Weather in your inbox

Forecast Location

Sign Up

By signing up you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

In an age of increased globalization, where the skyscraper overtakes the cottage, wouldn't it be nice to step into a real life fairy tale every once in a while? 

Thanks to these hidden gems around Europe, you can. There are a variety of idyllic towns-- some of them strangely identical to ones depicted and described in classical fairy tales-- still scattered around the continent, seemingly untouched by time.

(MORE: Incredible Castles of the World )

Visiting these towns, it’s pretty easy to see where fairy tale genre trailblazers Charles Perrault got some of their descriptions: Perrault’s Beauty and the Beast is set in a place just like the quaint small towns like Eguisheim in Alsace, France. Cinque Terre and other small towns in Italy are utterly reminiscent of Geppetto's reality, too. Plus, there’s Mittenwald, Germany, which resembles every town in every Grimm’s story ever: Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty...the list goes on and on. 

Get whisked away into these fairy tale dreamlands in the real world, and experience how these towns have evolved over time to blend their historical and Romantic pasts with the ever changing present. 

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: 100 Places Straight Out of Fairy Tales