What are the Prettiest Towns in the Country?

Sedona, Ariz.
“Inspiring vistas abound” says Vander Stelt of this high-desert northern Arizona town that is surrounded by stunning red-sandstone formations. Anderson puts it on her list, too, for its spirituality, artistry, and “architecture reflective of the desert surroundings.” Sedona is home to numerous arts festivals, galleries and spas and a host of outdoor recreation opportunities.

Savannah, Ga.
Called the “Hostess City of the South,” Savannah was founded in 1733 and served as Georgia’s colonial capital. Civil War Union General Sherman spared the city during his notorious march to the sea, and its antebellum character is still intact. Greg Ward, co-author of The Rough Guide USA, counts Savannah’s “superb garden squares, dripping with Spanish moss, and its cobbled riverport” among the features that make it “the loveliest colonial town in the U.S.”

Monterey, Calif.
“Monterey is not only a beautiful coastal town known for its world-class aquarium,” says Anderson, “but it has a rich California history. You can spend time wandering along Cannery Row (made famous by John Steinbeck) and visit the shops and restaurants, which pay tribute to the old sardine canneries, or make your way down to the waterfront and admire the bay, a natural marine sanctuary.”

Lake Placid, N.Y.
101 Best Outdoor Towns co-authors Sarah Tuff Dunn and Melville both put the upstate New York town of Lake Placid on their (independently compiled) lists. Dunn says its “classic Main Street, pine-speckled hills and pristine small lakes” appeal to her, while Melville describes Lake Placid as “the closest you can get to living out West when you’re in the East. It’s got the jagged mountain backdrop surrounding an unpretentious ski village bordered by two crystal lakes.”

Lanesboro, Minn.
Painter John Vander Stelt says, “Understated and self-assured, this Southeast Minnesota burg is a busy stop along the 60-mile-long Root River bike trail. The limestone bluffs, unpretentious shops and river bottoms offer visual delights.”

Guttenberg, Iowa
“It’s like a page ripped out of a Mark Twain novel where the Main Street storefronts face the mighty Mississippi,” says Vander Stelt. “The local city park hugs the shoreline and is reminiscent of Seurat’s painting ‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.’ This quaint village is a laidback slice of Americana.”

Burlington, Vt.
“Burlington has it all,” says Sarah Tuff Dunn, co-author of 101 Best Outdoor Towns. Dunn says the town’s charms include “a brick pedestrian marketplace, Vermont’s iconic white steeples and rolling hills that spill down toward a lively, green waterfront on Lake Champlain.”

Source: Yahoo.com

       Bike Rental

Heaps said Toronto plans to emulate the best aspects of programs in other jurisdictions and would include automated stations, with swipe-card access, with a subscription that would give access to a uniform style of bicycle “that is tried and proven around the world.”

“It can be a one-speed or three-speed bicycle with a kind of mousetrap rack on the back where you can put books or a briefcase,” he added.

High-tech service, to begin next year, modelled on successful global initiatives such as Velib in Paris

But other details are up in the air, he said.

“We need to determine where the best locations (for hubs) are. How many bicycles could work? Do we do it in the downtown core? Do we do it (where there are) subways and intermodal transportation hubs?” Heaps asked.

Such programs are gaining in popularity around the world with the rise of gas prices and environmental consciousness. Launched just a year ago, Paris’s Velib program already has more than 211,000 subscribers who have taken 31 million trips. Denver, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., are kicking off similar programs this summer. Montreal is starting a trial program next month with full service due to be offered next spring.

Portland, Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco are looking at launching similar programs, while Copenhagen, Lyon and Barcelona already have such bike-sharing programs in place.

The Paris program has about 20,000 bikes and 1,400 self-serve rental kiosks. It’s known as Velib, a hybrid of the French words v