The World’s 25 Most Colorful Cities That Will Make Your Day

It’s been scientifically proven that colors have quite an effect on a person’s mood. Vibrant colors can instantly make a person cheerful and happy, while darker colors can make him somber. Since vibrant colors have a more positive effect on a person’s psyche, people tend to surround themselves with colorful pastels and cheerful colors.

This is why there have been a lot of places around the world that have chosen to make their cities more colorful by painting the whole town in bright, vibrant colors. If you like to always be in a happy mood, you might want to consider moving to any of these 25 colorful cities:

25. Wroclaw, Poland

The fourth largest city in Poland and is famous for historical sites and beautiful architecture.

24. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Known for the Rio carnival and the Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro is host to this year’s Olympics. It is also home to a lot of colorful neighborhoods, too.

23. Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm’s beautiful architecture is made even more magnificent with its vibrant colors. The local metro is known to be the longest art gallery in the world.

22. Cinque Terre, Italy

Cinque Terre is part of the Italian Riviera and isn’t exactly a city. It consists of five villages of colorful houses that are built on a steep landscape of cliffs.

21. Barcelona, Spain

The capital of Catalonia, Barcelona is best known for its colorful architectonical jewels that have been designed by one the greatest architects of the 2th century, Antoni Gaudi.

20. Lima, Peru

The largest city of Peru is characterized by its mix of architectural styles ranging from Spanish baroque to modern skyscrapers, all colorful and vibrant.

19. Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Old San Juan is the oldest settlement of Puerto Rico. One will be amazed at the colorful mosaic of cheerful and bright pastel colors at every street.

18. Jodhpur, India

An aerial view of Jodhpur would make you think it’s the Smurf village. The bright blue houses was one of the reasons this city topped Lonely Planet’s most extraordinary places in 2013.

17. Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik compensates for its annual 1,300 hours of sunshine with colorful houses in most parts of the city.

16. Valparaiso, Chile

Also known as “Little San Francisco” or “The Jewel of the Pacific”, Valparaiso is famous for its cheerfully colored houses and amazing street art.

15. Willemstad, Curacao

Willemstad’s architecture is greatly influenced by Dutch architecture. Its city centre is unique because of its colorful buildings and harbor entry, and it is also now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

14. St. John’s, Canada

The largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John is famous for its colorful low rise heritage buildings, restaurants, botiques and tourist shops.

13. Buenos Aires, Argentina

One of Buenos Aires’ most famous neighborhood villages is La Boca, because of its distinct, European, colorful atmosphere.

12. Cartagena, Colombia

The fifth largest city in Colombia is marked by a mix of architecture and beautifully colored row houses.

11. Copenhagen, Denmark

The most brightly colored houses in Copenhagen can be found in Nyhavn. Its ports are neatly lined with vibrant colors of cafes and restaurants.

10. Guanajuato, Mexico

This historic center is home to colonial-era mansions and churches made of pink and green sandstone.

9. Istanbul, Turkey

The most colorful portion of Turkey is also its largest city, Istanbul. Its row of colorful houses is very chic and famous around the country.

8. Venice, Italy

Venice is not only known for its canals, but also for its picturesque and colorful architecture and street artwork.

7. Havana, Cuba

The diversity in architectural styles in Cuba makes the city very interesting. 16th century castles to modern day high rise buildings share the same colorful atmosphere.

6. Lisbon, Portugal

6. Lisbon, Portugal

You know you’re in Lisbon when you see rows of houses topped with red roofs.

5. Bergen, Norway

Bergen is one of the cities in the world that has the lowest amount of sunshine. Pastel-colored buildings make up for the lack of sunshine, though.

4. Menton, France

A popular tourist area, Menton is also known as “la perle de la France”. It is home to large botanical gardens, beautiful beaches and very colorful architecture.

3. Nuuk, Greenland

People love to construct strikingly, vibrant colored houses in Nuuk. It is coincidentally the largest city of Greenland.

2. Sighisoara, Romania

Home to Vlad the Impaler (aka Dracula), Sighisoara is a small town in Romania that is famous for traditional civil architecture. 164 of the 300 lively and cheerful houses are at least 300 years old.

1. San Francisco, USA

Known for eclectic architecture, San Francisco is home to “Painted Ladies”, a Victorian term for homes and buildings that are painted in at least three or more colors. This actually enhances the architectural details of the houses and buildings.