The canals of the Lauch, the old market gardeners' quarter, and the Isenheim Altarpiece at the Unterlinden Museum.
La Petite Venise is not a separate quarter: it is the southern end of the old town, where the Lauch runs through the Krutenau, the old market gardeners' suburb. Produce arrived by water, on flat-bottomed boats, to be unloaded at the covered market. Most of the half-timbered houses along the canal date from the 14th to the 18th century, and the quai de la Poissonnerie still has its row of low fishermen's houses. All of it is free and walkable; the only ticket of the day is the Unterlinden Museum, ten minutes away on foot.
The Unterlinden Museum occupies a 13th-century Dominican convent, turned into a museum in the middle of the 19th century and since extended by a contemporary building designed by Herzog & de Meuron. It holds the Isenheim Altarpiece, painted by Matthias Grünewald between 1512 and 1516 over a case carved around 1490 by Nicolas de Haguenau, for the Antonine commandery at Issenheim. Seized during the Revolution, the altarpiece entered the museum's collections when it opened, in 1853. Between 2018 and 2022, the painted panels, the sculptures and the frames were restored as a single whole for the first time in their history, and the work was unveiled again on 1 July 2022. Pigment analysis showed along the way that Grünewald's workshop had also painted Nicolas de Haguenau's sculptures.
What you really shouldn't miss during your visit.
Painted by Matthias Grünewald between 1512 and 1516, over a case carved around 1490 by Nicolas de Haguenau. Restored from 2018 to 2022 and unveiled again on 1 July 2022 with its colours recovered. It justifies the ticket on its own.
The row of low, brightly painted houses along the Lauch, the picture everyone comes for. It takes ten minutes to walk; the rest of the quarter is quieter.
South of the covered market, the old gardeners' suburb, which sent its vegetables down the canal. Dense greenery, few people, and flat-bottomed boats moored along the banks.
A brick hall set on the edge of the Lauch, still working: growers, cheesemongers, delicatessens. An alternative to the terraces on the quay, a step from the water.
The 13th-century convent that houses the museum, with its gothic arcaded cloister opening onto a garden. You walk through it to move from one wing to the other.
Twenty-five minutes on the Lauch, in a flat-bottomed boat, leaving from the Pont Saint-Pierre. The only way to see the quarter from the water, the way the gardeners did.
The place from several angles, to prepare your visit.
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