5 Places That Feel Like Europe in North America

Do you have the itch to travel to Europe but your bank account doesn’t have enough scratch? Want to go somewhere that feels foreign without taking an overnight flight? You don’t have to leave North America to reach some great locales that will make you feel like you’ve crossed the Atlantic. Instead, travel to these five destinations that feel like Europe in North America.

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1. Vieux France in Québec City, Quebec

One of the oldest cities in North America, Québec City is a charmer. Walk its cobblestone streets and explore the UNESCO World Heritage walled section of Old Québec. You’ll be surrounded by French-speaking locals, and feel worlds away from home in this Canadian city.

Every season is stunning in this French-Canadian city. Winter in Quebec City offers a German Christmas market. The skiing is sweet and the maple syrup is even sweeter in winter; local sugar shacks host maple syrup festivals with family activities, music, and dancing as the syrup flows. In summer, residents enjoy the late sunsets with outdoor activities in the city’s parks, squares, and terraces. The mountains that surround the city provide a kaleidoscope of color in autumn as the leaves change and fall.

2. Jolly Old England in Tangier Island, Virginia

The local dialect makes Tangier Island, Virginia sound foreign indeed. The locals (all 500 or so of them!) elongate their vowels in a way that some say is similar to the English spoken when the island was first settled in 1686. Tangier Islanders also “talk backwards,” sometimes saying the opposite of what they mean. For example, if your ferry arrives late you might be greeted with “Well, you’re early!” – a sort of good-natured sarcasm. Listen for unique vocabulary used on the island, like “spar grass” for “asparagus” and “nugs” for “sweets.”

Some say visiting Tangier feels like visiting a small English town in the 18th Century. Tangier Island is located in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay and reachable only by boat or small plane. Most of the men on the island make their living as watermen, just as their fathers and grandfathers did, harvesting crabs and oysters from the Bay. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time when you step off the ferry. The golf carts locals use to get around the island, though, might break that illusion pretty quickly.

If you want to visit Virginia’s Tangier Island, you’d better hurry. Unfortunately, rising sea levels are eroding the island at a disastrous pace.

3. Ireland in St. John’s, Newfoundland

One of the oldest English settlements in North America, St. John’s, Newfoundland boasts a lively cultural scene with an Irish accent. Traditional Irish music spills from the corner pubs and the locals have an Irish lilt in their speech on this Canadian island.

In true Irish fashion, the oldest shop, on the oldest street, in the oldest city in North America, is a music shop. On a Sunday afternoon, settle in for a Jiggs dinner (a traditional meat and vegetable stew) while you listen to the musicians jamming in a circle at O’Reilly’s Irish Pub. If you hang around long enough, you might find a local to screech you in – a favorite activity for tourists to become honorary Newfoundlanders in an outrageous ceremony that involves reciting a poem, kissing a cod, and downing a shot of local rum known as “screech.”

4. France with a Caribbean twist in Guadeloupe and Martinique

There are several islands in the Caribbean that have had European influence over the centuries, but Martinique and Guadaloupe in the Eastern Caribbean are actually considered part of France. Designated as an Overseas Department of France, residents of the two islands are French citizens who speak French and use the Euro. You’ll feel like you’re in Europe in North America when shopping in French department stores like Galeries Lafayette in the main cities of Fort-de-France in Martinique and Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe. But you’ll also find local Creole flavor in the markets, crafts, and the prized local cane sugar rum, rhum agricole.

5. Denmark in Solvang, California

Solvang, California feels almost like an amusement park dedicated to Denmark. Its lively streets burst with flowers and cafes peddling aebleskiver, a type of Danish pancakes. It almost seems too kitschy to be real. But a good percentage of the population of Solvang are fourth and fifth generation Danes, descended from the original Danish settlers who bought 9,000 acres of farmland here in 1911. They named the area Solvang, which means “sunny field” in Danish.

Today, visitors will find plenty of Danish diversion in this California town. Explore downtown from the back of a horse-drawn carriage or aboard a Segway tour. You must pop into one of many Danish bakeries for a sweet treat. (Who do you think invented the Danish pastry?) Then be sure to pose in front of the town’s giant wooden clog for Instagram.

What you won’t find here are chain stores. Because Solvang prides itself on its uniqueness and Danish heritage, its residents decided to preserve that character by blocking any stores with more than five locations from opening in town. You may not be fooled into thinking you’re in Denmark, but you will definitely see the Danish influence in Solvang.

With the European vibe and history of these destinations, you can feel like you’ve been transported somewhere foreign without traveling far. With the mix of cultures in North America, there’s probably a community with deep ties to a foreign land near your hometown.

Do you know of any other destinations that feel like Europe in North America? Let us know in the comments below!

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