Do you like unusual museums and vintage? The Musée la Cour de Marie, also known as the Musée de la Nostalgie, is located in Hatten in northern Alsace and is sure to please!
My summary
I liked
- Unusual museum
- Plenty of objects from the past to admire
- Small open-air tea room
I liked less
- Few explanations without the guided tour
La Cour de Marie in video
Dive into nostalgia
The Musée la Cour de Marie is a museum opened by a couple of collectors, Nathalie and Jean-Claude Freyermuth, who are passionate about china and…nostalgia! Don’t expect a museum full of didactic explanatory panels, this is a private museum that is more the exhibition of a personal collection, but that’s also what makes the place so charming. We stroll around, observing the thousands of objects gathered here, regularly exclaiming at the sight of certain objects bringing back memories… What a good time!
The museum, housed in a renovated former Alsatian farmhouse, covers 1,500m2, so there’s a lot to see! Mainly devoted to the 60s and 70s, it is organized by theme: vacations, means of communication (ah, the Minitel…), toys, bicycles (you can admire the Mercier bike of famous Tour de France 1969 cyclist Raymond Poulidor!), kitchens, baby carriages, sewing machines, household appliances, hair salons…
A whole section of the museum is also dedicated to Raynal dolls, with a collection of over 300 dolls dating from 1920 to 1974! Nathalie is a true expert in these dolls , created in 1922 by Edouard Raynal, an Alsatian from Mulhouse.
The owners are normally on site and can give you a guided tour (call ahead to be sure, as it won’t be possible if there’s a group at the same time), which is an even nicer way to immerse yourself in the world of these two enthusiasts.
Enjoy a kafee-kuchen
After the tour, you can sit down at the tables in the museum’s pretty courtyard for a hot or cold drink and a slice of cake. Come along at the weekend if you can, and you’ll have the chance to try a tarte au fromage blanc, which I hear is excellent!
What to do in the area for a great day out
You can combine a visit to the Cour de Marie Museum with a tour of the villages ofHunspach and Seebach, a pottery tour of Betschdorf and Soufflenheim, a walk along the Chemin des Cimes Alsace or a visit to Fort Schoenenbourg on the Maginot Line. And for lunch, head to the Restaurant de la Poste in Schwabwiller, a local landmark for several generations, offering delicious home-cooked regional cuisine!
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Opening days and times
The museum is open from Thursday to Sunday between April and October. Visit the website for detailed opening days and times.
Rates and tickets
Access by car
The address is: 49 rue Principale 67690 Hatten. You have to count:
- 23km from Haguenau (approx. 25 minutes)
- 60 km from Strasbourg (about 45 minutes)
- 125km from Colmar (about 1h30)
- 165km from Mulhouse (approx. 2h)
Public transport access
Bus 309 serves Hatten from Haguenau. Calculate your route on Fluo.