From the colourful coastal towns of the Caribbean to one-time medieval fortresses of central Europe and hard-to-reach hilltop settlements, the world really does have some charming places. All brimming with beauty, most offer a chance to relax and explore the stunning settings, all while experiencing the best the local community has to offer.
Read on to see our pick of the world's most spectacular small towns that ooze charm...
The beautiful Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a popular stopping point on the German touring route, the Romantic Road, thanks to its medieval cobbled streets, fairytale-like architecture and surrounding vineyards. It is also home to the largest Christmas shop in Europe, the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village, which is conveniently open all year round and sells everything you could ever need for a traditional German Christmas on its 16,000 square foot (1,486sqm) shop floor.
Just an hour’s drive away from Cape Town, Franschhoek is in the heart of South Africa's wine country. The area is known for its French charms thanks to the Huguenots who brought their wine-making skills with them when they settled here more than 300 years ago, after fleeing persecution in their native France. Nowadays it attracts visitors from across the world to enjoy both its fine wines and the stunning mountainous scenery.
Tobermory on the Scottish Isle of Mull is famed for its brightly coloured harbourside houses. Originally an 18th-century fishing port, it is now famed for wildlife watching – particularly for those wanting to spot white-tailed eagles, minke whales and basking sharks. The wreck of a Spanish galleon carrying gold bullion that was part of the defeated Armada of 1588 is thought to be in the mud at the bottom of the bay.
Uruguay's Colonia del Sacramento, situated on the Rio de la Plata across from Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, was founded by the Portuguese in 1680 and is famed for its UNESCO-listed historic quarter. The town passed between Portuguese and Spanish hands for centuries, until Uruguay gained independence in 1828. Nowadays it attracts visitors wanting to walk its quaint and tree-lined cobbled streets, visit its 19th-century lighthouse and witness spectacular riverside sunsets.
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Zhouzhuang in Jiangsu province is one of China's oldest water towns, with nearly two-thirds of its buildings built in either the Ming (1368-1644) or Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Alongside its ancient buildings, it's known for its quiet canals, old-world charm and unique 'bridge culture' which features the centuries-old Twin Bridges. The historic waterways gained global prominence after being immortalised in the paintings of the late, renowned Chinese artist Chen Yifei.
Perched on the edge of a lake in Austria's Salzkammergut region, Hallstatt is postcard perfect – so much so that China built its own replica. But despite being one of the country's most popular tourist attractions – indeed there have been concerns about the impact of overtourism – it is also home to a charnel house with more than 1,200 skulls and 7,000-year-old salt mines. The wider Hallstatt-Dachstein/ Salzkammergut region was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Mawlynnong in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya state, India, has been hailed as the 'cleanest village in Asia'. Known for its abundant greenery, meticulously pruned gardens and curious living root bridges, the Khasi villagers pride themselves on keeping it pristine. Key to doing this is the cone-shaped bamboo baskets scattered across the village that the locals use as bins. The Khasis are also devout Christians, as reflected by the century-old Church of the Epiphany in Mawlynnong's centre.
The Italianate style of Rovinj on Croatia's Istrian Peninsula is very much defined by its close proximity and historic ties to Italy. Indeed, Italian is still widely spoken here by those who call it Rovigno. Visitors can explore the tight Venetian-style streets of the old town and the Baroque grandeur of the Church of St Euphemia, while the more adventurous can try their hand diving at one of the nearby dive sites, including the Baron Gautsch wreck – known as the 'Titanic of the Adriatic'.
Perched between the Namib Desert and the wild South Atlantic coast, the Namibian town of Luderitz is known for its somewhat incongruous German colonial style that harks back to Bavarian villages. Highlights include the Felsenkirche ('rock church') and the Goerke Haus built into the rock face. Visitors can also visit the nearby Kolmanskop ghost town that's been overtaken by desert sand or view penguins and other marine wildlife on nearby Halifax Island.
The Bohemian town of Cesky Krumlov is often described as 'Prague in miniature' thanks to its striking 13th-century castle above the Vltava river and surrounding old town. Indeed, it is deemed such a cultural marvel that it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. Other highlights include the oldest (and one of the best preserved) Baroque theatre in the world, the Cesky Krumlov monastery and a private gallery dedicated to the work of controversial Austrian artist Egon Schiele.
Bar Harbor is a gateway to Maine's Acadia National Park, giving it immediate brownie points on the natural beauty front. Not only can visitors hike, bike or snowshoe through the park, they can also go whale watching or join a wildlife cruise around the surrounding islands to catch a glimpse of porpoises, seals and bald-eagles. The 110-foot high (34m) Otter Cliff is one of the highest coastal headlands on the US east coast and the area is also famed for its fresh seafood.
Damyang is the bamboo capital of South Korea. The town is home to the 1.72 million square foot (160,000sqm) Juknokwon bamboo forest and celebrates the tall tree-like grass each May during the Damyang Bamboo Festival. Visitors can also learn all about the versatile plant at the Korean Bamboo Museum and visit the mountain-side Geumseongsanseong Fortress, which is thought to date back to Korea's Three Kingdoms Period (57 BC–AD 668).
Castle Combe is in England's Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is recognisable to film fans as the set of War Horse, Stardust and 1960s musical Doctor Dolittle. The honey-coloured stone houses are traditional of the area and the 13th-century St Andrews Church houses a unique faceless clock, reported to be one of the oldest clocks in the country. Part of the reason it's so picturesque is that no new homes have been built here for hundreds of years.
The beautiful coastal town of Port Fairy on the Great Ocean Road is home to 19th-century cottages, old stone churches and one of Victoria's busiest fishing ports. The town is also known for its arts, crafts and antiques and hosts the annual Port Fairy Folk Festival – one of Australia's largest music festivals. History buffs can learn all about the white-washed seamen's cottages and Georgian-style merchants' homes on one of several historic walking trails.
Duluth in Georgia is renowned for its small town feel with big-city amenities. At its heart is the Town Green, a series of lush green terraces in front of a Victorian-style performance stage that plays host to a series of free festivals, concerts and other entertainment events throughout the year. The Atlanta suburb full of Southern charm also plays host to the Red Clay Music Foundry, the Southeastern Railway Museum and the Gas South Arena.
Stykkisholmur sits on the northern shore of Iceland's Snaefellsnes peninsula and is home to just over 1,100 people. People have inhabited the charming natural harbour for centuries – it's mentioned in the Icelandic sagas – but it really developed after it became a trading post in 1550. Along with four other municipalities on the peninsula, it was the first community in Europe to get the EarthCheck environmental certification.
The historic red brick ksar or fortified village of Ait Benhaddou dates back to the 11th century and is situated on the former caravan route running between Marrakech and the Sahara. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is famed as a great example of Moroccan earthen clay construction and is a popular filming location for movies such as Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator. It remains home to a handful of families, although most residents live in more modern dwellings across the river.
The Extremaduran town of Trujillo in western Spain was the birthplace of a number of conquistadors linked to the discovery of the Americas. Upon their return in the 16th century, conquerors such as Francisco de Pizarro, founder of the Peruvian capital Lima, lavished their wealth on building grand churches, manor houses and palaces around the noble Plaza Mayor square. The 13th-century Moorish castle overlooking the town is on the site of an earlier Arab fortress.
Oak Bluffs is a small town on the island of Martha's Vineyard, known for its colourful gingerbread houses which were built by Methodists who held annual religious retreats here in the second half of the 19th century. Using an architectural style known as Carpenter Gothic, about 300 of the gingerbread houses remain in an area known as the Oak Bluffs Campground, centred around a tabernacle that still acts as a religious facility.
The small Colombian town of Villa de Leyva is famed for its cobble-stoned streets and colonial-style buildings. Founded in 1572, it is deemed of such historical importance that it was declared a National Monument in 1954. The town is also home to the 15th-century Church of Our Lady of the Rosary; the Casa Terracota, a 5,400 square foot (500sqm) clay house that is said to be the largest piece of pottery in the world; and several museums dedicated to fossils found in the local area.
The Cappadocian town of Göreme is renowned for its amazing rock formation, fairy chimneys and cave churches. Much of the spectacular scenery of this charming UNESCO World Heritage Site is sculpted by erosion and the valley is home to dwellings, troglodyte villages and underground towns. The remains of a traditional human habitat dating back to the 4th century can be seen here, along with Byzantine art of the post-Iconoclastic period.
Kralendijk means 'coral reef' and is the capital of Bonaire island in the Caribbean Netherlands. The town still has some fine examples of Dutch colonial architecture – including Fort Oranje, which was founded by the Dutch West India Company in 1639 – alongside the traditional colourful houses of the region. Bonaire takes the responsibility of looking after its beautiful coastline very seriously too; it was the first Caribbean island to protect its seas with a marine park.
The historic Georgian town of Mtskheta is sometimes known as 'Little Jerusalem' due to its cultural and religious significance. Mtskheta is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities and is widely recognised as a city-museum thanks to the abundance of churches and other religious buildings. The historical monuments of Mtskheta make it a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a particular highlight being the Cathedral of Sveti-Tskhoveli, the traditional burial place for the kings of Georgia.
The old town of Ekenas is known for its charming wooden houses along the seafront and skilled craftsmen. Just 1.5 hours west of Helsinki, the town claims to have the oldest pedestrian street in all of Finland. Indeed, the town was granted a charter in 1546 – a few years before the Finnish capital was granted its own. Ekenas is notable for its small street mirrors known as 'gossip mirrors' in its houses' windows and the Gamla Bastun, a 1903 brick building that was built as a bathhouse for Russian high society.
Niagara-on-the-Lake on the shores of Lake Ontario is known for its surrounding vineyards, and particularly for the production of ice wine. The genteel Victorian town, with the Prince of Wales Hotel as one of its main landmarks, stands in stark contrast to the bright lights and casinos of nearby Niagara Falls. Visitors to NOTL, as locals call it, can explore the quiet and charming streets by horse-drawn carriage or join excursions to explore Canada's premier wine-producing region.
The old fishing town of Praiano claims to have the most romantic sunsets on the Amalfi Coast and is considerably quieter than nearby Positano. The cliff-side town was a summertime favourite of the Amalfi doges (dukes) and it's still easy to see why. The colourful majolica tiles of the 16th-century Church of San Gennaro can be seen from across the bay, with visitors attracted by the nearby beautiful beaches and famous hiking trail, The Path of the Gods.
The village of Grasmere was once home to Romantic poet William Wordsworth, whose poetry became synonymous with the English Lake District – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inspired by the landscape, Wordsworth lived in Grasmere's Dove Cottage, now a popular visitor attraction, from 1799 to 1808 and he is buried in the local churchyard. Nowadays, visitors still flock here for its beautiful scenery, hiking trails and gingerbread from The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop, which first opened in 1854.
The Vietnamese hillside town of Sapa offers some of the world's best trekking and is renowned for its misty mountains, picturesque rice terraces and diverse ethnic communities, each with their own culture and traditions. Established by French colonialists in 1922, it now attracts visitors wanting to escape the heat and humidity of other parts of the country, those wanting to explore Vietnam's highest peak and enjoy local cuisine and culture.
Portmeirion is an Italianate-style village in north Wales, complete with a campanile, or bell tower, that wouldn't be out of place on the Italian Riviera. Built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 onwards, the grand and colourful buildings for which it is known are centred around a Mediterranean piazza. He designed many of them himself but others have been salvaged from elsewhere, including the colonnade and the town hall. TV buffs will recognise it as the set for 1960s UK drama, The Prisoner.
Gordes, near Avignon, is one of the most beautiful hilltop villages in France. With caramel-coloured buildings overlooking the plains of Provence and narrow, winding streets, it is easy to see why it's been popular with artists for centuries. Dominated by a 10th-century castle, this labyrinthine medieval fortified town became a defensive hub during the Second World War, when it was a centre of resistance against the Nazi occupiers.
The tiny New Zealand town of Russell, also known as Kororāreka, is of historical interest as the country's first seaport and its first European settlement, with its first capital in nearby Okiato. Many of the streets retain their early 19th-century charm, making it hard to believe that it was called 'the hellhole of the Pacific' by sailors and whalers stranded here on shore leave. Russell is also home to New Zealand's first licenced hotel, bar and restaurant, the Duke of Marlborough.
Carmel-by-the-Sea describes itself as a 'storybook kind of place' and with its European-style cottages, art galleries and boutique shops by a pristine white sand beach, it's easy to see why. The settlement, along with the Mission San Carlos de Borromeo on a hill overlooking the bay, was founded by the Spanish in the late 1700s. But it wasn't until the 1900s when it really grew around its community of artists, intellectuals and writers that it is known for today.
The Dutch town of Giethoorn is rightly known as the 'Venice of the Netherlands' thanks to its canals. This charming place, near De Weerribben-Wieden National Park, is also home to 18th-century thatched cottages, dozens of little wooden bridges and plenty of picturesque pathways. But it's perhaps most famous for being a place without roads, so locals and visitors alike have to navigate the settlement by foot, boat or bike.
The Japanese coastal town of Ine in Kyoto prefecture is famed for its wooden boathouses, known as funayas. The houses look like they're floating because the floor of the lower level – where the owners store their boats – is right on the water, while the living quarters are on the level above. The houses are best viewed from a boat or on a walking tour, but visitors are urged to remember they are private dwellings and not to trespass.
Once the capital of Oman, the historic town of Nizwa is on a plain surrounded by mountains. Highlights include the 17th-century Nizwa Fort, which has a distinctive 131-foot-high (40m) tower with stunning views of the Hajar mountains, and one of the oldest souks in the country. The town was once a centre for Islamic scholarship and two 7th-century mosques are among the oldest in the world. Visitors should be wary that the town is still quite conservative and should act and dress appropriately.
Portrush is a seaside town in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. Its name derives from the Irish term 'Port Rois' (promontory port) and is known for its beaches and Royal Port Rush Golf Club, which was founded in 1888. Nearby are the unique limestone cliffs of White Rocks, which have been carved into incredible caves and arches, and the spectacular Giant's Causeway. It is also home to what was the much-loved Barry's Amusement Park, now Curry's Funpark, which first opened in 1926.
The Mexican town of Izamal was once a powerful Mayan city but was conquered by the Spanish, who destroyed the main Mayan temple and built the 16th-century Convento de San Antonio de Padua with its remains. Several of the 12 original Mayan pyramids have been restored, with the Kinich Kakmo pyramid the most impressive in scale. Visitors can stroll the streets to admire the golden colonial buildings, discover local handicrafts and enjoy some of the Yucatan Peninsula's finest cuisine.
Banff is one of the main resorts of the Canadian Rockies and part of Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Indigenous people have lived in the area for over 10,000 years, but it was named Banff in the early 1880s after Canadian Pacific Railway workers discovered hot springs in the area and the president named it after Banffshire in Scotland, where he was born. Well over a century later, visitors are still attracted to the town to admire the stunning surrounding scenery.
Ghandruk is a traditional Gurung mountain village in the Annapurna foothills of Nepal's Kaski Gandaki Province. Situated about 6,562 feet (2,000m) above sea level, it is home to a mountain-top temple, teahouses and various cultural experiences – with hikers particularly attracted to the region. The Gurung people have a culture of bravery and courage and have long comprised the core of the British Army's renowned Gurkha Regiment – the history of which is marked in a local museum.
The northern Polish town of Malbork is best known for its 13th-century castle built by the Teutonic Knights – which is the largest brick castle in the world and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can also walk the streets of the Old Town and visit the Gothic town hall; the 16th-century Jerusalem hospital; and the grand old railway station, which was constructed in the late 1800s and remains one of the best preserved buildings in Malbork.
With its distinctive white and blue buildings, the Tunisian coastal town of Sidi Bou Said could easily be confused with the Greek island of Santorini. It is named after a 13th-century Sufi saint and has a distinctive mix of Andalusian and Ottoman architecture, which glimmers in the North African sun. It is therefore unsurprising that for decades this small clifftop town has attracted artists and intellectuals to its cobbled streets, including Paul Klee, Henri Matisse and Simone de Beauvoir.
Situated near the Thai-Myanmar border, Ban Rak Thai still has a heavy Chinese influence thanks to being settled by Kuo Min Tang (nationalist) fighters after the communist takeover of China. The traditional buildings are made from clay mixed with rice straw, all centred around a beautiful reservoir at the heart of the town. Ban Rak Thai is known for its tea – with many hillside tea plantations nearby – and Yunnan-style delicacies.