Let your imagination run wild by visiting these eight magical corners of the world.
Some places are so enchanting that they make us nostalgic, recalling the backdrop for storybooks and fairytales that captivated us as children. Here’s a look at eight of these fairytale destinations around the world.
1. Colmar, France
They say Colmar is one of the most beautiful villages in France thanks to its enchanting Medieval charm. The colorful, wood-framed homes and precious flower-studded canals seem straight out of the pages of an Anderson story. A visit route through the Alsatian’s towns vineyard’s will undoubtedly fascinate you.
2. Bavaria, Germany
From the fortified Nördlingen to the beautiful Lindau to the Murnau river, all of Bavaria is dreamy. The most spectacular? Neuschwanstein, the fairytale castle par excellence. Nestled on a hill surrounded by forests, it was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and even inspired Walt Disney.
3. Cappadocia, Turkey
Speaking of dreamy landscapes, Cappadocia does not fall short. This Turkish region on the Anatolian peninsula consists of 30 miles of exquisite beauty. The enclave’s original rock formations resulted from volcanic terrain combined with wind and rain over the centuries, flying over Cappadocia in a hot-air balloon at dawn is downright magical.
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4. Bagan, Myanmar
You can also take a spectacular hot-air balloon ride in Bagan, an arid landscape in Myanmar, and soar above more than 4,000 Buddhist temples. Still little known to tourists, Bagan, once the capital of several ancient kingdoms, is a spectacular archeological site.
5. Bibury, United Kingdom
Bibury is to the United Kingdom what Colmar is to France: the pretty girl who everyone fawns over. Much more rural than its French counterpart, Bibury is dominated by stone. In its heyday, the town was an important Roman settlement on the banks of the Coln River. Don’t miss Arlington Row, which could easily have been Snow White’s home.
6. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
The exotic beauty of Angkor Wat couples the magnificence of 12th-century temples with the wild vegetation of Cambodia’s Siem Reap province. Despite its popularity among travelers, watching the first rays of sunshine rising behind Angkor Wat is a must for everyone. Walking through this archaeological complex, you’ll feel a little more like Lara Croft than a Grimm character.
7. Umbria, Italy
One of the greenest regions in Italy, Umbria boasts plenty of fairytale landscapes. Its calm atmosphere offers the possibility to enter the slow life, savoring the here and now without haste. Speaking of savoring, the gastronomy is unbeatable. A road trip with stops at the waterfalls of Marmore, the national park of the Sibylline Mountains, the vineyards of Montefalco, and Perugia (the capital) will give you some keys to start discovering the richness of the region.
8. Essaouira, Morocco
Apart from being a dream destination for windsurfers, kiteboarders, and Game of Thrones fans, Essaouira is a pleasantly tranquil fortified city on the Atlantic–so much, in fact, that it is nicknamed “Sleeping Beauty”. Beauty and calm combine in this unsuspected destination, only 110 miles from Marrakech.
If you enjoyed this, check out our article about the prettiest fairytale villages in Europe.