One of America’s ’20 Most Festive Towns’ is 40 Miles From Rochester

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If you're looking to add a little extra Christmas spirit to your holiday season this year, one of the '20 Most Festive Towns in America' is only a little over 40 miles from Rochester.

The crew over at Sixt Magazine, a website dedicated to travel news and tips on traveling, just ranked 20 of the Most Festive Towns in America. And, these aren't the big cities like New York, where the Rockefeller Center tree lighting has been turned into a nationally-broadcast TV special.

These are small towns from across the country. According to Sixt Magazine, 'there’s a particular charm to small towns that go all-out for the holidays. The places that bring the phrase “home for the holidays” close to heart,' the site noted.

Their #1 Most Festive Town in America this year is Branson, Missouri, which, the site says is known as 'America's Christmas Tree City.' Sure, that makes sense, right? But also included in their list, at #15, is a town just 46 miles southwest of Rochester...

Lanesboro, Minnesota!

Here's what Sixt Magazine said about Lanesboro, (which is, of course, just a quick jaunt south of Rochester along Highway-52 and then east on Highway-8) why it's definitely one of the 20 Most Festive Towns in America for 2021:

Lanesboro offers a Christmas Inn Tour spanning seven bed and breakfast inns. There are also performances of A Christmas Carol at the Commonweal Theatre Company. The Carols, Cocktails and Covers holiday event at the High Court Pub will remind you that it’s the most wonderful time of the year. You can even get into the spirit of Christmas with Christmas spirits: the pub’s spiked eggnog, mulled wine, and hot buttered rum are sure to bring you good cheer. The Artisan Christmas Market’s craft artistic creations will impress even the most industrious of Santa’s elves.

Making the list is no small feat, seeing as other cities joining Lanesboro on the list are places like Santa Claus, Indiana, as well as North Pole, Alaska. So congrats, Lanesboro and thanks for helping make this the most wonderful time of the year here in southeast Minnesota!

And if you're looking for another fantastic holiday light display, keep scrolling to find one an hour or so north of Rochester that features over 8 million lights!

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