Some cities don’t need neon to brighten up the landscape. From pastel towers on the Italian coast to a crayon-colored artist colony in Argentina, these 12 towns make color the primary focus.
By Ryan Murphy
Ever notice how many of the world’s great cities and monuments are, well, a bit bland? The pharaohs obviously skimped on the paint budget for the pyramids. And today, the Parthenon looks regally monochrome from its perch on the Athenian Acropolis. But there are some bright spots. Thankfully there are the candy-colored towns of Italy’s Cinque Terre and vibrant neighborhoods from Buenos Aires to Cape Town to keep your vacation photos from looking a little beige. Or take a trip north of the Artic circle to a Norwegian town that brightens up the lunar landscape with charming orange, blue, and red dwellings (be sure to say hi to Santa Claus while you are there). Join us on a tour to five continents as we explore a dozen of the world’s most vibrantly colorful towns, and we’ll let you know exactly where to go to get the best view.
MANAROLA, ITALY
JODHPUR, INDIA
LA BOCA, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
ITTOQQORTOORMIIT, GREENLAND
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
WILLEMSTAD, CURAÇAO
LONGYEARBYEN, SVALBARD, NORWAY
BO-KAAP, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
BERLIN, GERMANY
TENBY, WALES
GDAŃSK, POLAND
QUIAPO, MANILA, PHILIPPINES
MANAROLA, ITALY
Manarola is the oldest of the Italian towns known as the Cinque Terre—the Five Lands along the country’s northwestern coast that cling, lichen-like, to the rugged rocks above the Ligurian Sea. All five localities—Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare—are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its “harmonious interaction between people and nature.” UNESCO obviously knows its color wheel: The sea’s rich blues complement the sunset-colored shops and Genovese-style tower homes of Manarola with panache, and the buildings appear almost cultivated, like a flower garden tucked into the craggy slopes. Particularly stunning is the vista from the narrow rock ledge across the harbor at Punto Bonfiglio, when the retiring sun deepens and perfects the town’s palette.
JODHPUR, INDIA
That wash of blue on the horizon isn’t a sunny sky (though Jodhpur has plenty of those, too—with barely a foot of rain each year). Rather, the wave unfolding from the foot of the massive fortress Mehrangarh is a cornflower-colored settlement, aptly termed the “Blue City.” The color may originally have had social and cultural significance, indicating the habitations of upper-caste Brahmins (today, it is less prone to indicating religious boundaries). Few communities are this coordinated: Steady blues give the settlement an airy, fantastical look, like a magical town drawn from the spiritual pages of the Hindu Bhagavad Gita. Towering Mehrangarh completes the mythological look. Begun in 1459 and expanded over the centuries, the fortress is now open to visitors and provides panoramic views of the old city’s heavenly patchwork.
LA BOCA, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
