The world’s top magical fairytale destinations

Tell me a story, mummy. For years, it was a constant refrain from my daughter, an avid devourer of tales, especially when we travel – and when some of the world’s most magical fairytale destinations are the perfect inspiration.

Because while sometimes it’s the classic favourites she wants, more often than not she wants a story imagined upon the spot. Ideally featuring adventure, often with some fairytale magic, and usually plenty of her own input about the plot.

Fortunately there’s nothing like travel to inspire me, whether we’re exploring a castle where dragons might well have roamed, imagining goblins, pixies, elves and fairies in a secluded wood, spying fantastical shapes in the rocks and shipwrecks on a beach, or heading out on an epic quest of our own.

So if you’re looking for magical fairytale destinations too, this is where my story would begin. Once upon a time…

Lake Bled, Slovenia

In the centre of a still lake lies an island – and upon the island, rises the spire of a church, overshadowed by a medieval castle perched precariously among the cliffs of the dramatic mountains.

Could you imagine a sleeping princess enchanted by a curse, locked away from the world in these clear waters? Or a fortress to guard against dragons? Dwarves hidden in the depths of the forbidding peaks?

Valiant quests, heroic deeds, fearful foes, there seems a thread of magic in everything here, from the scenery to the sunsets.

Somehow I have no trouble imagining them all. After spotting dragons in Ljubljana, I wished I had had more time to enjoy this storybook spot. Perhaps it’s awaiting me in a future chapter.

In Dein, Burma (Myanmar)

It was silent as we stepped among the ancient paths between the stupas. Elephant carvings and Buddha statues decorated the stones, while trees gnarled their way around the faded red and white spires.

In the distance, a gleaming row of gold stupas stretched off into the distance, tiny bells jangling softly at the summit.

Even our journey to the In Dein temple had felt like something from a legend, travelling from the shimmering silver mirror of Inle Lake up narrow tree-lined tributaries.

If we had discovered a lost city, a witch working her magic or a herd of unicorns, I wouldn’t have been surprised. There was something otherworldly in the air here, a place where fairytales should truly come to life.

Oxford

It’s not just the city’s famously dreaming spires which put it on my own fairytale destinations list, but the stories dreamed up in Oxford itself. Where else could you find the door to Narnia after all?

From inspiration for Harry Potter’s Hogwarts in its ancient colleges, to the creation of Wonderland for young Alice Liddell, it’s easy to believe another world lies just beyond the honey-coloured stone.

In a parallel universe, Lyra Belacqua and her daemon inhabit their version of the city in the trilogy His Dark Materials, while vampires have walked its streets in a string of novels.

And as you gaze on the intricate carvings of creatures which adorn so many of the historic buildings, you could almost expect them to come to life. Perhaps, if you wait – and watch…

Colmar, France

A contender for the title of France’s prettiest town, this looks like it could be the place a string of fairytales were modelled on – medieval half-timbered buildings, flower-lined canals, pastel-coloured shops, even the occasional turret.

Supposedly the location which inspired the setting for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, it’s not hard to imagine Belle skipping lightly through these streets. For the most picturesque spot in a ridiculously lovely town, head to the Quai de Poissoniers – otherwise known as Colmar’s Petit Venice where buildings date back to the 14th century.

It’s also the perfect base to explore the region – even better, if you don’t fancy long drives, you can even explore Alsace without a car.

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It’s not the only town on the French-German border that got similarly lovely winding streets – further north and on the opposite side to Alsace, Monschau in Germany has its own historic buildings clinging to the valley, with the water rushing through the pretty centre.

Venture a bit further north, and I’ve also got a soft spot for Ribe in Denmark, another historic gem with buildings dating back to the 15th century and a free night watchman tour to introduce you to the old city’s past.

Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

It’s not often you find a cave on a list of fairytale destinations – unless it’s the scary part of the story. But venture underground into the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand, and you can discover a natural phenomenon that’s entirely magical.

Home to thousands of glow worms of a type found only in New Zealand, they light up the caverns so they sparkle almost like starlight.

And bringing this twinkling luminescent display to life are the guides, many of them direct descendants of the Maori chief who originally explored the caves, telling tales of the legends linked to this spot.

Zhangjiajie, China

Part of a national park in Hunan, China, it’s the pinnacles of rock stretching out across the landscape which make Zhangjiajie such an extraordinary place.

Worn away over centuries by ice and the plants which grow on them, the sandstone towers stretch thousands of feet up to the sky – and this otherworldly landscape, shrouded in mists, was the inspiration for some of the scenery in Avatar.

The 3,540 ft tall Southern Sky column was even renamed Avatar Hallelujah Mountain… although it doesn’t float like the range in the movie, just squint and you could believe it is hanging in the clouds.

For another otherworldly landscape closer to home, the tangled trees and ancient feel of Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, have meant it has doubled as various alien worlds and fairytale destinations in TV and film.

Iceland

The land of fire and ice seems a fitting home for the ‘hidden people’ – elves still make their homes among the rocks, according to most people in Iceland, acting as forces of good (if you stay on the right side of them).

Are trolls as benevolent? It’s hard to say as they’ll only come out at night for fear of being turned to stone – look twice at the rocks dotting the dramatic landscape on an Iceland road trip and ask yourself if they could just be petrified creatures who forgot about sunrise and were forever frozen.

With ice floes, geysers shooting to the sky and volcanoes, wild remote landscapes under eerily shimmering Northern Lights where epic sagas conjured up in the long dark winters are retold as the sun shines through the night, this fairytale destination may not be a land of neatly happy endings.

But then the original fairytales never were either – and were all the more fascinating for it.

For more inspiration, check out some of the real-life places which have inspired Disney films, including the inspiration from Tangled and Brave among other Disney stories, as well as the beautiful Melissani Cave on Kefalonia

*first published 2017, updated 2026*

PIN FOR LATER: THE WORLD’S TOP FAIRYTALE DESTINATIONS

Main image/Burma shot copyright MummyTravels, all others courtesy Depositphotos

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