Top cozy towns and quaint villages
Top cozy towns and quaint villages
Quaint towns and comfortable winter villages
Some towns have an atmosphere that's hard to manufacture deliberately: scale, architecture and a pace of life that makes a short visit feel unusually restorative. The best of them tend to be small enough to walk entirely on foot, with enough character in the buildings and streets to reward simply wandering.
The villages on this list range from historic stone-built settlements centuries old to smaller modern towns that have cultivated a similarly unhurried feel. Some sit on coastlines or lakes. Others are tucked into valleys or hillsides away from any major route.
Visiting outside peak season tends to preserve the atmosphere that makes these places worth seeking out, since a quiet village can change considerably once full of day-trippers.
Lists by region
Village in Japan
Kinosaki Onsen
Seven bathhouses to stroll between in yukata
Guests walk between seven public bathhouses in cotton robes and wooden sandals. Willow trees line the small canal that runs through town. Each bathhouse has its own design and a different type of hot water. Visitors can buy a pass to enter all seven baths in a day.
City in Japan
Kawagoe
Edo-style warehouse town near Tokyo
Bells ring from a wooden bell tower called Toki no Kane above the old street. Rows of dark clay warehouses, called kurazukuri, line the street below. Shops sell sweet potato snacks, a local specialty since the 1700s. Candy Alley has old fashioned sweets and a smell of sugar.
Village in Japan
Nozawa Onsen
Thirteen free public baths and a ski area
Thirteen free public bathhouses stand around this Japanese ski village. Locals boil vegetables and eggs in the hot Oyu spring near the top of town. Each January a fire festival lights up the hillside with burning torches. Skiers finish the day at a bath in wooden bathhouses.
Town in Japan
Yufuin Onsen
Lakeside onsen town below Mount Yufu
Mount Yufu rises behind the village and often wears a cap of mist. Lake Kinrinko has warm spring water that makes fog on cold autumn mornings. Visitors can soak in outdoor baths at small inns beside rice fields. Shops on Yunotsubo Street sell cheesecake, pottery and handmade sweets.
City in Germany
Bamberg
Smoked beer and a UNESCO old town
The smoky smell of rauchbier, a beer brewed with smoked malt, drifts from taverns. The old town hall sits on a tiny island in the middle of the river. UNESCO lists the whole old town, which spreads across seven hills. Brewery taverns serve smoked beer with roast pork and dumplings.
City in Japan
Gero
One of Japan's three great hot springs
Along with Arima and Kusatsu, this town is ranked among Japan's three famed hot springs. The alkaline water feels silky and smooth on the skin. Free foot baths and small shrines dot the streets beside the Hida River. Gassho Village nearby has thatched farmhouses moved from other regions.
Town in Germany
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Half-timbered streets and a walkable town wall
A wall walk of about 2.5 kilometers circles this old Bavarian town. Half timbered houses with red roofs and flower boxes line the cobbled lanes. Visitors can climb the town hall tower for wide views over the roofs. A year round Christmas shop sells glass ornaments and wooden toys.
Village in Japan
Shirakawa-go
Thatched gassho farmhouses in the Hida mountains
Steep thatched farmhouses in the gassho style, meaning praying hands, dot this mountain valley. The roofs are angled at about 60 degrees to shed heavy winter snow. Visitors can stay overnight in a farmhouse and eat local mountain vegetables. On select winter evenings the houses glow with warm light against the snow.
Town in Japan
Kusatsu-Onsen
Steaming hot water field and bath hopping
Like a giant kettle, the Yubatake sits steaming in the middle of town. Wooden channels carry hot spring water across it to cool it down. Sulfur smells drift through the streets near free public foot baths. Visitors can watch a yumomi show where women stir the water with boards.
Village in Japan
Kurokawa Onsen
Riverside bath hopping in a Kumamoto valley
Visitors buy a wooden hand pass to soak in three baths at different inns. Around 30 small inns sit along a stream in a forested valley. Most baths are outdoors and surrounded by trees and stone. Lantern light glows along the stream path in the evening.
City in Japan
Hida
Carp canal and sake town near Takayama
Koi carp splash in a narrow canal beside white walled storehouses in Furukawa. Hida Furukawa, the historic quarter of the city, is a short walk from the station. Old shops sell hand dipped candles and local sake. The sound of running water follows walkers along the Seto River.
Village in Japan
Shibu Onsen
Nine public baths and cobbled lanes
Nine public bathhouses in this village each have their own name and hot water. Visitors carry a towel and get a stamp at each bathhouse. Snow monkeys bathe in a hot spring at Jigokudani Monkey Park nearby. Wooden inns line a narrow street with steam rising from vents.
City in Japan
Takayama
Old town, morning markets and Hida beef
Mountains of the Japanese Alps surround this old town in Gifu Prefecture. Sanmachi Suji street has dark wooden merchant houses and sake breweries. Cedar balls hang from the eaves of breweries when new sake is ready. Morning markets along the Miyagawa River sell pickles and fresh vegetables.
City in Japan
Kurashiki
Canal town with storehouses and Western art
Boatmen in traditional clothes pole flat boats along the willow lined canal. White walled rice warehouses from the Edo period line the water. Many now hold museums, cafes and shops selling denim goods. Ohara Museum of Art opened in 1930 with works by Monet and El Greco.
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