Big cities may get all the spotlight when it comes to travel—flashy skylines, endless nightlife, hot restaurants, buzzy cultural institutions—but sometimes the real magic lies far from the noise. Quaint villages offer rest and relaxation, a different kind of getaway. Forbes has identified the most beautiful villages in the world, and one village in the U.S. earned a spot.
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The list, curated with the help of Unforgettable Travel Company (“curators of journeys that venture far beyond the tourist trail”), celebrates villages with “old-world whimsy and lived-in charm.” These are places where stone cottages lean into the hillsides, where winding lanes end at a meadow or stream and where you can feel the slow rhythm of life. Ogunquit, a coastal village in Maine, delivers all of that and more.
Ranked No. 29, the seaside village is dotted with a stunning palate of Atlantic colors, from sea lavender to driftwood. The Marginal Way—a mile-long coastal path—threads along granite cliffs, giving front-row views of waves hammering the rocks and sea spray catching the sunlight. Ogunquit Beach, long and wide, shifts with the tides, its pale sand glowing in the morning mist. Just beyond, Perkins Cove hums with salt and butter: lobster shacks, the creak of moored boats and the famous little footbridge swinging open for sailboats.
Come evening, the pace softens even further. Local haunts like Jonathan’s Lounge fill with live jazz as diners wrap up their meals with blueberry pie, a sweet staple of Maine's culinary repertoire. It’s the kind of village where days blur gently, shaped by the tides and softened by sea air.
Ogunquit may be the only U.S. village on Forbes’ global list, but it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with gems scattered across Asia, Europe, Africa, South America and Oceania. If you’re craving beauty with no frills, a place where the Atlantic wind sets the tempo, Ogunquit proves that America has its own corner of “old-world” charm. Find the full list here.
The world’s 10 most beautiful villages, according to Forbes:
- Bibury, England
- Hallstatt, Austria
- Reine, Norway
- Giethoorn, Netherlands
- Gásadalur, Faroe Islands
- Oia, Greece
- Bourtange, Netherlands
- Kotor, Montenegro
- Shirakawa-go, Japan
- Batad, Philippines