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IN PICS: The most colourful places in the world
Tripadvisor.in lists out the ten most vibrantly colourful places. Have you been to any of these?
Take a break from your humdrum existence and plan an escape to these picture-perfect destinations. Add a dash of colour to your life with these brightly coloured places shortlisted by Tripadvisor.
Isola di Burano
Venice, Italy
Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon of northern Italy that is best known for its lacework and brightly coloured homes. The best way to get around Burano is by foot and and soak in the beauty and take pictures of the houses on the island where every color of the rainbow is represented.
You could also visit the tiny lace museum, enjoy a good lunch or a drink and buy lace from local artists. Burano is in many ways a good escape from busy islands such as Venice.
Keukenhof
Keukenhof
Lisse, The Netherlands
Keukenhof (also known as the Garden of Europe) is one of the most popular destinations in the Netherlands and the largest flower garden in the world. With over seven million flower bulbs planted each year in the park, Keukenhof covers an area of over 32 hectares and is open between mid-March and mid-May.
The best time to view tulips however is around mid-April, though it is a common misconception that there are long fields of the flower in the garden.
Established in 1949 the idea was to exhibit a wide range of flowers grown in the Netherlands and Europe in one place. Head to Keukenhof with a camera with a lot of memory; you'll be kicking yourself if you don't.
Nyhavn
Nyhavn
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen's Nyhaven, or 'New Harbor', is actually steeped in a long heritage. Colourful buildings line the canal and hint at a history of small-vessel traffic. Like many ports, this strip has a salty history, rich with sailors, drinking and literary exploits. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen made his home in Nyhavn as well. Now cleaned up, Nyhaven is a lovely place for a stroll.
Marrakech Souk
Marrakech Souk
Marrakech, Morocco
What is Marrakech without its souks? The open-air marketplaces, possibly most closely associated with the Moroccan city, featuring seemingly endless number of stalls and a web of connected alleyways are a riot of colours. As in the case of street shopping anywhere in the world, bargaining forms an important part of the souks. Head into these colourful souks and you'll never emerge empty-handed.
Guell Park
Guell Park
Barcelona, Spain
Count Eusebi Guell was a prominent industrialist in Barcelona who was inspired to build a garden city with 60 houses on a hill called Montana Pelada (Bare Mountain). The park was designed by prominent architect, Antoni Gaudi, and built between 1900 and 1914. The venture was not successful and only two houses were built.
Count Guell convinced Gaudi to buy one of them. This house, designed by Ramon Berenguer, is now the Casa-Museu Gaudi, which contains furniture designed by Gaudi and other personal effects of the architect. The city of Barcelona has owned the park since 1923.
At the entrance to the park, you will find the main staircase with a dragon fountain made of broken bits of glazed ceramic tile (trencadis). This leads to the Salon of the Hundred Columns, which was supposed to be a market place.
The columns really number only 84 and are Doric in form. The ceiling of the Salon has tiled mosaics with designs on the ceiling. On top of the salon is a public square with a very large undulating bench in the form of a sea serpent that has backrests adorned with the broken bits of glazed tile. The bench was made by the architect Josep Maria Jujol.
At the top of the park is the Closed Chapel, which has a large cross on top of it. This place has very good views of the city. The park was declared a Patrimony of Mankind by the UNESCO in 1984.
To some, the highlight of Parc Guell is not the architecture of Gaudi, but the views of the city. It is definitely a nice walk and worth the effort to visit.
Shibuya
Shibuya
Tokyo, Japan
Even though Shibuya is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, it is the shopping and eating district around the busy railway stations that figures in this list.
Best known for its nightlife, the Shibuya district is also one of the hippest parts of Tokyo and the place to be if you're a young Tokyoite.
Shibuya is also a spectacle in it that it possibly has one of the largest collections of stupendously huge display screens in the world.
Yet, the most stunning spectacle in Shibuya is watching the hundreds of pedestrians spilling on to the road simultaneously as the traffic lights turn red at the Shibuya Crossing.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas
Nevada, United States
Best known for The Strip, which houses the famous topless bars, tattoo parlours and wedding chapels, Las Vegas is colourful in ways more than one. Often called the Entertainment Capital of the World, the city is home to some of the largest casino complexes and hotel chains in the world and has been the setting of several blockbuster movies -- from the Ocean's 11 series to Hangover and more.
Punda
Punda
Willemstad, Curacao, Caribbean
The lively capital of Curacao is a welcoming, upbeat destination with two distinct historic districts divided by the lovely St Anna Bay.
Otrobanda, or 'The Other Side', is a maze of twisting residential streets, contrasting with the organised grid across the bay.
Willemstad's colourful colonial architecture has won it a UNESCO Heritage site designation. Diving and swimming with dolphins are popular activities in the bay.
Pelourinho
Pelourinho
Salvador, Brazil
Pelourinho is the Colonial historic district of Salvador, a UNESCO World Heritage site, located in the Cidade Alto.
There are several historic churches, many restaurants, bars and souvenir shops, a number of museums, and venues for music and theatre. One of the best times to party with the locals is at the Tuesday night bencao.
Portmeirion Village
Portmeirion Village
Portmeirion, Wales
Constructed by the architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales believed to be designed on the town of Portofino, Italy, a claim the architect denied through his lifetime.
Portmeirion shot to fame after being the setting for the '60s cult TV series The Prisoner.
Today a charitable trust runs the functioning of this tourist attraction with day guests being charged for their visits. You can also stay here in the many cottages that have been converted into hotels.