Follow Kiki Around the World blog and leave your comments to interact with us.

TOP 5 – Memorable small towns

It was a pleasure to write this post. We remembered all the wonderful little towns that have crossed our way. Those very small, where we felt relaxed and super happy. One thing is sure, in each of these places we were surprised positively, we spent a great time and kept wonderful memories. No matter the reason, for the beauty, the people, the nature around, the energy… All of them left a mark, conquered us and made us feel like never going away.
The cities listed here have around 50 thousand inhabitants, are walkable and they are great destinations to relax the body and the mind. We super recommend.

6th PLACE – SAN MARCOS (GUATEMALA)

San Marcos is a micro city located in the lake Atitlán, in Guatemala. Besides having its prime location with amazing views to the lake of volcanic origin and the 3 volcanoes around, this is a special city, formed by a massive hippie commune, spiritual people and yoga lovers. There is a major yoga university, Las Piramides, so people around the world spend months there to complete their studie . Even more impressive, some never left, got married, had children and created their roots there. Yes, there is to much gringo, but also many locals. There are some extremist hippies with conversations hard to understand, but there are also some very interesting hippies. The important thing is that in 2 days you feel at home, get to know everyone and welcomes anyone who crosses your path . A feeling that makes you not want to leave. An infinitely better vibe than the popular chaotic town just beside, called San Pedro, where most of the tourists go.

San Marcos

Meet other interesting places in Guatemala

5th PLACE – SALENTO (COLOMBIA)

Salento is a small town in cowboy style located in the region of mountains and coffee plantation, in the Quindio department, Colombia. Besides its charming architectural style typical of the coffee triangle, with its houses of colored wooden windows and bars in “saloon” style, the place is surrounded by an amazing landscape that is guaranteed by the nature reserve called Cocora Valley. A perfect place to relax, meet the local cuisine, do nature walks and enjoy a coffee of the highest quality. After all this region is one of the few places in the world with altitude and perfect climatic conditions for planting a coffee of the highest quality. We even felt the urge to buy a small coffee plantation and have a quiet life right there.

Salento

Meet other interesting places in Colombia

4th PLACE – ANNECY (FRANCE)

Annecy is a town located near the French border with Switzerland. Definitely a city that seduces anyone with the amazing look for the lake that spreads its green waters through the canals cutting the charming old center in medieval style. Visiting in the summer is even more conqueror, when the town is in full bloom and even participates in the annual contest for the most flowered city of France. A place with a relaxed vibe, with countryside feeling, but with all the amenities a big city could offer, with cafes, delicious restaurants and a fine trade. We could stay there for a long time.

Annecy

Meet other interesting places in France

3rd PLACE – UBUD (INDONESIA)

Ubud is a town located in the central region of Bali island. The place was a great surprise and for us it is the great jewel of the island. There is the center of all the Hindu culture and arts, besides being a region of natural beauty rich in rice terraces with amazing looks. The city is full of temples and even the homes of locals look like one. Even the family house where we stayed. And the city still has charming restaurants, cafes, craft shops and there is one of the most extraordinary handicrafts markets in the world. A green city with exotic people, a rich culture and a perfect vibe to stuck you there.

Ubud

Meet other interesting places in Indonesia

2nd PLACE – LIGIANG (CHINA)

Lijiang is a small town located in the province of Yunnan in western China, near the border with Myanmar. This ancient city was an amazing surprise for us and served as a perfect getaway from the chaotic Chinese cities. After all the reference of small town is unlike any other place in the world. The city is Unesco World Heritage and has all his original ancient architecture from the Naxi ethnic group preserved, a majestic beauty. Especially when you admire the view over the city, with all pointy roofs in unique format. And we can still appreciate the visual guaranteed by the mountains with snowy peak and plantations that fill the landscape in different colors. If it wasn’t not for the millions of Chinese tourists (almost 5 million per year) this would be a more peaceful destination, but even so the place is unmissible. It is noteworthy that including the modern expansion of the city, today it has about 1.2 million inhabitants, but the old town has only 25,000 inhabitants. This is small in China.

Lijiang

Meet other interesting places in China

1st PLACE – Luang Prabang ( LAOS )

Luang Prabang is a town in northern Laos. It is also considered a world heritage site by UNESCO, because it is full of temples and is an important center of Buddhist culture. Every morning, hundreds of monks walk through the streets collecting their offerings and filling the streets with their orange-colored robes, a perfect combination with the beautiful rustic architecture of the city and the predominant green of nature scattered everywhere. That was probably one of the greenest cities we saw in our entire life. And the look for the famous Mekong River is speechless. The city also has magnificent crafts, delicious restaurant , an eccentric cuisine and a night food market mouthwatering. But for us the most striking and difficult to explain was the city’s energy. An energy that makes you feel good about life, with people who make you smile and makes you wish to feel that way forever. For that we desired never leaving that place. For us it is undoubtedly the champion for its architecture, people, landscape, cuisine, culture and energy of the place.

Luang Prabang

Get to know more about Laos

See where these wonders are located in the world:

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – Eccentric cuisine
TOP 5 – Fascinating animals
TOP 5 – Wonders of nature

Like Kiki’s Fanpage and follow our tips on facebook.
Subscribe to Kiki’s blog at the end of this post and receive our messages in your email.

Comments are closed.