25 World´s Most Colorful Cities To Brighten Up Your Day

It has been scientifically proven that colors have a huge influence on our mood and the way we feel. Vibrant colors are stimulators, capable of things such as increasing your heart rate. The red color is a good example – the origin of its stimulating properties goes back to the caveman period when this color was linked with fire, danger and alarm. As being surrounded by vibrant pastel colors can positively influence our psyche and mood, many people paint their walls, ceilings and furniture with these colors. But the colorful mania does not have to stop here. In fact, some streets, neighborhoods and even entire cities have been painted with bright colors to cheer up their residents. Unsurprisingly, many of these cities can be found in northern countries where the sky is often grey and the lack of sunshine might make local people feel depressed. Yet, some of the world´s most colorful cities are also located in regions famous for their year-round warm and sunny climate such the Caribbean, South America and the Mediterranean. If you are one of those who love bright and vibrant colors all around them, you will probably want to move to one of these 25 World´s Most Colorful Cities. Even if you don’t, these will definitely brighten your day.

Wroclaw, Poland

Home to about 635,000 people, Wroclaw is the fourth largest city in Poland and the historical capital of region known as Silesia. A major cultural and financial centre of Western Poland, Wroclaw is also famous for a number of historical sites and stunning architecture.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Host of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is renowned for its iconic tourist attractions like the Rio carnival, the Redeemer statue and the Copacabana Beach but this Brazilian metropolis also boasts some amazingly colorful neighborhoods.

Stockholm, Sweden

The capital of Sweden and the most populous city in the Nordic countries, Stockholm has beautiful architecture marked by vibrant colors. Local metro (well known for its station decor) has even been called the longest art gallery in the world.

Cinque Terre, Italy

Located in Northern Italy, Cinque Terre is technically not a city but rather a part of the popular Italian Riviera. It consists of five villages where people have carefully built their colorful houses on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea.

Barcelona, Spain

The proud capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, Barcelona is brimming with unique colorful architectonical jewels designed by Antoni Gaudí, one of the greatest architects of the 20^th century.

Lima, Peru

The capital and the largest city of Peru, Lima is characterized by a mix of architectural styles ranging from monumental Spanish Baroque buildings and modern glass skyscrapers to picturesque colorful houses built on hills.

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Located on a small island which lies along the north coast, about 35 miles (56 km) of mainland Puerto Rico, Old San Juan is the oldest settlement within the country. The town is a marvelous mosaic of bright pastel colors in all directions.

Jodhpur, India

What looks like an elaborated imitation of the Smurf village is the actual city of Jodhpur, a major city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. With bright blue houses all around, it is understandable why Jodhpur topped Lonely Planet’s list of most extraordinary places to stay in 2013.

Reykjavik, Iceland

At latitude of 64°08′ N, Reykjavik is the world’s northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With an annual sunshine of just 1,300 hours, Reykjavik compensates its cold and grayish weather with joyfully colored houses that can be found in many parts of the city.

Valparaiso, Chile

Home to almost 300,000 people, Valparaiso mushroomed during the second half of the 19^thcentury when it was known as “Little San Francisco” and “The Jewel of the Pacific”. Famous for its colorful houses scattered around the city, it also boasts impressive street art works.

Willemstad, Curacao

The capital of Curacao, an island in the southern Caribbean, Willemstad has an array of colonial architecture influenced by Dutch styles. The city centre, with its unique colorful architecture and harbor entry, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

St. John´s, Canada

The capital and the largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, St. John´s is famous for its unique architecture, particularly for its brightly colored low rise heritage buildings, housing tourist shops, clothing boutiques, and restaurants.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, also boasts some strikingly colorful neighborhoods. The most famous of them is La Boca which retains a strong European flavor, with many of its early settlers being from the Italian city of Genoa.

Cartagena, Colombia

With a population of almost 900,000 Cartagena is the fifth largest city in Colombia. Located on the Caribbean coast, the city has a varied architecture but colonial styles marked by vividly colored row houses prevail.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Nyhavn, a historic waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, boasts of the most vibrant houses in Copenhagen. The port is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses, cafes and restaurants and it also harbors historical wooden ships.

Guanajuato City, Mexico

Guanajuato is a city and municipality in central Mexico and the capital of the state of the same name. The historic center has numerous small plazas and colonial-era mansions, civil constructions and churches made from colorful (mainly pink and green) sandstone.

Istanbul, Turkey

Located on the European side of Istanbul, the traditional Jewish neighborhood known as Balat is the most colorful part of the Turkey´s largest city. Lying on the western bank of the Golden Horn, the neighborhood is famous for strikingly colorful row houses.

Venice, Italy

Sited on a group of 117 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges, Venice is generally considered one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. The city is known for the beauty of its settings, unique colorful architecture and artwork.

Havana, Cuba

The largest city of both Cuba and the Caribbean, Havana boasts some of the most diverse styles of architecture in the world, from castles built in the late 16th century to modernist present-day high-rises. Many buildings share a similarity though – they are incredibly colorful.

Lisbon, Portugal

One of the oldest cities in the world, Lisbon has unusually varied architecture with a number of different styles to be observed within this city but it is the colorful houses topped with the iconic red roofs what makes Lisbon so easy to recognize.

Bergen, Norway

The second largest city in Norway, Bergen is one of the cities with the lowest annual amount of sunshine on the list. Nevertheless, its pastel-colored neighborhood known as Bryggen makes up for the lack of sunshine with its incredible happy array of colors.

Menton, France

Situated on the renowned French Riviera, Menton is a French commune and a popular tourist area. Nicknamed “la perle de la France” (“The Pearl of France”), it is famous for beautiful beaches, large botanic gardens and picturesque colored architecture.

Nuuk, Greenland

In Nuuk, the capital and largest city in Greenland, people cheer themselves up by building strikingly colorful wooden houses. Located at latitude of 64°10′ N, Nuuk is the world’s northernmost capital (yet Greenland is politically part of the Danish Realm).

Sighisoara, Romania

Located in the historic region of Transylvania (home of Vlad the Impaler), Sighisoara is a small Romanian town renowned for its traditional civil architecture. Most of its 164 houses are at least 300 years old and are considered historical monuments.

San Francisco, USA

San Francisco is known for an eclectic mix of architectural styles including “Painted ladies”, a term used for Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colors that embellish or enhance their architectural details.

Article published on http://list25.com/