Manteo, North Carolina

On North Carolina’s northern Outer Banks’ island of Roanoke, this charming, secluded waterfront village curves around quiet Shallowbag Bay. It dates from the late 1800s and is named after a Croatan chief who helped the New World’s first English colonists.

Tourism is the driving force here, and several annual festivals, including Dare Day and New World Festival of the Arts, entertain locals and vacationers alike. The artsy town center has restaurants, bookstores, cafes, B&Bs and art galleries tucked in attractive, colorful buildings. The sidewalks are red brick. Sailboats and pleasure cruisers bob in the beautiful marina, which has a boardwalk and the elegant Roanoke Inn as a backdrop.

A major event is the Waterside Theater’s annual summer performance of The Lost Colony, the story of Roanoke, the first English colony in the New World, which vanished without a trace sometime between 1587 and 1590. The play always attracts a large crowd and is a North Carolina tradition.

Shopping is primarily boutique-style, but there is a grocery and a farmers’ market. Residents have three city boat ramps and a couple of waterfront parks but no public beach. The nearest oceanfront beaches are about a mile away across Roanoke Sound.

Stately Victorians and Colonials and newer four square and plantation homes styles are the norm. Pirates Cove is a waterfront community with condos and single family homes.

While summer crowds swell the population, winters are very quiet.