• Introduction
• 1. Boston
• 2. Buenos Aires
• 3. New Orleans
• 4. Paraty
• 5. Quebec City
• 6. San Juan
• 7. San Miguel de Allende
• 8. Santiago
• 9. St. George
• 10. Willemstad

Paraty

Setting foot in the seaside Brazilian town of Paraty (also spelled Parati) is like stepping back in time to 17th-century Portugal. Not only are cars banned from the peaceful village's cobbled streets, but the simple, stucco buildings are almost uniformly colonial with their colorful doors and windows and softly rounded rooftops (such harmonious preservation is so rare, in fact, that UNESCO designated the entire town center a heritage site). Once a bustling port, thanks to the gold that was exported to Portugal from the mines of nearby Minas Gerais, Paraty was abandoned due to pirate raids in the 19th century, only to be rediscovered again in the '70s. Now, the area's history – not to mention its proximity to pristine beaches – have once again put it on the map.

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