The world’s most When colour erupts on a large scale, travel magic is created. To prove that here are some of the most colourful places on the planet, writes
Brian Johnston.
Colour affects our mood and how we respond to the world. Yellow is cheerful, blue for cool relaxation, red for passion.
We’re conditioned to react to colour: good news when it comes to travelling. The world is saturated in rainbow shades, whether the Art Deco-inspired colours of South Beach in Miami or the bright, clashing colours of old town Wroclaw in Poland.
Colour is in the detail too, however. You’ll find delightful colour in the spice sacks of a Marrakesh bazaar, or the pink pompoms adorning the hats of Peru’s Quechua people. There’s colour in Sri Lankan curries, the patterned dresses of Ghanaian ladies, even the simple plastic buckets sold in Singapore markets.
When colour erupts on a large scale, however, magic is created.
Latin America specialises in entire cities splashed with colour, including Salvador in Brazil, Guanajuato in Mexico and Valpara´ıso in Chile. More recently, there have been deliberate attempts to brighten up depressed neighbourhoods such as the shantytown Favela Santa Maria in Rio de Janeiro (which got a makeover from Dutch artists), or Las Palmitas in the Mexican city of Pachuca, transformed by a government-sponsored street artists’ programme.
There are many and varied examples of colour-coded towns the world over. Here are some of the most outrageous, sure to make you smile.
Burano, Italy
You’ll feel as if you’ve fallen into a pop artist’s palette in Burano, an island in the Venetian Lagoon whose houses are an hallucination of virulent purple, yellow, scarlet and neon green. Add canals, strings of washing hung out to dry, and a collection of blue and white boats, and you’ll be carried away by the photo opportunities.
According to legend, the clashing colours allowed drunken husbands to locate their homes, and were instituted after one drunken fisherman ended up with the wrong wife one evening.
Museo del Merletto (museomerletto.visitmuve.it) has astonishing examples of lacemaking, Burano’s traditional craft, though plenty of the shop-sold lace is imported from Asia. Enjoy a fish lunch in one of the town’s many cafes.
isoladiburano.it
Colour scheme: Bright spots: More info: La Boca, Argentina
This Buenos Aires harbour-side district on the River Plate has famously multicoloured houses, especially along El Caminito, a tourist drag where street artists paint and buskers perform the tango. Frescoes depict 1950s life or tango scenes. A street market offers cheerful arts and crafts and paintings that recreate El Caminito in blocks of cubist colour.
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The colours favoured by post-World War II Italian (and especially Genoese) immigrants are said to represent football teams, and were also once used on fishing boats.
Head on Sundays to Bombonera stadium (bocajuniors.com.ar) too see some of Argentina’s best soccer; local team Boca Juniors plays in blue and yellow. Get a culture fix at Usina del Arte (usinadelarte.org), which hosts theatre and tango competitions.
turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar
Bright spots: More info: Jaipur, India
Jaipur blushes pink, from the reddish defensive walls of the City Palace (royaljaipur.in) to the pale cream-pink of the Moon Palace. The Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Winds is orange sandstone; multiple balconies and ornamental windows glow like a giant honeycomb at sunset. Regular houses and the bazaar are also flushed with pink.
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Pink is the traditional Rajasthani colour of hospitality and comes from Jaipur’s sandstone and a wash first applied to the city to welcome Edward Prince of Wales in 1876.
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Hilltop Amber Palace is a magnificent pink monument; you can arrive on an elephant whose flanks are chalked with colourful flower motifs. The City Palace’s textile museum (royaljaipur.in) features traditional red attire embroidered with gold thread.
tourism.rajasthan.gov.in
More info: Bo-Kaap, South Africa
The hillside streets of Cape Town neighbourhood Bo-Kaap were first settled by Muslim immigrants and descendants of slaves from the Dutch East Indies. Its houses are painted in startling colours including yellow, orange and green, and further ornamented with columns and wrought-iron work. The cheerful backdrop makes Bo-Kaap a favourite for film shoots.
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Why the rainbow colours is unclear; perhaps poor inhabitants just used the cheapest paint available, or it originated as a way to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid.
Bright spots:
The orange-yellow BoKaap Museum (iziko.org.za) traces the heritage of the district, and the history of the city’s colourful carnival. The green 1794 Auwal Mosque (auwalmasjid.co.za) is South Africa’s oldest.
More info: Havana, Cuba
capetown.travel The faded, sensual colours of Havana are slowly getting a bright new coat of paint as the country throws open its doors to tourism. Washed-out pinks and yellows and the odd splash of green line Malecon oceanfront promenade, and the old town features sharper colours along colonial streets. Giant murals erupt on facades of the lurid Callejon de Hammel district. You’ll feel as if you’ve fallen into a pop artist’s palette in Burano, an island in the Venetian Lagoon whose houses are an hallucination of virulent purple, yellow, scarlet and neon green. Colour scheme: Cubans just seem to have a liking for colour, whether in buildings, clothes or the 1950s Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets that brighten the roads.
San Cristobal cathedral has an interior full of art treasures, and Colon cemetery features ornate white monuments and sculptures. Wander Parque Historico Morro, whose historic forts and battlements once defended the city.
cubatravel.tur.cu
Bright spots: More info: