French team competing in the Olympic Games of Munich the following year.
In setting up a Multi-sport Training Centre (CPO), the Town forged itself a sporting identity at the same time confirming its already established reputation as a spar resort.
Accordingly, Vittel boasts infrastructures adapted to the practice of approximately twenty summer Olympic disciplines. A complete village dedicated to sport, the CPO offers a comprehensive range of services: sporting facilities, evidently, but also a choice of hotels (115 beds) and an excellent medical service, all contained within a preserved and exceptional environment.
Following the success of this venture, the Town of Vittel has set itself the following target objectives:
- To develop and provide a comprehensive range of sports amenities and services;
- To offer a programme of events with the dual complexity of local organisation and
national and international promotion;
- To heighten public awareness by continuing its town and country planning development programme.
The Poissonnerie quay and the Little Venice© Jean-Marc Hédoin
• 6-time stage-town
• Population 67,000
• Prefecture of the Haut-Rhin (68)
Prefecture of the Haut-Rhin and legal capital of the Alsace region, Colmar is situated at the foot of the Vosges, at the heart of the Rhin plain. 2h50 minutes away from Paris by high speed train (TGV), less than an hour from Strasbourg, Fribourg (Germany) and Bâle (Switzerland) by car, it is visited by more than two million people every year.
The birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi, creator of the Statue of Liberty, Colmar has magnificently preserved the wealth and variety of its architectural heritage. A nocturnal illumination system is used to enhance this heritage, which marks all periods of history: the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the 18th century, and Colmar under German rule at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Two elaborate projects will soon further enrich this legacy: the expansion of the Unterlinden Museum and the installation of the multi-media library in an 18th century historical building.
Colmar, the Alsatian wine capital, with 68 000 inhabitants, has successfully developed its assets, acquiring a reputation as a dynamic town in all spheres of activity: industry, education (university centre), culture, tourism and sport.
