Solvang won a top-10 slot as the country’s best historic small town. In the USA Today contest, entries were chosen by travel writers and then voted on by readers. They placed Solvang — also known as California’s Denmark — at no. 8 among such noted towns as Natchitoches, Louisiana; Williamsburg, Virginia; and Dodge City, Kansas. Solvang, the only California town to receive the award, turns 107 years old this year. Its population of 5,802 supports a tourism industry that greets more than 1.5 million visitors per year with attractions that range from Mission Santa Inés to the Vintage Motorcycle Museum.