Telluride scored highly for being pleasantly quirky, and that flair comes through clearly this time of year. The town’s big tree lighting happens on the Ski Tree, made totally of old skis, and accompanies a bonfire comprising more old-and-broken skis. On New Year’s Eve, you can watch more than a hundred ski instructors do a zigzag-patterned torchlight parade down the mountain. Year round, T+L readers loved the local nightlife. Go barhopping from Hotel Madeline’s sleek SMAK Bar to New Sheridan Hotel’s Historic Bar, which has kept the same mahogany-paneled look since 1895.