I’ve found over the years places that remind me of far away places in my travels in my own area and closer to home without having to fly around the world.  And while nothing might compare to the real destination, places that are similar can often cure that wanderlust just a little!

Sometimes when you can’t make it to the French Riviera, you can find someplace that might feel similar and here are my suggestions for close to home places that are easier to get to that leave you reminiscing for the feeling of some places farther away.

The whole time we were in Santa Barbara, Nick and I kept remarking how European it felt and between the vegetation, the climate, the orange mission style roofs on all the buildings, we knew it felt familiar but it took us a while to figure out what it reminded us of.  We drove up to the top of a hill and looked down on the city below and finally realized, it felt just like Nice.  With the ocean at its edge, the red roofs, the view from above of the city and hills around it.  Add to that the Mediterrean-esque trees and vegetation and Santa Barbara could be an American substitution for the French Riviera.