Colmar or Strasbourg as a base?

Some prefer Colmar and others Strasbourg. Colmar is closer to Switzerland and Strasbourg is a short train ride from it. I guess it really depends on how many/which other villages to intend to visit and which town they are closer to.

Could some of you describe why you like Colmar or Strasbourg better or do a bit of a comparison?
We tend to like places that have areas that feel “village-like” and have gardens or parks to walk in for a part of each day.

I've been to both twice, and prefer Colmar as being smaller and more compact town. To me, Strasbourg was a bigger, more cosmopolitan city, and other than the cathedral, not much unique about it. Cant comment on the transportation aspects for being a base.

You would visit the Ile-de-France region and stay in Chartres. Stay in Strasbourg. It's an absolute charming city with world-class things to do. You won't get bored and it's a good hub for travel.

Strasbourg is definitely not "village like" as it's a city with a large-ish population. It's a gorgeous place and I love the cathedral there as well as many other sites, but it can be crowded. If you're looking for a "village" atmosphere, I would go with Colmar.

That said, if you're traveling around by public transportation, it will be easier to get in and out of Strasbourg as Alexander suggested.

Colmar, is a small beautiful old town,, 1 day max
Strasbourg is more city like, lots of culture, the old town is very nice, again 1 day

I’ve stayed in Strasbourg twice (no car) and Colmar once (had a car) and I liked them both for different reasons. As mentioned already, Strasbourg is a city and Colmar is smaller. Strasbourg is better without a car and a better transportation hub. Stay in Strasbourg if you will rely on public transportation. If your goal is to travel around to the wine villages and you have a car I would suggest Colmar.

How long will you be there? We like cities and chose Strasbourg for 5 nights this past June, before heading to Switzerland. But Colmar was also great, and as others have said, is smaller and sounds more like what you are looking for.

I have spent 5-6 nights in Strasbourg in the past year, about half that time during the Christmas season. Parking and driving in the city can be frustrating and expensive. At Christmas it's quite easy to spend multiple days just doing the markets and shopping. In the other months it really depends on what you want to see/do. The cathedral is nice, but not (to me) worth standing in line for. There are some good museums, and I always find the book stores worthwhile (there's often a book market open outside in the summer also). Strasbourg is the HQ for the EU Commission, and expensive. It's easy to walk around, public transport is good, and I like it.

I'll be going back to Colmar in a couple weeks, on a road trip via Freiberg and Basel. It's smaller, and I prefer to go when it's not full on tourist season. But the city center is easy to see in a day, which is why you see a lot of folks staying there and then venturing out.

Since you have to pass Colmar to get to Strasbourg from Switzerland I'd just plan on 1 or 2 nights in both.

You said "as a base" so you are planning day trips? If you rent a car, Colmar is better but one of the villages near Colmar is even better. I went through Burgundy with a car, then stayed in tiny Eguisheim just a few kms from Colmar for 3 nights and returned the car in Strasbourg and spent a couple nights there. Colmar's center feels like a small town, but Colmar is a big city and it takes time to drive in and out to the main roads. From Eguisheim it was shirt drive to the main road. A full day in Colmar is probably enough.

So, Strasbourg is a city with about 250,000 residents and a metro population of half a million. The EU Parliament is located here and it also is a university city. The historic center, called “Petit France,” is surrounded by water as though it were an island.
Colmar is the agricultural service center for the wine industry in the Alsace-Lorraine Valley. Colmar has an intact historic center which is an attraction for travelers. It also is a transportation hub at the southern end of the valley, with both a train and bus station. The buses can get you to many of the valley’s medieval villages and towns such as Eguisheim* Turckheim, Kaysersberg , Riquewihr * Ribeauville* and Bergheim— taking anywhere from 10-45 minutes.
From Strasbourg, it takes longer to reach these amazing towns.
While Colmar is much smaller than Strasbourg, it is a city of 70,000 residents and a metro population of 200K—-much more of an urban center than the half-dozen villages and towns mentioned above.
And those villages and towns are the places that truly are incredible. They look like they can’t be real— as though they were built as movie sets for a film production! Charming, beautiful, romantic and historic— many of them have castles —- try to stay in one of these storybook towns while you’re in the Alsace-Lorraine.

I haven't been to either but will be staying in Colmar next spring after a river cruise that ends in Basel. We're staying there because my wife has always wanted to. One challenge that we're finding though is that public transportation is limited and we're starting to wonder if we should get a car, but even that won't be simple, as the few rental agencies aren't convenient to town centre. We found a type of hop on hop off bus but it only runs on weekends while we're there. Strasbourg may be more convenient.

We stayed in Strasbourg and loved it. Then we moved to one of the wine villages, Riquewehr, a perfect combination. The only town in the area we did not care for was Colmar.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this! I do appreciate reading all the variety of ideas on this.
We still have not decided what we will do. I actually do love some cities(Rome and London) but also feel quite relaxed in a quieter greener place.
We love museums and our son who will be there with us likes cities and activity.
The nearby winery (?) villages sound wonderful.