But they do, and you can go see them!

There are truly beautiful, unique fairy-tale villages sitting pretty all over the globe. If you have an old soul and an appreciation for mesmerizing human history, then you will want to know about these stunning small cities settled across the map. With an exquisite perspective on varied and changing architecture, Architectural Digest takes us on a trip to breath-taking far-away places. Here is a brief glimpse of a few.

Shirakawa-go, Japan is a 2,000 person village found near the very peak of Mount Haku. It sleeps under snow between mountain tops and is gorgeous.

If you go to Southern Spain’s Málaga, you’ll find a little smurf-blue village called Júzcar. Every last building was painted blue, really, for the Smurfs movie, and villagers officially decided to keep it that way. The paintjob did indeed bring tens of thousands of tourists to the bright blue view, much more than when it was called the White Villages of Andalusia.

In Èze, France people are still living in the ancient city overlooking the French Riviera. It was estimated to be built in 2,000 B.C. and also brings in lots of wide-eyed tourists.

These fairy-tale lands are inhabited by real people. Really lucky people.