Camping De l'Ill - Colmar

We came for two nights to see the Christmas Market and found the site calm, with a lovely, friendly welcome. You can order bread at reception for the next day. The old town is a 30-minute walk away, or just a short bus ride. Worked perfectly for a city break.

The bus connection and Uber made it easy to get to the Christmas market, where we were spending one night. The rest of the stay was a letdown. At check-in, a man was helping another couple and gave them useful ideas for things to see and do. The woman who served me was abrupt and didn't share any of that extra information. We were assigned pitch 74, the farthest one, and told there was a sanitary block there, but it was closed. There was a pair of used men's underwear on our pitch. The roads around the site were covered in mud and poorly lit. On my way to the facilities in the evening I slipped and hurt myself quite badly. We'd stayed at their Strasbourg site a few weeks earlier and had a mediocre stay. I hoped this one might be different, but it seems like a company-wide issue rather than just this campsite.

The only real drawback was the steady motorway noise. Otherwise, this is a very nice, long, green campsite beside a river where you can swim, with roomy pitches and plenty of toilet blocks. There's a good restaurant and a supermarket within walking distance. The whole area was unexpectedly busy in early September, with most places full.

We used the campsite as a base for two nights in town. Getting into Colmar was easy by bus or on foot, and paying by card makes the bus cheaper. Our pitch was small and a bit muddy after all the earlier rain. It was fine for two nights, but I wouldn't have wanted to spend a week there. The reception and bar staff we met were friendly and helpful. We enjoyed a pizza at the bar on our first evening, and you can order baguettes or croissants in advance to collect the next morning.