I’ve always researched destinations through Travel and Leisure’s online sites and suggestions. I decided a fun way to see places in the USA would be to actually travel to their recommended towns. Now, in 2026, we are taking on their top choices for prettiest lakes in the USA!
POST TEXT: For this adventure, we leaned on Travel + Leisure magazine and their list of the “Top Ten Most Charming Downtowns in America.” It felt like the perfect mix of structure and spontaneity. What started as a fun idea quickly turned into a full-fledged mission:
We set out to visit all ten.
Now, full honesty—we didn’t fall in love with every single one.
While the list was largely spot-on, a couple of towns left us scratching our heads. San Marcos, Texas and Prescott, Arizona didn’t quite match the level of charm we experienced elsewhere. That’s not to say they don’t have their merits—but compared to the rest, they just didn’t give us that same “this is why we travel” feeling.
But the others? Absolutely darling: My favorites are Burlington, VT, Greenville, SC, Galena, IL, and Savannah, GA. Others on the list are great too and include Park City, UT, Lahaina, HA, Healsburg, CA, and Fernandina Beach, FL.
Livin’ Life Adventure Travel; Burlington Dusk
Livin’Life Adventure Travel; Galena, Illinois Downtown
Livin’Life Adventure Travel; Greenville, SC at Dusk
Livin’Life Adventute Travel Savannah Park
Livin’ Life Adventure Travel; Greenville, SC
Livin’Life Adventure Travel; Savannah, GA
