The Most Beautiful Historic Neighborhoods in America

Despite what the History Channel say you , there ’s more to the past tense than Nazi gold and watching Chumlee trade ice cream outside the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop . There ’s history everywhere you count … maybe even in the city you are in right now . But just as not all neighbourhood can be assexy as South Beach , not all can be as historic as , say , Old City in Philly . Which is why we consulted our chronicle book – and a whole lot of word-painting of city street over the twelvemonth – and tycoon ranked America ’s most beautifulhistoric’hoods .

12. Montford Historic District

Asheville , North CarolinaThis principally residential neighbourhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places is a hold out story deterrent example in architecture , with 600 + building spread out over 300 acres . It features a mogul tour of 1890s-1920s homes range from compound and neoclassical to Victorian ( and uncanny castle - like structures ) , plus a necropolis where famous writers like Thomas Wolfe and O. Henry are buried . With some of the homes formerly used as boarding houses and a T.B. sanitarium / mental hospital ( where F. Scott Fitzgerald ’s married woman Zelda died in a fervidness ) , today the domain is best explore by walk / drive / trolley car term of enlistment or by joining the mad crew of LaZoom Comedy Bus Tour . While you ’re here , be sure to check out the Montford Park Players as they perform gratis Shakespeare at the Montford Community Center ’s outdoor amphitheatre all summer long . Ask if you may crash at their place .

11. King William District

San Antonio , TexasWhile the area was primitively farmland possess by the Mission San Antonio de Valero ( aka the Alamo ) in the 1700s , this primarily residential neighborhood did n’t really take shape until the 1860s when German immigrants begin to settle and build homes in the area . By the late 1800s , it had evolved into the city ’s most elegant district . These days , you could saunter the bank of the San Antonio River and stop out historic mansions like Villa Finale and the Steves Homestead Museum while admiring the neighborhood ’s beautiful Greek revival , Victorian , and Italianate homes , many of which feature plaques out front offering historical info . Afterwards , snap up a beer at nearby watering gob like The Friendly Spot or Blue Star Brewing . You ’ve earned it .

10. Fell’s Point

Baltimore , MarylandThis historic waterfront district , shew around 1763 along the bank of the Baltimore Harbor and Patapsco River , is more than just the former positioning of historical shipyards responsible for building some of the first US Navy vessels . With the greatest immersion of bars and restaurants in the metropolis , it ’s also pub - crawl telephone exchange on Halloween , Christmas , or during the Fell ’s Point Privateer Festival – where you’re able to dress up like a pirate and down pint in a National Register of Historic Places - point district . Be sure to hit up the Robert Long House ( 1765 ) and The Horse You fare In On Saloon ( 1775 ) , a former Edgar Allan Poe haunt reputed to be one of America ’s one-time bars . babble out about our kind of history lesson .

9. Old City

Philadelphia , PennsylvaniaThe land ’s most historic straight Swedish mile has everything you conceive of when you think of Philly ( outside of Frank Reynolds and the manicAlways Sunnycrew ) . It ’s begin the Liberty Bell , Independence Hall , the National Constitution Center , and , like Baltimore ’s Fell ’s Point , an active party fit stocked with legal profession and restaurants . chink out Elfreth ’s Alley ( 1702 ) , the nation ’s former residential street , and stroll the cool indie shops of 3rd St / noted bars of Market St before plunking down in the Great Plaza for the firework show every New Year ’s and Fourth of July . And while there are raft of places to get drunken in the area ( let in Mac ’s Tavern , co - owned byAlways Sunnyactors ) , you wo n’t observe the McPoyles or Paddy ’s Pub . Which is decidedly a good affair .

8. Georgetown

Washington , DCIf Georgetown ’s Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree - line sett streets and quaint 18th-/19th - century words houses make it find like its own city , that ’s because – from its introduction in 1751 until 1871 – it was . These years it ’s not just home to moderately much any character portrayed in any political show you ’ve ever determine ( and mountain of tangible - lifespan pols too ) , but it ’s also a commercial and nightlife center dotted with diachronic social organization like the Old Stone House ( 1765 ) and Tudor Place ( 1815 ) . But rather of looking at building , you ’re more likely here to indicate political science over high - end eats while overlooking the Potomac at Fiola Mare , or tipping back drunkenness around M St with Georgetown undergraduate at Blues Alley , a local malarkey institution .

7. Garden District

New Orleans , LouisianaThe wave green garden that sit in between this Big Easy vicinity ’s former plantation make up one of the best - uphold and most beautiful collections of historic mansions in the South , best viewed from a windowpane seat in the every bit historical St. Charles Ave tram ( in operation since 1835 as the world ’s oldest incessantly mesh streetcar ) . Known for early-19th - hundred Victorian mansions like Buckner Mansion and the Anne Rice House , the locality also put up freaky historic aboveground tombs at Lafayette Cemetery , as well as the home where famous sons Peyton and Eli Manning grew up . Hit up the friendly Balcony Bar along Magazine St or local watershed Commander ’s Palace , which has been process up world - beating Creole - cheer eats in a cool historical blank since 1880 .

6. Santa Fe Historic District

Santa Fe , New MexicoFounded in 1607 , Santa Fe is America ’s oldest uppercase city and also house the oldest public construction in the country , the circa-1610 Palace of the Governors ( which was earlier the derriere of government for the Spanish colony of Neuvo Mexico ) . To saunter the Downtown Santa Fe Plaza is to immerse yourself in traditional adobe structure in what is easily one of the state ’s most unambiguously picturesque urban experiences . There ’s time - distort quondam construction and church wherever you wait ( including the sensational Loretto Chapel and San Miguel Mission , reported to be America ’s oldest church service built between 1610 and 1626 ) . But gratefully , history ’s not the only thing going down in Santa Fe ’s happening central assemblage place . The neighborhood ’s wonderful collection of bars and restaurant , from The Palace to Secreto Lounge to Tia Sophia ’s , is as inherent to the area ’s appealingness as anything from a dusty old history book .

5. Beacon Hill

Boston , MassachusettsFrom Robert Frost and Sylvia Plath to Oliver Wendell Holmes and Daniel Webster , Boston ’s Beacon Hill neighborhood has been home to some serious weighed down hitters over the years . The mostly residential ' lens hood of crimson brick townhouses , narrow gas - get down street , and brick sidewalk is where Boston ’s first European settler , William Blaxton , opt to ramp up his own house in 1625 . Beacon St was established in 1708 from a cowpath lead to Boston Common and the narrow , cobblestone Acorn St is one of the most Instagrammed streets in America . Overflowing with history , Beacon Hill is also the location of theCheersbar ( originally named the Bull & Finch ) as well as the Black Heritage Trail , which winds through the ' thug and is dotted with of import sites in African - American history .

4. French Quarter

New Orleans , LouisianaWhen it ’s not being well over by frat bros in YOLO trucker lid pissing in the street and “ ladies ” engage in questionable behavior for the exchange of beading , the Gallic Quarter is actually a frightfully beautiful place . Jackson Square houses America ’s oldest Roman Catholic church , St. Louis Cathedral ( founded in 1720 ) , and the historic Preservation Hall is a must for any self - respecting music fan or tourer concerned in what ’s happen outside the Quarter ’s typical Pat O’Brien ’s shit show . Take a stroll down Royal St or Chartres St ( Chart Room is an essential dive ) and , on the gelidity end of Bourbon St , observe what is look on to be America ’s quondam prevention : Lafitte ’s Blacksmith Shop Bar , built between 1722 and 1732 . See , Bourbon St is n’t all forged .

3. Historic Downtown District

Savannah , GeorgiaIf you ’re an architecture nerd who enjoys a starchy cocktail and a tramcar ride , Savannah ’s Historic Downtown District has develop you covered on all figurehead . From Victorian and Queen Anne to Gothic and Italianate , just about every style of computer architecture peacefully coexist in a attractively historic neighborhood that features lots of charming public squares ( include one , Chippewa Square , where Forrest Gump magnificently wait for the bus ) . One of the largest historic districts in the state is also known for its friendly company vibe , so occupy up a “ to - go ” cup and saunter the cobble streets along River St or embark on one of the many ghost tours that pip up haunted sections of the metropolis day by day . We have n’t met any , but we presume the ghosts are favorable .

2. Charleston Historic District

Charleston , South CarolinaWith a whopping 97 belongings listed on the National Register for Historic Places , history is ingrained in every vista of Downtown Charleston – right down to the horse - drawn carriages . Stroll Broad St ’s federal menstruum homes or King St ’s bar / eatery vista while snapping pics of St. Michael ’s Episcopal Church ( 1752 ) and Charleston County Courthouse ( 1792 ) along the style . From the historic mansions that line the Battery promenade near the waterside , Fort Sumter - present White Point Garden to the cobblestone streets and gas - perch alleys of the French Quarter ( yes , Charleston has its own French Quarter ) , you ca n’t escape all the history that ’s packed into the heart of this city . And when story is this beautiful , why the hell would you require to ?

1. Old San Juan

San Juan , Puerto RicoThoughPuerto Ricois technically a district of the United States , there ’s no debating the fact that Old San Juan is nothing short of a jaw - dropping lulu . With Old World charm , weave streets , colorful Spanish colonial words star sign , and a 42 ft wall surrounding the waterfront island where Old San Juan is perched , the neighborhood ’s breathtaking views assault the eyes with history pornography like the 16th - century citadel Morro Castle and the monolithic La Fortaleza – ramp up in 1540 on a perch overlook the ocean and today serve as the longest - occupied governor ’s sign in the Western Hemisphere . One visit to this ' exhaust hood , and you ’ll draw a blank they also have some ofthe nicest beach in the Caribbean .

contract up herefor our daily Thrillist electronic mail , and get your fix of the best in solid food / drink / merriment .

Beacon Hill, Boston, cobblestone street, Historic Boston

cdrin/Shutterstock