Winter dreariness is a great time for escapism. Perhaps, like me, you’ve tucked into a well-worn copy of “The Hobbit,” “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” or a bit of “Aesop’s Fables” for comfort and cheer.
What if you could be Alice and tumble down the rabbit hole straight into the pages of the storybook? You don’t even need a bottle that says “drink me” or an unidentifiable mushroom. Just take a look at Bing Travel’s new slide show, “Storybook Villages,” for your travel inspiration.
Picture-perfect towns and whimsical landscapes dot the globe. Matamata, New Zealand, is the site of a sheep farm, transformed into Hobbiton for the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, where you can still poke your head in a hobbit hole. The town of Grindelwald is quintessential Switzerland, complete with plenty of powder, charming ski chalets, soaring mountains and cozy restaurants for eating fondue. You’ll even find a storybook village in the mountains of hot and humid Venezuela. Colonia Tovar was founded in 1843 by German settlers. Visitors will discover waitresses in Bavarian dress serving Black Forest cake, buildings with steeply pitched roofs (typically found in colder climes) and plenty of places to buy beer steins.
We’ve included 14 storybook villages in our photo gallery, but we know there are more. Tell us about your favorite picture-perfect places and whimsical landscapes in the comments section.
What about the island of Burano, just a short boatride from Venice, Italy? It is the home of lace makers and amazingly colorful houses. They are pink, turquoise, purple, orange, blue...and they all look like something out of a child's imagination.
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I visited Salzburg with my family three years ago. We were in Vienna and our hotel had this flyer for the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg. So we woke up at 3 am to take a train from Vienna to Salzburg for an 8am tour! It was incredible! Salzburg is GORGEOUS!!! The city was so quaint, with old buildings and lovely restaurants serving local fare. The air was clean and the greenery...it was the most surreal thing to experience the city just as I have always imagined since I was a child. it was straight out of the movie! nothing has changed there. A definite must visit if you are in Western Europe!
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Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts boasts some beautiful "gingerbread" style houses.
How did Leavenworth, WA not make the list???
In Germany there is a Fairy Tale Route
related to the Grimm Brother's Fairy Tales:
deutsche-maerchenstrasse.com/.../startseite.html
I hope you like it.
I'm Spanish, nut I go there every summer to visit my husband's family.
That area is great.
ı visited switzerland last year.
i personaly have been all over the place and one of the best place's in the world i found is a place called
Give Kids The World its not just because of were its at it because of what they do its a place near orldando florida there web address is Http://www.GKTW.org
if any one reading this takes the time and says well what do you mean go to give kids the world web site and read there mission statement its is truley one of the best places in the world
sincerley
Jeff
Hagerstown , Md 21740
Eze in France?
I fondly remember a visit to Avebury and Bath in England when I was in college. In Bath, technically a city though it didn't feel like that when I was there, the remnants of the Roman baths are something to see and every building was built with Bath Stone. I remember getting the distinct feeling that all roads led to the abbey in Bath.
Avebury is a wonderful place to visit. The village is quaint; I suggest requesting the well table at the Red Lion Inn. Avebury was built within a vast henge complex that predates Stonehenge. Unlike Stonehenge, where you're kept behind a fence, you can walk among the stones in Avebury - a friend of mine was married there. If a modern village built within an ancient stone circle isn't something out of a fairy tale, I don't know what is!
Imagine my surprise to not see Brugges Belgium on the list. I first heard about that city on travel shows and made sure to visit it on my last trip to Europe. It is sometimes called the Venice of the north and between lots of chocolate shops, cute storybook type buildings, and swans, is indeed like stepping into a fairy tale.
Like another reader who posted here, I've been all over the place and seen some truly amazing places. I'm rather surprised that someplace much nearer to home for those of us in the US wasn't mentioned. I accidentally discovered the most charming Danish village in California of all places. It's straight out of Hanz Christian Anderson and is called Solvang. It's been a few years since I was there, but the experience has never faded and was extremely enjoyable.
Another really lovely village here in the States is a little bit better known, this is Carmel. It's a bit of an artists community. Very enjoyable, and close to Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Monterey,and The Big Sur.
You're sure not to be disappointed in either of these places. They're close by. Go there and take the time to smell the roses. The food, the sights, and the experiences are just out of this world.
No, I don't live in, or work for these places or the State of California. I actually live in Salt Lake City which has it's own things to see and do, but for the money, I don't know of too many places that are so very wonderful within the Western States as Solvang and Carmel.
Alberobello, Puglio, Italy
images.google.com/images
Also, why in the world is Aspen, CO listed as a "storybook" town? Nothin' storybook about it.