It’s funny how places located halfway across the world from each other can feel so alike. Thanks to a long history of immigration, there are many places in the United States that feel like they were airlifted right out of Europe. From small towns with cobblestone streets to a tiny place in Iowa with its own tulip festival, here are 15 destinations across the USA where you can go for a little European flair.
1. Pella, Iowa
If you love: The tulip fields of Holland
Where to stay: Royal Amsterdam Hotel
It may seem like a random place for one of the country’s largest tulip festivals, but Pella, Iowa, is full of surprises. From Dutch bakeries selling windmill cookies to a giant pair of clogs you can take photos in, Pella makes visitors feel like they’ve been transported to the Netherlands. The town’s annual Tulip Time festival takes place every year during the first weekend of May. Even if you don’t come to the town then, there are still plenty of Dutch-themed things to do: visiting the historical village, the Vermeer Windmill, the Scholte House Museum, and the Pella Opera House. And when you’re ready to head back to modern times, Des Moines is less than an hour away.
Expect a high-spirited party any day in New Orleans’s French Quarter.
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2. New Orleans, Louisiana
If you love: The romantic architecture of France
Where to stay: The Henry Howard Hotel
While the French Quarter’s energy is certainly very different from that of cities like Paris, the architecture is reminiscent of buildings in France. Find a quiet moment in front of one of New Orleans’s most distinctive buildings—the Old Ursuline Convent Museum, the last intact example of colonial French architecture in the Big Easy—and dig into the city’s rich Creole cuisine (po’boys, anyone?). And there’s always Mardi Gras (a raucous celebration with deep French roots) if you really want to party.
The Castillo de San Marcos is among the oldest forts in the continental United States.
Photo by Gianfranco Vivi/Shutterstock
3. St. Augustine, Florida
If you love: Málaga, Spain
Where to stay: St. Francis Inn
St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the United States, was founded by the Spanish in 1565. Old World Spanish influence can be felt all over the city’s historic district, from its cafés to sites like the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, which the Spanish built to protect its regional trade routes in 1695. Aviles Street, also located in St. Augustine’s Old Town, is home to the city’s art district and is considered the oldest street in the country. As for where to stay, the St. Francis Inn dates back to 1791, and its rooms and suites have a Spain–meets–Key West vibe: Think stucco walls, bright shutters, wood floors, and antique beds.
The freshest seafood and frothy pints beckon on Cape Cod.
Photo by Gregg Squeglia/Shutterstock
4. Cape Cod, Massachusetts
If you love: The artsy and craft-centric coastal region of Cornwall, England
Where to stay: Chatham Bars Inn
Miles of gorgeous Atlantic coastline, sweeping sand dunes, delicious seafood, and a thriving arts and crafts community: Cape Cod could easily pass for Cornwall, as long as you’re OK swapping Cornish pasties for clambakes. Wake up to ocean views at the historic 1914 Chatham Bars Inn and enjoy its private quarter-mile-long beach. Head into town for a little history lesson at Atwood House & Museum, in a 1750s home (open seasonally), harvest your own oysters with Chatham Shellfish Company, and cap off the day with a pint and pub grub at Hog Island Beer Co.
You’ll find neat rows of wine grapes planted across vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia.
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5. Virginia Wine Country
If you love: Off-the-radar Italian villages and rustic vineyards
Where to stay: The Goodstone Inn & Restaurant
The architecture may be more colonial than Tuscan, but Virginia’s wine country exudes the same rural appeal as the Italian countryside. About an hour’s drive west of Washington, D.C., Middleburg’s Goodstone Inn & Restaurant beckons with secluded stays in suites and cottages. Nearby wineries with tastings include Greenhill Vineyards, Boxwood Winery, and Stone Tower Winery.
Just like Provence, Sonoma has fragrant lavender fields and plenty of wineries to visit.
Photo by Kent Sorensen/Shutterstock
6. Sonoma County, California
If you love: The lavender fields and rolling vineyards of Provence, France
Where to stay: Farmhouse Inn
You may be familiar with the wineries and dramatic coastline of California’s Sonoma County, but it’s also home to lavender farms that bloom each summer, like Monte-Bellaria di California (near Sebastopol) and Matanzas Creek Winery (in Santa Rosa). You’ll have a hard time convincing yourself you aren’t in the French Riviera. After a day outdoors in the fragrant fields, check into Forestville’s Farmhouse Inn. With only 25 rooms with private patios set among flowering gardens and a Michelin-approved restaurant with a dozen-odd tables, this charming resort is delightfully intimate.
You may need a thick sweater and knit cap for a walk to Grand Marais lighthouse.
Photo by Jessica Brouillette/Shutterstock
7. Grand Marais, Minnesota
If you love: Moody lakeside villages in Sweden
Where to stay: Mayhew Inn
Sweden is full of remote lakeside villages, the type of place where a writer might rent a cabin to finish her novel in peace. You’ll find a similar ambience in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Swap the cabin for full-service accommodations at the intimate Mayhew Inn. With just six artist-designed suites inside the brick building from the 1900s, the hotel has the feel of an Airbnb (unsurprisingly, its rooms are listed there, too). But your stay also comes with a few welcome amenities: free room cleaning, toiletries, and some of its custom coffee. For views of boats bobbing in the Lake Superior harbor, head up to the roof deck. Lean into Nordic life with a warm-up inside floating sauna Sisu + Löyly.
A hike beneath Aspen’s soaring Maroon Bells will have you feeling like you’re in the Alps.
Photo by Tassanee Riebpadith/Shutterstock
8. Aspen, Colorado
If you love: Fresh mountain air and hiking in the Swiss Alps
Where to stay: The Little Nell
No matter the season, Colorado’s soaring peaks are a top stand-in for the Swiss Alps. Come in winter to ski more than 3,500 acres of terrain; in warmer weather, hike to the Maroon Bells, two peaks standing over 14,000 feet. Book a room at the Little Nell, at the base of Aspen Mountain, steps from the Silver Queen Gondola. Go all in on the elevated alpine experience with a private fondue dinner from Petit Mont-Blanc.
At the very tip of Long Island, New York, is the popular surfing town of Montauk.
Photo by alwayssunnyalwaysreal/Shutterstock
9. Montauk, New York
If you love: Denmark’s blustery beaches and surfing towns
Where to stay: Marram
To feel like you’re catching waves in Danish surf spot Klitmøller—aka “Cold Hawai‘i”—without the flight, head to Montauk. It’s roughly three hours by car or train from Manhattan. Bed down at Marram, a 96-room boutique hotel on the water south of Shadmoor State Park. Tackle the waves with world-class surfers via the hotel’s on-site Engstrom Surf school, or opt for something more low-key, like a morning meditation or self-guided nature walk.
Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island is where ferries coming from mainland California dock.
Photo by Tomas del amo/Shutterstock
10. Catalina Island, California
If you love: The sunny beaches and sea breezes of the Greek Islands
Where to stay: Hotel Atwater
Matching Greece’s Mediterranean climate, Catalina Island is a short ferry ride from Newport Beach, Dana Point, Long Beach, or San Pedro. Hotel Atwater was opened in 1920 by William Wrigley Jr. (of chewing gum fame) in honor of his son’s wife, Helen Atwater Wrigley; it’s a block from the beach, where the hotel has its own cabanas and restaurant. For those looking for luxury, the six-room Mt. Ada used to be the private island home of Wrigley Jr. and his wife Ada.
Beyond Vail’s top-shelf skiing, the town is home to a handful of Bavarian-style buildings housing restaurants and hotels.
Photo by Ann Lillie/Shutterstock
11. Vail, Colorado
If you love: The fairy-tale castles and mountain peaks of Germany’s Allgäu region
Where to stay: Sonnenalp Vail
Germany’s Allgäu in southern Bavaria is best known for Neuschwanstein, which is said to be the inspiration behind the castles in both Disney’s Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty movies. But instead of booking it to a theme park, head to the scenic mountain village of Vail. The chalet-style Sonnenalp Vail is owned and operated by the same family as the Sonnenalp in Germany. You won’t find a castle here, but you will be treated like a princess—a Bavarian princess—with access to warming fondue. Visit during Christmas when the town really feels like a picture-perfect European village, decorated with lights and a layer of snow. Oktoberfest is also a fine time for some fun.
12. Calistoga, California
If you love: The Czech spa town Karlovy Vary
Where to stay: Calistoga Motor Lodge
The Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary may be a favorite for its thermal baths, but Calistoga, California, has equally impressive hot springs, plus mud baths, wineries, and restaurants like James Beard- and Michelin-recognized Solbar. Base your stay at the chic Calistoga Motor Lodge, a reimagined motel with three on-site mineral pools. After a day spent winetasting or biking around town, the lodge’s MoonAcre Spa is the perfect place to unwind. Indulge in traditional treatments like massages and body scrubs or try something more unusual, like a locally inspired mud bath or a salt soak in a claw-foot tub.
Portage Glacier can be reached from Anchorage in roughly an hour and a half.
Photo by Arlene Waller/Shutterstock
13. Near Anchorage, Alaska
If you love: The dramatic glaciers of Norway
Where to stay: Alyeska Resort
The ten-story-high Portage Glacier is 50 miles south of Anchorage and just 10 miles south of the Alyeska Highway/Girdwood junction and is simply stunning.
Book in at the château-style Alyeska Resort, which has 301 rooms. Surrounded by majestic snowcapped peaks and creaking spruce trees, the hotel has the feel of an off-the-grid oasis without sacrificing any amenities. Among them? A 60-passenger scenic tram that climbs 2,300 feet in elevation to the top of Mount Alyeska.
Tordrillo, a luxury lodge in the Tordrillo Range, requires a floatplane flight from Anchorage to reach, but once you’re there, activities—including climbing Alaska’s first via ferrata course and skiing in the morning and salmon fishing at night—abound.
Go hiking, biking, and horseback riding in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Photo by Margaret.Wiktor/Shutterstock
14. Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
If you love: Germany’s Black Forest
Where to stay: Blackberry Mountain
Situated over 5,200 acres across eight miles of the Great Smoky Mountains’ protected ridgetop, Blackberry Mountain—sister property to wine-and-dining destination Blackberry Farm—pitches itself as “your own private national park.” With three on-site restaurants, a spa, fitness classes, and seemingly endless hikes, we’ll take it. It’s the perfect home base from which to explore the mountain range, which straddles the Tennessee–South Carolina border and is known for its natural beauty and biodiversity.
Leavenworth’s small downtown is filled with Bavarian-style buildings and hosts a buzzing Oktoberfest each year.
Photo by Oleg Mayorov/Shutterstock
15. Leavenworth, Washington
If you love: German vibes in the heart of the Pacific Northwest
Where to stay: Posthotel Leavenworth
In 1960, Leavenworth’s town leaders, in a bid to attract tourists, completely reinvented the town and reimagined it as a Bavarian village, inspired by its location in the Cascade Mountains (which they felt was reminiscent of the Alps). Today, Leavenworth is home to one of the most well-known and popular Oktoberfests in the United States. And if you haven’t had your fill of German culture after drinking a lager or two, consider a visit to the Nutcracker Museum and Gingerbread Factory afterward.
This article was originally published in 2020 and most recently updated on December 10, 2024, with current information. Lyndsey Matthews and Natalie Beauregard contributed to the reporting of this story.
