Central Coast towns are 2 of the ‘Quaintest Christmas Villages’ in country, magazine says
Two Central Coast towns are among the “Quaintest Christmas Villages Across the U.S.,” according to Fodor magazine.
The publication features Cambria and Solvang on a list of 10 festive burgs that includes Breckenridge, Colorado; Leavenworth, Washington; Alexandria, Virginia, ,and St. Augustine, Florida.
“The holidays are looking both merry and bright in these towns where festivities run rampant,” travel writer Molly O’Brien writes in the Dec. 2 article.
No. 1 on the list is Solvang, home to the “legendary Julefest, an annual month-long holiday done in true Danish fashion.”
“This year, more than 100 Christmas trees and thousands of lights will line Solvang’s walkable streets during a city-wide tree-decorating contest, while Solvang’s shops, Danish bakeries, restaurants, wine tasting rooms, wine and beer bars, and hotels join in on the friendly competition by decorating their own spaces,” O’Brien writes.
Fodors also highlights the Nisse adventure, which challenges participants to hunt for 12 mysterious nisse, or, Christmas elves, hidden throughout downtown Solvang.
Cambria, ranked at No. 7, earns praise for its popular Christmas Market, canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year, the town will be offering a more intimate kind of celebration,” O’Brien writes.
Guests of Cambria’s Moonstone Hotel Properties can enjoy the Lights at Cambria Pines holiday display at Cambria Pines Lodge, “a more personal and spaced-out stroll through the property’s colorful path surrounded by over 2 million holiday lights and illuminated sculpture displays,” she writes.
People who make reservations, pay cover charges and have dinner at the lodge’s restaurant can also tour the lavish light show, although dinner reservations were sold out as of Thursday.
“The nearby Cambria Nursery and Florist will be showing daytime displays at no charge, alongside fresh-cut fir trees, holiday decorations, and the largest display of Christmas decorations on California’s Central Coast,” O’Brien writes.
Go to www.fodors.com/news/photos/the-quaintest-christmas-villages-across-the-u-s to learn more about the holiday fun.
