Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service.
April 9, 2025 – Solvang, CA – Solvang, California (http://www.SolvangUSA.com), affectionately known as “The Danish Capital of America,” has been voted as the number one “Best Small Town in the West” in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards, the results for which were publicly announced on April 9. The unique Southern California destination is joined by second place category winner Astoria, Oregon, and third place winner, Healdsburg, California, in the top three spots, with Healdsburg being the only other California town to place in the list’s “top 10.”
Solvang also came in at spot number five in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards category of “Best Small Town Food Scene.” Solvang was the sole California town represented in that category’s top 10, as well as the only Western town represented among the list’s top 10 winners.
In 2025, Solvang was nominated by a panel of subject matter experts and USA TODAY 10Best editors before being voted on by the public in three different Readers’ Choice Awards travel categories: “Best Small Town in the West,” “Best Small Town Food Scene,” and “Best Main Street.” The travel awards contest and online voting launched for the “Best Small Town in the West” and “Best Small Town Food Scene” categories on Monday, March 3, 2025, at 12 Noon EST, and online, public voting ran through Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:59 AM EDT. (Results for the “Best Main Street” awards category will be announced on April 16, 2025.)
No stranger to the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, Solvang, the Danish-rooted, California Central Coast getaway spot with a resident population hovering around 6,000, was one of the 10 Best Historic Small Town winners in the 2018 travel contest. Solvang was also one of the 10 Best winners for the same award category in 2016. In 2017, USA TODAY named Solvang as one of “10 great places to enjoy global Christmas traditions in the USA.” More recently, Solvang was nominated for the 2022 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards in two different categories, “Best Historic Small Town” and “Best Small Town Cultural Scene,” securing seventh place in the 2022 winners’ listing for the latter category. In 2024, Solvang was voted second “Best Small Town in the West” in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
The fourth through tenth place winners in 2025’s “Best Small Town in the West” category are: Cody, Wyoming; Grants, New Mexico; Sedona, Arizona; Bigfork, Montana; Breckenridge, Colorado; Jackson, Wyoming; and Moab, Utah.
The annual USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice awards feature the top 20 or so nominees in contests covering travel and lifestyle topics such as food, lodging, destinations, travel gear, things to do, seasonal family fun, and more. All nominees are selected by a panel of experts and the 10Best editorial team. The 10Best Readers’ Choice Award contest launches new categories every week, revealing each category’s approximately 20 nominees. After 28 days of digital voting, the contest closes and the nominated businesses that have received the most eligible votes will be designated as the Readers’ Choice for their respective categories and be awarded a badge of recognition as the 10Best Readers’ Choice. Rules allow the public the right to vote online for one nominee per category, per day. More information about the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards may be found here.
Dog-friendly and ideal for kids, Solvang, known for its Danish-American vibe, architecture and design details, pastries and bakeries, and array of wine tasting options, also boasts dozens of unique boutiques, restaurants, and gourmet food purveyors. Carefully-curated indie booksellers and high-end home goods suppliers mingle with fairy tale-like children’s stores and museum gift shops. Solvang’s foodie destinations offer everything from elevated street cuisine – like locally-sourced fish tacos on hand-made tortillas, and comforting ramen noodles – to European-style pretzels and sausages, to Italian standbys or iconic Danish dishes, to elevated new-Californian fare in the form of MICHELIN-honored menus. Solvang visitors sip small-batch, locally-roasted coffee, shop for exotic, hand-bottled spice blends, or enjoy Tiki cocktails and craft beer, all part of a playful, indulgent, and one-of-a-kind, year ‘round shopping and playing escape.
Questions, media requests for interviews and/or photos related to this announcement may be directed to Anna Ferguson-Sparks, Stiletto Marketing, at 1-877-327-2656 or solvang@stilettomarketing.com.
About the City of Solvang:
Referred to as “The Danish Capital of America,” the City of Solvang is located in the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County, California. Founded by a group of Danish-Americans in 1911 and incorporated in 1985, Solvang offers a taste of Denmark in Southern California. Danish design and Old World charm fill Solvang’s numerous interior courtyards, cozy communal spaces, and open-air venues, where vacation itineraries for all unfold. The walkable town features plentiful free parking options for locals and visitors, and more than 20 lodging options for staycation-ers, weekenders and midweek travelers, from classic comfort to luxury-level. The Solvang Visitor Center, located at 1639 Copenhagen Drive, is open daily, 9:30 AM-5:30 PM (closed briefly for lunch). For more information, including travel itinerary ideas and inspiration for things to do, where to eat and drink, and places to stay, follow our adventures on Instagram and Facebook: @SolvangUSA and facebook.com/VisitSolvangUSA.
