BEST LOCATIONS FOR COLORFUL HOUSES

UPDATED JANUARY 2020

I love scouting cities to take pictures of and with colorful houses. As South-America is super colorful, I was able to add a lot of colorful houses to this list. If you are just as excited about colorful houses as me, check out my pictures in this blogpost!

Cartagena – Colombia

This year I was finally able to tick off Cartagena from my bucket list! We didn’t even visit during flower season, but luckily we still spotted many bougainvilleas in full bloom to make our visit even more colorful. Colombia is one of the most colorful countries I have ever visited as we also found amazing colorful architecture in Bogota, Salento and Medellin.

Valparaiso – Chile

Valparaiso is not only known for its beautiful colorful houses, but also for the creative street art scene. To me it doesn’t get better than colorful houses with street art, so I felt super lucky to be able to visit Valparaiso.

Charleston – United States

Charleston is one of the hidden gems on this list… Charleston features the iconic Rainbow Row and many other pastel colored houses. The combination of a rich history, Southern hospitality and the most clean colorful city center I have ever seen makes that it deserves a spot on this list.

Havana – Cuba

Havana definitely is one of the most colorful destinations in the world. The photography light in Havana is absolutely amazing, sometimes the sky is just as pastel-colored as the houses.

Notting Hill in London – GB

London proves that you can find colorful houses in every city, if you just keep looking. I particularly loved the streets near Portobello market in Notting Hill for its bohemian inspiration and pastel-colored houses.

Merida – Mexico

Merida is one of the most underrated cities in Mexico to visit. When you wander just a little bit away from the main square, you can hardly call this city touristy anymore… and you will find the best colorful houses, which you will have all to yourself.

Positano – Italy

Positano is one of the dreamiest towns in Italy and perfect for taking pictures with colorful houses. There are not a lot of lodging options in the town itself, so when you manage to stay in the town early in the season, you don’t have to get up early to take some good shots with these beautiful houses (you can see how empty the beach is during sunset).

Bo Kaap, Cape Town – South Africa

We visited stunning Bo Kaap during a cycling tour of Cape Town and it definitely was one of the highlights of our stay in Cape Town. This neighborhood becomes a little more unsafe during the night, but who wants to visit a colorful neighborhood in the evening anyway?

Füssen – Germany

Germany is a kind of a tropical surprise on this list, you may not expect it but Germany is actually super colorful. I manage to find colorful houses on each visit of a German city. Füssen is one of the best locations to spot colorful houses in Germany, as it has a lovely square full of colorful houses, as well as colorful houses lining a river that flows from the Alps.

Villajoyosa – Spain

A lesser known city in Spain and I don’t know why.. as this little beach town is filled with colorful houses, cute alleyways and palm trees. I visited Villajoyosa in November, when it was a super sunny day and there were hardly any people on the streets. Apparently the beach is quite lovely during summertime.

Menton – France

Menton, thé hidden gem of the French Riviera. It is possible to find an affordable beach chair in the middle of the French Riviera, if you go to Menton! The views of the town are absolutely amazing from the beach. I would recommend to visit the poor man’s Positano before Menton becomes an Instagram darling.

Burano – Italy

Of course Burano is not to be missed on this list. We visited Burano as a daytrip from Venice and were surprised that it was relatively quiet in the middle of July. The small canals definitely add a lot of charm to this cute little town.

Granada – Nicaragua

Granada in Nicaragua is a good city to visit if you love colonial architecture just as much as I do. Besides colorful houses, you also have the opportunity to visit colorful churches. As Nicaragua can have unstable politics, Granada is still relatively undiscovered, given you a lot of good photo opportunities.

Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

The last stop on our three month travels: Rio de Janeiro. When you are looking for colorful houses I would recommend to visit Lapa and Santa Teresa, as these neighborhoods features some of the most colorful architecture of the city. The combination with the lush jungle trees in the city makes this a unique destination.

Buenos Aires – Argentina

Buenos Aires was one of my favorite cities during our travels, not in the least because of the colorful neighborhoods La Boca and San Telmo. I loved the bohemian spirit where colorful houses formed the backdrop of tango dancers.

Cinque Terre & Portofino – Italy

Cinque Terre is probably the most overcrowded location on this list, but it seemed a bit petty to not include it. If you want a relaxed and quiet view, make sure you are at restaurant Nessa Dorma when it opens to secure the best spot with the best view of colorful Manarola. Surprisingly, nearby Portofino, which is equally colorful, is not overrun with tourists, and its visitors are much better dressed.

Copenhagen – Denmark

Copenhagen can be a bit of a grey city, but luckily you can visit Nyhavn, where you can see colorful houses located in an old-school harbor. As Nyhavn is a harbor, it is really easy to take cool pictures with the houses, with the water and the boats behind you. Even though I preferred the vibes of Arhus to Copenhagen, you should definitely bring a visit to Nyhavn.

Colmar & Alsace – France

In 2019 I finally visited the beautiful Alsace region. This region is famous for its half-timbered colorful houses and its wine. Seems like the perfect combination to me! Besides Colmar, there are many colorful villages you can visit such as dreamy Equisheim and Kaysersberg.

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