Best Fairytale towns in Europe
I visited The Best Fairytale Towns in Europe in the summer of 2023 and basically based my entire itinerary around these stunning places. As an Aussie girl, you don’t see these landscapes (the sheer size of mountains & huge blue lakes) or historical buildings (we’re a very young country) back home so I was very impressed and living my best life!
These places are beautiful for so many reasons and I guess you could say they’re even better in real life and the pictures just don’t do them justice! So if you’re obsessed with fairytale-like towns and appreciating architecture and magical atmospheres, then these will be perfect spots to add to your itinerary.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
This is probably my favourite town in the whole of Europe. It’s colourful, fairytale-like and makes you feel like you’re in a movie (‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ is what I immediately think of). I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face… I was literally skipping through the streets full of excitement.
I booked a tour with Get Your Guide from Munich and had 3 hours to explore this beautiful and colourful town. While it can get super busy during the middle of the day, specifically in the main squares, I managed to find plenty of beautiful corners and streets that were much quieter than the others. I stumbled across some of the best photo spots to be the Castle Gate, Das Plönlein, Tower Trail, Marketplaz, St John’s Church, Stadtmauer Rothenburg and Gerlachschmiede.
Make sure you walk along the town walls, try a Schneeball pastry (this place is famous for them) and get lost exploring all the pretty streets of this incredible town.
Have a look at my Instagram Reel to get a better picture of my experience here



Hallstatt, Austria
It wouldn’t be a trip to Austria without visiting this magical lakeside village. It can get pretty busy here but it is 100% worth it if fairytale villages, mountains and lakes are your thing… I visited here a second time just to get a sunny day here!
On my two occasions I booked a tour with Get Your Guide from Salzburg and had 2.5 hours to explore this beautiful town.
Here’s what you can do while here:
- Walk along the main street lined with pretty flower balcony houses
- Spot swans swimming by the waters edge
- Snap a pic of the Waldbachstrub waterfall in town
- Take the funicular up to the Sky Walk for World Heritage Listed views
- Rent a boat and take in the views of Hallstatt from the water
- Explore the world’s oldest salt mine!
Check out my Instagram Reel to get a better picture of my experience here



Lake Bled, Slovenia
I took a day trip to Lake Bled from Ljubljana via train and it was nothing but incredible and only a short distance from the station too (Lesce-Bled or Bled Jezero). We took the train to Lesce-Bled , stocked up on some food from the Bakery Evropa Lesce and took a 5 minute bus ride to the lake (you’ll find the bus stop on the other side of the road, opposite the station).
I honestly wish I could have stayed longer, this place was incredible and I would have loved to have done some more hikes and swims, let’s just say it was a very busy day and we did a tonne of walking. Make sure you pack water, snacks, sunscreen, your bathers and good shoes for hiking and tobogganing (seasonal).
Here are 5 things to do while you’re visiting:
- Hike up to Mala Osojnica for incredible views high above the lake (sturdy shoes needed)
- Go on a toboggan ride at Straza Bled (€11 for the chairlift and 1 ride)
- Walk around 6 kms of pathway around the Lake and stop to take pics along the way
- Visit Castle Bled or get a boat ride to the island in the middle of the Lake (there’s a cost for entry & boat rides)
- Go for a swim and cool off in Lake Bled
My Instagram Reel shows a better picture of my experience here



Colmar France
Colmar is a picturesque town along the Alsace wine route in France, close to the border of Germany. This town could literally be a painting. It’s filled with colourful traditional renaissance houses with wooden shutters and flowers on window sills, cobblestone streets and boats going up and down the river channels lined with these beautiful old buildings – you can’t miss Petite Venise (Little Venice).
I stayed in Strasbourg and caught a 30 minute train trip to Colmar and walked about 20 minutes to the old town. Alternatively you can book a tour from Strasbourg here.



Werfen, Austria
Okay hear me out, this isn’t a super popular destination but perhaps that’s one of the reasons I fell in love with it. The town is quiet, colourful and has mountains as a beautiful backdrop, it’s not busy and crowded like Salzburg and other towns in Europe.
It also happens to be one of the filming locations for ‘The Sound of Music’, you know the scene where Julie Andrews (Maria) sings Do Re Mi in the meadows with the Von Trapp children? Well you can actually go to this exact location and it sure is worth it!
From this spot you’ll notice Hohenwerfen Castle in the background which is also worth visiting and doing the tour. It is probably one of the best castle tours I’ve been on (I’ve done it twice) and the views of the surrounding mountains from the outside courtyards, castle bell tower and windows are pretty spectacular.
You can also visit Eisriesenwelt, the largest ice caves in the world, which have tours operating from May to October. You can get a shuttle from the Werfen Station at 08:18, 10:18, 12:18 and 14:18 or from the Gries bus stop every 25 minutes outside of these times.
I caught the train from Salzburg to Werfen and walked everywhere from here.



Grund, Luxembourg
Luxembourg is one of Europe’s smallest countries and is probably overlooked as a destination to travel to because of this. It’s quieter than most other destinations in Europe but still has the charm that most of its neighbouring countries do – castles, pretty towns and beautiful nature.
Grund is the fairytale district of Luxembourg that I would recommend visiting. Alzette River, Pont de Stierchen, Bridge Rue Munster, Bock Casemates, Neimenster are some spots here that you should definitely find in the Grund Quarter.
Public transport is FREE throughout the entire country so make sure you take full advantage of this and see as much of it as possible. If you’re looking for more fairy tale locations I’d recommend visiting Vianden Castle, Larochette Castle, Beaufort Castle and Bourscheid Castle.
Check out my Instagram Reel to get a better picture of my experience here


Castle Combe, UK
An odd one out in this list but one that you have to visit if you’re ever in the UK. Castle Combe is a 17th century village that is not much more than a street but it is truly spectacular and something out of a storybook. The best spot for photos is the bridge crossing over The ByBrook and overlooking Water Lane (a cute row of houses).
You really don’t need to stay here for long but the longer you do stay the more likely you’ll get the busy spots all to yourself in amongst waves of crowds. While everyone goes and sits down for some food at one of the very few eateries (I’d recommend bringing your own food as there’s not much available here) you can roam the streets without anyone else in the back of your photo.
I took the train from Bath to Chippenham and then caught Bus 95 towards Burton and got off at Castle Combe (keep in mind there’s only 3 buses here on weekdays so plan accordingly). If you can stay overnight at the Manor House Hotel you’d be in for a real treat, the 14th-century building is set on 365 acres of secluded parkland which you can explore exclusively just by staying here.

