Big cities may get most of the buzz when it comes to travel, thanks to their restaurants, shopping and entertainment, but “Travel and Leisure” is celebrating some less-visited destinations. Their list of America’s Best Small Towns has just come out, highlighting the locations for their natural beauty and specific interests.
- “Travel and Leisure” polled their colleagues, contributors, trusted travel advisors and others in their network of experts to come up with the nominations.
- From there, travel editors chose the winners in seven different categories.
- To qualify, each town has to have a full-time population of less than 25-thousand residents, and stand out in its category.
The winners are:
(Check out the full list with runners-up here)
- America's Best Small Beach Town - Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, Florida
- America's Best Small Mountain Town - Highlands, North Carolina
- America's Best Small Lake Town - Grand Marais, Minnesota
- America's Best Small Desert Town - Kanab, Utah
- America's Best Small Food + Culture Town - Los Olivos, California
- America's Best Small Wine, Beer, + Spirits Town - Dahlonega, Georgia
- America's Best Small Spa + Wellness Town - Aurora, New York
Source: Travel and Leisure