My list of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S., including: great dining options, art and gift shops, and gorgeous scenery.
My mom and I have explored the best art towns and festivals in the U.S. for over 20 years, picking at least one new city or town in the U.S. each spring, summer or fall, to visit and buy handmade items from local and traveling artists. Below are the best art towns and festivals in the U.S. with the most culture, the best museums, the tastiest vegan food, and the best art!
We started these adventures after I got married and moved from my hometown of Dallas to Nashville. It was our little way of staying connected and getting to see a new part of this incredible country we get to live in. Now that I’m back in North Texas for half of the year, we have still kept our trips going, choosing at least one new art festival – and city – each year.
I’m updating the original 2020 blog on the best art towns and festivals in the U.S. to include several of our more recent adventures in the hopes that these wonderful cities and festivals inspire you!
Now, here’s my list of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S.:
Please note that most of the city titles are linked with the full trip recap, if interested.
1. Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Ann Arbor Summer Art Festival is quite possibly the largest in the US of truly handmade, quality art. I had to put this one first on my list of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S., as not only is the art festival absolutely incredible, so is adorable Ann Arbor. The best part of traveling to art festivals, aside from meeting new artists, is getting to check out cities that we’d never normally go to. Ann Arbor was one of them, and it absolutely stole our hearts. This is a gorgeous college town with great art galleries and a lot of eclectic restaurants.
This trip is the only one I don’t have a full trip recap on, and since it was 20+ years ago, I can no longer remember all the places we visited. I do remember Detroit being way more interesting than I thought, and Farmington being a great town for high-end shopping, and loving Ann Arbor for the art galleries, food, university and this incredible festival (they hold two festivals actually – the Original and the Art Fair. They are next to each other, they are HUGE, and they are awesome! – bring snacks and wear comfy shoes!!).
2. Madison, Wisconsin
Madison’s downtown square is where the art festival (and farmers market) is during their 2-day festival, Art Fair on the Square. The university is gorgeous, there’s several cute independent restaurants and art shops, and a great college vibe. The city is beautiful with a ton of bike trails, and the waterfront is a perfect place to spend an afternoon. We fell in love with Madison! Again, this is a city that was not on our radar before, so the festival drew us in and oh my goodness am I thankful for that. Madison is so, so cool. I just adore college towns!
3. Portland, OR
Portland might be my favorite city on my best art towns and festivals in the U.S. list simply for the vegan food (OMG) and the Japanese Gardens (again, OMG). The architecture in this city is beautiful, too. And of course, the bookstores are great, it’s close to the ocean, the hiking and exploring nature are unbeatable. The Salem Art Festival in nearby Salem, OR, was really, really cool as well. The weather was stunning, everything was so green!!, and we got to meet new artists that we hadn’t met before. Portland is one of my favorite cities and the art fest is terrific. Side note: we did not attend Art in the Pearl, Portland’s main art festival, due to travel date restrictions. But that festival looks fabulous, too!
4. Santa Fe, NM
Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Taos, Abiquiu…I can’t get enough of any of these cities and towns. If I could go anywhere, I would go to New Mexico, over and over and over again. And…I have. There’s nothing quite like the light in New Mexico. The mountains and rocks and trees and desert, the Indian culture, the pueblos and pottery, the jewelry, the farmers markets, and the artist vibe. It surrounds you and sucks you in, in the best way. All of New Mexico is exceptional, but there’s nothing quite like Santa Fe. This entire state ranks for the best art towns and festivals in the U.S.
Before I moved here, my mom and I traveled to NM many times, one of which was to visit the International Folk Art Market (incredibly crowded but if you love folk art, this is worth it), and more recently to the Santa Fe Indian Market (my personal favorite, if you love Native American finds, you will love this).
All that said, you might want to just visit Santa Fe during an off season/non-festival time if crowds drive you nuts. Santa Fe is stunning. Every weekend there’s a farmers market and artisan market at the Railyards, and the quality of art is juried-level. The local artists here are that good. Canyon Road is filled with galleries (way pricier than I could ever afford, but nice to peruse). And if you venture up north to Taos, you’ll find a wonderful amount of galleries at often cheaper prices than SF. This land, the people, the food… it’s just incredible.
I hope you spend a week or longer exploring the specialness that is New Mexico. Also, I have so many travel guides to New Mexico if you’d like to take a look.
5. Amherst, MA
The Amherst Art Festival was excellent, and this whole area of Massachusetts was just gorgeous. Amherst is worth visiting and gets a top spot on my list of best art towns and festivals in the U.S. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is probably my favorite place in this whole area. The Norman Rockwell Museum and grounds was simply fabulous too. The nature and the little cafes and markets and the Bridge of Flowers – all were unbeatable. This is a great fall weekend destination – you will not run out of discovering magical little cafes, gorgeous and colorful scenery, and incredible art!
6. La Quinta, CA
Just, wow. The La Quinta Festival of the Arts is on a gorgeous lake, with a backdrop of stunning mountains, and filled with incredible artists. La Quinta is near Palm Springs, which for me I thought would be a little cooler…maybe I’m not as intrigued by mid-century as I used to be. However, La Quinta is also near Joshua Tree National Park – and that is most definitely worth the trip. We flew in and out of San Diego, which is a little further, but La Jolla and San Diego are great places to stop and check out the galleries, bookstores, cafes, and hippie enclaves.
The art fests in both La Jolla and it’s northern neighbor Laguna Beach I thought were just OK; I’d skip them and do La Quinta again personally. They are not held on the same weekend – this was 2 different trips to CA. I’m just including them here if you’re looking at Southern California for art festivals and not sure which one to go to. La Quinta was fab and this might be the prettiest setting ever for an art fest (image featured above)! Visit and see why this is one of my favorite of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S.!
7. Des Moines, IA
I had heard for years that the Des Moines Art Festival was worth checking out. And this is going to sound ignorant, but, Iowa?? Really? What’s in Iowa? Wow, we were pleasantly surprised. Des Moines and Iowa City are filled with art galleries, nature, delicious vegan food, art museums, and so much more. This was a perfect 4-day weekend destination; I cannot stress enough how fabulous (and open, and accepting!!) this area is. Please include it on your travel list; Des Moines could easily be at the top of my best art towns and festivals in the U.S.; it’s so hard to put these cities/festivals in order!!
8. Seattle, WA
The Tacoma Arts Festival was awesome and in simply a gorgeous setting. Seattle, of course, has incredible coffee shops, great vegan food, cute restaurants, beautiful neighborhoods, and the best farmers market I have ever been to. Yes, Tacoma is not Seattle, but this was the festival we went to, and that was actually fun because we got to see more of Dale Chihuly’s art by taking a very short day trip down to Tacoma (the Seattle Art Fair looks great, too, BTW). This whole area deserves a top spot on the list of best art towns and festivals in the U.S.
9. Asheville, NC
The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands is one of my all-time favorite festivals, a lot of which has to do with Asheville: I mean, is there a prettier, quaint mountain town in North America??? I don’t think so!! My mom and I went on this trip way back in the day, so I don’t have a blog post on it. However, North Carolina and especially the Asheville area are exceptional, with or without the art fest, but the art fest is wonderful, too. I’ve been to Asheville a handful of times and have always left wanting to go back.
Also, this is one of the only festivals that uses “craft” in the title that I actually want to go to. These are true craftsmen and craftswomen – not just some person making “crafty” things – these artists have been making these crafts for decades, and many learned from their parents and grandparents. The arts and crafts at this festival will blow you away. I cannot recommend Asheville and the Craft Fair enough, again, this could easily go higher up on my list of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S.!
10. Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis!! Wow is this a pleasant, artsy city; take a visit and I’m certain you’ll see why this is in the top 10 of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S.!! Coffee shops on every corner, vegan food galore, awesome art galleries and gift shops, and a wonderful art festival. Beautiful trails, and tons of options for biking and walking. We loved it here! St. Paul was very special, too. I get why these cities seem to be on everyone’s best-of lists. They are great to visit in the summer and this festival was perfect – outside, lots of new artists, great weather.
13. Park City and Salt Lake City, UT
Utah is stunning, just stunning. Both the Utah Art Festival in Salt Lake and Park City’s Kimball Art Center Art Festival are fabulous. I’d lean towards Salt Lake just because Park City kinda grosses me out (I really am not into all the yuppy/trust funder/tech bro wealth in ski towns), but I can’t deny the beauty of Park City. The scenery of Utah alone will absolutely blow you away. If you can swing it, stay longer and visit their breathtaking national parks – some of which are linked above with my trip recaps. Just like New Mexico, the entire state of Utah deserves a spot on the best art towns and festivals in the U.S. list.
12. Denver and Boulder, CO
OK, to be frank, Denver isn’t my fave city to travel to. But – the Pearl Street Arts Fest in Boulder is excellent, the accompanying art galleries are excellent, and of course you get that great Colorado hiking and mountain air. My mom and I also took a separate trip a handful of years later to Cherry Creek Art Festival which is in Denver, and I’ve since visited that fest a few more times, and it’s a really good festival, too. I might not be the biggest Denver fan, but I can’t deny that it’s a nice looking city in a gorgeous state, so it deserves a good spot on my best art towns and festivals in the U.S. list.
13. Last But Definitely Not Least: Fort Worth, TX
I have to put my part-time home on the list: Fort Worth. The Main Street Fort Worth Art Festival is insane good (just get there on a Thursday or Sunday eve, or very early on Friday/Saturday/Sunday morning: otherwise you will not get to see any art; it’s just too crowded). The fest is held downtown, which is part of the appeal, and quite honestly, part of the reason it is so dang crowded.
The rest of the city is filled with great places to check out: The Near Southside for breweries, coffee shops, gift shops, and it’s a bit walkable, which is rare in FW. Downtown (Sundance Square) is cute at night especially with the fountains running, the Water Gardens are gorgeous, and the art museums area is great. There’s also a good amount of vegan food options in Fort Worth to boot. The Fort Worth dining scene is exceptional, vegan or not, so come here to splurge and enjoy a long weekend in Cowtown!
P.S.: There will always be a day of bad weather during this fest. Visit Fort Worth anyway and spend that rainy day in the museums. Fort Worth is gorgeous and deserves a solid spot on my best art towns and festivals in the U.S. list.
The good but not the best of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S.:
Meaning, I wouldn’t travel to any of these, but if I lived in the area, they’d be fine to spend an afternoon at.
- Wickford, RI – The Wickford Festival of the Arts is good, not great, but the town of Wickford was so cute. This festival had so many paintings, especially ocean paintings, and that’s just not my thing. This fest/town is close to Newport which is where we were based during this trip, and I would definitely skip in the future – it has a cute downtown, and the water nearby is nice, but it just felt so snooty, high society, like a land of trust funders. It pretty much ruined the entire state of RI for me.
- Tempe, AZ – The Tempe Art Festival was good, but not trip-worthy I don’t think. The greater Phoenix area is just so congested, and the rest of Arizona is so, so pretty. Why limit yourself to Phoenix when there’s the wonderful art towns of Tucson, Flagstaff, Sedona, Jerome, etc. etc. etc??
- Armonk, NY – The Armonk Outdoor Art Show was in a beautiful park surrounded by that gorgeous granite rock that you see all over New York. We happened to be in the area during this weekend, and stopped by. It was a really nice art festival, but doesn’t make it to the top of my list of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S. However, if you live in the area, or happen to be visiting the Hudson Valley, it’s worth the stop.
- The Kansas City Plaza Art Fair had really talented artists and seems to year after year. Kansas City in general though is just not my jam… it feels (and looks) like any other city in North America, albeit with nice fountains and a few nice neighborhoods. I would not go out of my way to travel here, but if I lived close-by, the art fest is worth going to.
- As I mentioned above, both the La Jolla Art and Wine Festival and Laguna Festival of the Arts Pageant of the Masters art festivals were good, but not worth it IMO. Go to La Quinta for a truly exceptional assortment of artists.
- And lastly, the Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts was mostly OK, but they make you get a ticket and go find a cashier booth for every single purchase you want to make. Which makes you want to make absolutely no purchases. It’s truly insane. Why would any artist show their work here??? What a total waste and complete frustration for both the artists and shoppers.
The ones we’d skip if we could do it over again:
OK, not to offend anyone here, but I don’t feel right if I don’t list the art fests that absolutely do not belong on my best art towns and festivals in the U.S. list.
- The Arkansas Craft Fair – although Bentonville and Fayetteville are cute for a few nights and Crystal Bridges is fabulous; the scenery in NW Arkansas is also stunning; the art fest is way craft-heavy and not the good kind of craft.
- The Louisville St. James Art Festival – argh I don’t even know what to say about this one – so disappointing – is this really juried??? This one is on SO many top 10 festival lists which makes me certain that those lists are all rigged. There’s absolutely no way this is a top 10 art festival. Yes, there were a handful of actual legit artists, but just a handful.
- The Richmond Arts in the Park – another gorgeous location for a festival, just like Louisville – but OMG are either of these even remotely juried? This is way more craft – and again, not the good kind of craft – than actual art. Yes, that sounds snobby, and I promise you, you need to believe me.
Wrapping Up…
Alright, I hope this list gave you a good assortment of wonderful, eclectic cities to visit. The U.S. is filled with so much diversity, so much beauty, such great food… it’s so hard to limit my best art towns and festivals in the U.S. recommendations to just a handful, and also, please don’t get upset if I didn’t love your city’s art festival! After visiting so many of these art towns and festivals over the past 20+ years, I’ve become very picky about which art festivals are truly juried and wonderful (and which cities are worth visiting, too!). I hope you’re able to travel to some of these in the upcoming years!
And… which of the best art towns and festivals in the U.S. am I missing?? Which ones am I wrong about?? Please let me know!
Peace and Love,
Jen
P.S. – This blog on the best art towns and festivals in the U.S. was originally published in 2020 and updated in May of 2026.