Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Home of: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Town Population: 51,574
(2007 Census est.) Student Population: 27,500

Chapel Hill is the smallest of our favorites. But so what? It attracts music and arts from all over the U.S., while holding a place in its heart for all the mom and pop stores that still grace Franklin Street. Scholars of all ages form a community melting pot that leaves the young and the young-at-heart better for it.

Photo: Courtesy Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau