老澳门六合彩开奖记录

Got a bad case of the travel blues? Join us on a rainbow ride through some of Europe鈥檚 most luminous locales.

These vibrant villages, technicolour towns and dazzling districts 鈥 all splashed in jazzy jelly-bean hues 鈥 will have you tickled pink in no time.

Burano, Venice

When it comes to Italian eye candy, nowhere beats the effulgent island of Burano. A swift gondola ride away from the elegant decay of Venice, Burano practically pops out of the lagoon with its collection of colourful buildings, all of which were awarded their hues by a strict government decree.

Island dwellers first began painting their homes in bright colours so fishermen could see them in foggy conditions; today, their luminosity lures photographers, artists and anyone looking for a literal sight for sore eyes.

While you鈥檙e there: Hop a ferry to Murano, where artisans have been producing exquisite glasswares for over 700 years. The tradition began in the 13th century when fears of fire saw glassmakers leave the mostly wooden buildings of Venice in favour of then-sparsely populated Murano. Gawk at the island鈥檚 glorious glass at Museo del Vetro, or find a souvenir at the studio of glassmaster Cesare Toffolo.

A traditional cottage in Zalipie, Poland, decorated in painted floral patterns 漏 Pawel Litwinski / Getty Images
The cottages in Zalipie are perfect postcard material 漏 Pawel Litwinski / Getty Images

Zalipie, Poland

Steel yourself for a swoon: is arguably the most adorable village in Europe鈥 if not the world. Everything here 鈥 barns, bridges, exteriors, interiors, chicken coops and rubbish bins 鈥 has been plastered in floral folk art, an endearing custom that dates back more than a century.

Legend has it that the practice began with women painting flowers on cottage walls to cover up soot marks from wood burning stoves. And the tradition lives on: the village gets an annual spruce-up during the hotly contested Malowana Chata (Painted Cottage) competition.

While you鈥檙e there: Not had your fill of Polish folk art? Visit 碍谤补办贸飞鈥檚 Galerie d鈥橝rt Na茂f, home to the best works of Poland鈥檚 most celebrated 鈥 and some as yet unsung 鈥 folk painters, sculptors and d茅coupage artists. If you鈥檙e there in August, explore the Fair of Folk Art (Targi Sztuki Ludowej) held in the city鈥檚 main square.

Red, white and blue stripy beach huts in Costa Nova, Portugal 漏 Carol Yepes / Getty Images
Find the ideal Instagram-ready beach hut in Costa Nova, Portugal 漏 Carol Yepes / Getty Images

Costa Nova, Portugal

Costa Nova鈥檚 candy-striped beach houses were once more pongy than pretty. Built in the 19th century to accommodate an influx of fishermen, the shelters were used for sardine salting and stashing fishing equipment. Known as palheiros, the whiffy warehouses were decorated with bright red exterior planks.

As the population grew and beach-bound visitors increased, palheiros gradually lost their fish-centric functionality, with owners transforming them into accommodations. Today鈥檚 cottages are a riot of rainbow and bone-white stripes that attract gawkers from around the globe.

While you鈥檙e there: For more artistic architecture, take a 35-minute bus ride to ; the city is officially classified as a cidade-museu da Arte Nova (Art Nouveau city-museum) for its wealth of wonderful buildings including Casa Major Pessoa 鈥 home to the Museu de Arte Nova and the hip Casa de Ch谩 caf茅 鈥 and Casa da Cooperativa Agr铆cola, abloom with hand-painted floral tiles dating to 1913.

A black cottage painted with intricate white designs in Central Slovakia 漏 Axiom Photographic / Getty Images
Beautiful things happen when you treat your home like a chalk board 漏 Axiom Photographic / Getty Images

膶颈膷尘补苍测, Slovakia

This Slovakian village is the world鈥檚 first folk architecture reserve, and even a fleeting glimpse of these incredible, almost-edible cottages is enough to tell you why. Akin to the fabled confectionery house from Hansel and Gretel (sans cannibalistic witch), 鈥檚 136 black timber homes pop with seemingly sugar-dusted decoration.

About 200 years ago, the women of 膶颈膷尘补苍测 used white lime to adorn the cottages with simple patterns in an attempt to protect the timber from the sun鈥檚 rays. After a fire in 1921, locals took restorations to the next level, covering the cottages from roof to root cellar with intricate designs resembling the traditional lace and folk embroidery that adorn Slovakia鈥檚 national costume.

While you鈥檙e there: 110km east of 膶颈膷尘补苍测, Unesco World Heritage Centre 痴濒办辞濒铆苍别肠 is home to a clutch of pastel-coloured log cottages, an 18th century wooden belfry and whimsical wooden sculptures depicting local life and lore. What you won鈥檛 find are mod-cons: 痴濒办辞濒铆苍别肠 is Slovakia鈥檚 only inhabited village that has remained entirely untouched by 21st (or even 20th!) century development.

The once white-washed village of Juzcar, now in a blue hue 漏 cineuno / Getty Images
Out of the blue, Juzcar's tourism has soared... 漏 cineuno / Getty Images

闯煤锄肠补谤, Spain

Looking to paint the town red? Move along: is emphatically blue, and it鈥檚 just how the locals like it. Formerly one of the pueblos blancos (white villages) of Andalucia, 闯煤锄肠补谤 was slathered in 4000 litres of bright blue paint in 2011 to promote the global release of the Smurfs 3D movie.

The company behind the marketing ploy offered to repaint the village after the premiere, but residents voted to keep the hue: pre-paint job, 闯煤锄肠补谤 averaged 300 tourists a year. After? 80,000!

While you鈥檙e there: Head 30km north to Ronda, arguably Andalucia鈥檚 most stunning settlement. Founded in the 9th century BC, Ronda teeters 100 metres above the steep El Tajo gorge; three dizzying stone bridges 鈥 the most recent of which was completed in 1793 鈥 span the ravine.

A home in Cioc膬ne葯ti, Romania, covered in folk patterns 漏 Yvan Travert / Getty Images
Folk motifs have embellished homes in Ciocanesti for nearly 70 years 漏 Yvan Travert / Getty Images

Cioc膬ne葯ti, Romania

Carpathian Mountains. The very name conjures up images of vampires, werewolves and bewitched forests. But in the historic Bucovina region, Cioc膬ne葯ti busts every spooky clich茅: after all, what could be less terrifying than an entire village painted like Easter eggs?

Ornate egg decoration has been a tradition here for centuries, but it wasn鈥檛 until the 1950s that residents started painting the same elaborate designs on their homes. The embellishments proved so popular with locals and visitors that in 2004, local authorities decreed that the exterior of every newly-built or refurbished home be decorated with folk motifs.

While you鈥檙e there: Bucovina鈥檚 monasteries are Byzantine masterpieces. Built in the 15th and 16th centuries, they are painted inside and out with colourful frescoes that have largely 鈥 miraculously? 鈥 stood the test of time. Arty addendum: Vorone牛 Monastery is the only place in the world where the intense shade of (aptly named) Voronet Blue can be found.

A row of coloured houses against a clear blue sky in Longyearben, Norway 漏 Sasha_Suzi / Getty Images
Longyearben 鈥 where looking on the bright side is a legal requirement 漏 Sasha_Suzi / Getty Images

Longyearbyen, Norway

Located on the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago, the world鈥檚 northernmost settlement may be in darkness for four months a year, but its rows of multicoloured homes 鈥 in place thanks to 鈥檚 official building code 鈥 keep the gloom at bay.

The town鈥檚 laws are as colourful as its buildings: anyone leaving the settlement limits must carry a gun (there are over 3000 polar bears in the region), you have to take off your shoes before entering public buildings (to avoid tracking black ice inside) and dying here has been forbidden since 1950 (it鈥檚 too cold for corpses to decompose)!

While you鈥檙e there: Longyearbyen is four kilometres from the 鈥 aka 鈥楾he doomsday vault鈥 鈥 home to almost a million packets of seeds from around the world. While only scientists and maintenance workers are allowed to enter the building, the Svalbard Science Destination group runs from the outside.

A house in Oberammergau, covered in a fairy-tale mural 漏 Tim Graham / Getty Images
Every building has a story to tell in Oberammergau 漏 Tim Graham / Getty Images

Oberammergau, Germany

Winding cobblestone lanes, flower-filled window boxes and magical-forest backdrops鈥 the villages of Bavaria are fairy-tale fantasy lands made real. And perhaps the most enchanting of them all is Oberammergau, an ancient artists鈥 hamlet where the baroque buildings don鈥檛 just have a storybook feel: they are storybooks.

The village鈥檚 fanciful frescoes 鈥 called 尝眉蹿迟濒尘补濒别谤别颈 鈥 depict scenes from classics including Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. Oberammergau also has plenty of detailed religious murals, no surprise for a village that has famously hosted the 鈥 a five-hour play depicting the last days of Jesus 鈥 since 1634.

While you鈥檙e there: In love with 尝眉蹿迟濒尘补濒别谤别颈? Make tracks to , a 35km drive south from Oberammergau, where magnificent murals dating from the 18th century embellish churches, museums and a plethora of private homes.

A brightly coloured junction in Kinsale, Ireland 漏 Richard Cummins / Getty Images
If traditional Irish music doesn't cheer you up, kaleidoscopic Kinsale will 漏 Richard Cummins / Getty Images

Kinsale, Ireland

Ireland may be the Emerald Isle, but Kinsale in County Cork sure makes up for the rest of the rainbow, with lane upon lane of quaint Tudor cottages ablaze in vivid colours. Originally a medieval fishing port, Kinsale was a trading and military hub for centuries; after its fortunes fell in the 1900s, residents banded together to give it the motley makeover that today lures thousands of visitors a year.

The bayside beauty is also a favourite with foodies, thanks to a glut of top-notch restaurants and the , held every October. Feast your eyes and your mouth? Kinsale鈥檚 got the craic!

While you鈥檙e there: Kinsale marks the start/end point of the Wild Atlantic Way, a 2500km route that runs through nine counties and three provinces to the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal. The trail takes in 2500-plus activities and 1000 attractions including castles, beaches, islands and ancestral homes.

Ancient murals in Stein am Rhein, Switzerland 漏 Craig Pershouse / Getty Images
If Banksy was born 500 years ago... 漏 Craig Pershouse / Getty Images

Stein am Rhein, Switzerland

Melbourne, Berlin and Brooklyn are famous for their modern street art, but if you want to go old-school, Stein am Rhein in northern Switzerland is where it鈥檚 at. The village鈥檚 Rathausplatz (Town Hall Square) is framed by dozens of ancient buildings plastered in murals depicting themes from wine to warfare.

Originally commissioned in the 1500s by landlords looking to pretty-up the place 鈥 and engage in a bit of ornate one-upmanship 鈥 today the frescoes come with a heavy dose of civic duty: every building鈥檚 owner must commit to keeping their facade鈥檚 artworks in a pristine state.

While you鈥檙e there: Lakeside Lucerne, an easy day trip to the south, is also home to a jaw-dropping jumble of beautified buildings. More recent than those in Stein am Rhein, Lucerne鈥檚 murals are nevertheless up there in the fairy-tale-fabulous stakes, with illustrations of whimsical characters, including the legendary Swiss master of apple archery, William Tell.

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