Petite Venise from the Pont Saint-Pierre

Where the Lauch runs through the south of Colmar's old town, the quarter known as Petite Venise lines both banks with half-timbered houses in yellow, pink, blue and green, their gables stepping down to the water and window boxes spilling geraniums from spring to autumn. The bridge on Boulevard Saint-Pierre sits exactly on the axis of the channel, and from its rail the whole scene composes itself.

It is the frame everyone comes for, which is both its strength and its problem. Early, the water is still enough to double the facades and the bridge is yours; by mid-morning there is a queue for the same two metres of railing and the flat-bottomed boats are working the channel. Once you have it, walk down to the banks either side — from water level the houses lean over you and the frames get much more intimate.

Dawn is when the reflection exists, and it is worth the alarm. The light comes down the channel low, the colours on the render are at their warmest and there is nobody in the background. Golden hour in the evening also works but with people in every frame. Winter mornings bring mist off the Lauch and, in December, an extraordinary set of lights — and crowds that make dawn non-negotiable.

Practical: the bridge is a public road bridge with traffic, so keep to the pavement and do not set up in the carriageway. The banks are narrow, uneven and unfenced in places. Everything in Colmar's centre is within fifteen minutes on foot, so this pairs naturally with the fishmongers' quay and the Maison Pfister in one walking session.