10 most colourful cities in the world worth exploring
Discover the world’s most colourful destinations—from Italy’s Burano to Colombia’s Guatapé. A new study ranks the top 10 vibrant travel spots by colour and cultural depth.
While many travellers chase monuments, coastlines, and cuisine, others are drawn to places that offer a more immediate, sensory reward: colour. Vivid facades, saturated alleyways, and boldly painted homes speak not just of visual delight, but of layered histories and cultural expression. A recent chromatic analysis by the creative studio Berlew has quantified 125 global destinations to determine which stand apart for their sheer colour intensity. The findings are a kaleidoscopic guide to the ten most colourful places on Earth ranked—each telling a story in pigments rather than prose. (Image: Canva)
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1. Burano, Italy: Venice’s Painted Enclave Tucked into the Venetian Lagoon, Burano’s primary charm lies in its canal-side dwellings, each brushed in brilliant, unmuddied tones. Folklore suggests that local fishermen once painted their homes vivid colours to pierce the Adriatic fog—an act now formalised by municipal oversight. No resident may repaint without first receiving government-issued colour approval, preserving the island’s uninterrupted chromatic harmony. (Image: Canva)
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2. Chefchaouen, Morocco: A Meditative Hue of Blue Nestled amid the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen’s saturated blue palette is no accident of aesthetics. Introduced by Jewish refugees in the 1930s, the practice of washing buildings in shades of azure was both spiritual and symbolic. Today, the tradition endures, transforming the town into a dreamscape of tranquil, layered indigo. (Image: Canva)
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3. Guatapé, Colombia: A Visual Narrative in Bas-Relief Guatapé, a lakeside town east of Medellín, is famed for its zócalos—colourful decorative panels that run along the lower walls of each building. These bas-reliefs are not merely ornamental; they illustrate trades, legends, and family histories, making the town a living canvas of communal memory. Its vibrant facades are a counterpoint to the towering El Peñol monolith nearby. (Image: Canva)
4. Willemstad, Curaçao: Dutch Colonial Architecture, Caribbean Palette Once monochrome white, the capital of Curaçao saw its hues shift in the 1800s after a local governor blamed the stark paint for persistent migraines. His decree led to the pastel riot seen today, particularly along the UNESCO-listed Handelskade waterfront. Ochres, corals, and ceruleans now reflect across the harbour in a daily symphony of colour and light. (Image: Canva)
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5. Havana, Cuba: Time-Faded Pastels and Resilient Charm Havana’s chromatic identity is less about precision and more about patina. Faded teals, chipped yellows, and dusty pinks dominate its colonial architecture. These hues are intensified by age, humidity, and nostalgia. Classic 1950s cars, themselves relics of another era, roll through streets that seem bathed in sepia-toned memory. (Image: Canva)
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6. Cinque Terre, Italy: Clifftop Chromatics The five seaside villages of Cinque Terre cascade down cliffs above the Ligurian Sea in bands of coral, ochre, and rose. Historically painted to help fishermen identify their homes from the water, the hues now serve a more photogenic purpose. Each town—Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore—retains its own palette and personality. (Image: Canva)
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7. La Boca, Buenos Aires: Colour with a Working-Class Pulse Born from shipyard scraps and immigrant ingenuity, La Boca’s cobbled Caminito street is a concentrated burst of colour and cultural pride. Tin houses are painted in patchworks of crimson, cobalt, and sunflower yellow—an accidental tradition that now defines the barrio. The presence of tango dancers and muralists adds to the immersive theatricality of the space. (Image: Canva)
8. Jodhpur, India: The Blue City of Rajasthan From the ramparts of Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur’s old quarter stretches out in a sea of powder blue. Once a marker of Brahmin caste, the colour is now democratically applied, said to cool the homes and repel insects. The result is a remarkable, near-monochrome cityscape that shimmers in the desert sun and deepens in twilight. (Image: Canva)
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9. Old San Juan, Puerto Rico: Tropical Colonialism Old San Juan’s architectural lineage is Spanish colonial, but its colour story is distinctly Caribbean. Facades are painted in apricot, aquamarine, and banana yellow, with wrought-iron balconies framing flower-filled windows. Cobblestone streets and lively plazas complete the picture, where historical gravitas meets tropical levity. (Image: Canva)
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10. Balat, Istanbul: Layered Colour in a City of Contrasts Balat’s revival over recent decades has brought renewed attention to its once-neglected streets. Once home to Jewish, Greek, and Armenian populations, the neighbourhood is now awash in bold, mismatched colours—turquoise, tangerine, mint—flanked by cafes, galleries, and local bakeries. Its unmanicured charm stands in contrast to the grandeur of Sultanahmet, offering an authentic vignette of Istanbul in flux. (Image: Canva)
Priyanka Roshan With over eight years in multimedia journalism, is passionate about storytelling—both visual and textual—across travel, jobs, business, markets, politics, and daily news. From crafting engaging articles to producing compelling videos, she blends creativity with strategy to bring stories to life. With a strong foundation in SEO, and video production she ensures content not only informs but also resonates with audiences.
