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Shops in the historic town of Madrid, New Mexico.
Shops in the historic town of Madrid, New Mexico. Photograph: Alamy
Shops in the historic town of Madrid, New Mexico. Photograph: Alamy

Hippy hangouts around the world: readers’ tips

This article is more than 6 years old

Fifty years on from the Summer of Love, readers reveal the laid-back spots around the world where it’s still possible to turn up and drop out

Winning tip: Viva Madrid, New Mexico

Nothing quite spells Summer of Love like Madrid, New Mexico, a multi-hued, gloriously ramshackle artists’ colony lying on the scenic Turquoise Trail between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, a few miles from Cerillos Hills state park. The Mine Shaft Tavern, on whose shaded deck I sat sipping cold beer, bears testament to the town’s coal mining past. There I chatted to Noah from Weasel and Fitz (an art shop specialising in recycled crafts). He persuaded me to make an unscheduled stopover at the charming Ghost Town Lodging House (from $135 a night). “Why the rush, man? Stay and watch the sunset.”
visitmadridnm.com
Moiraash

The new Haight Ashbury: Asheville, North Carolina

The weekly (Friday night) drum circle in Pritchard Park, Asheville. Photograph: Alamy

I lived in Haight Ashbury for many years, just a stone’s throw from the iconic corner. Now I live in Asheville, North Carolina, where there are hippies everywhere. Partially they are drawn to the nature that surrounds the town, but also to the brewpubs and the River arts district, the many organic farmers’ markets, bluegrass music, hippy festivals like the LEAF festival (4-5 August 2017), the Friday night drum circle, and most of all by the affordable rents. An apartment that rents for $3,000 a month in the Haight would be a quarter of that in Asheville. The Haight Ashbury is history, nostalgic hippy, but no longer the real thing. Asheville is the real deal.
exploreasheville.com
Cate Moon

Bohemian Fargo, North Dakota

Twentybelow Coffee, Fargo

Considering its tagline is “North of Normal” you’d expect a bohemian vibe in Fargo and that’s exactly what you get. Unglued Market offers homemade crafts, upcycled goods and DIY workshops or, if an hour isn’t enough, sleep-over summer camps. Twentybelow Coffee is a pay-what-you-want establishment where wonderfully helpful baristas make your coffee fresh in an environment as un-Starbucks as you can get.
Ruth Kelly

Saved by hippies: Makanda, Illinois

Makanda Inn & Cottages

Makanda is a town historically saved by hippies (their patronage of this old railroad town kept away the bulldozers) so it’s no surprise to find that 1960s spirit alive and well in the local art community. Music and art festivals throughout the year bring in the tourists and the Makanda Inn & Cottages (from $119 for two) embodies what makes the town great. The buildings use eco-friendly practices throughout, from living roofs and straw bale insulation to reclaimed doors and interiors by local artisans. Most striking are the bathroom mosaics created using scrap tiles and broken pottery.
Will K

Countercultural Canada: Vancouver

The annual 4/20 marijuana event at Sunset Beach, Vancouver. Photograph: Alamy

It’s the 50th anniversary of the counterculture and entertainment newspaper the Georgia Straight, and despite government/police efforts to shut it down, it has outlasted them all. It’s the 40th anniversary of both the Vancouver Folk Music Festival (13-16 July 2017) and Vancouver Children’s Festival (29 May-4 June) this year. Canadian and American environmentalists gathered here and created Greenpeace, and Adbusters calls this place home. The city is home to Guerrilla Gardening and a bustling marijuana industry, with vapour lounges about. The greening of this city got rolling in the 1970s and hasn’t stopped since.
tourismvancouver.com
mikedow


Sarongs and guitar songs: Olympos, Turkey

Saban Pension tree houses

Singing along to Beatles songs on a beach full of other young travellers in Olympos, south of Antalya in Turkey, is the closest I’ve gotten to a childhood dream of following my aunt’s footsteps on the hippy trail. A laid-back crowd escaping from the interior of Turkey, and beyond, gathers for nights around the fire with a guitar and days relaxing on the undeveloped beach. I found the dorm option a little too authentically communal but recommend the simple wooden treehouses and bungalows at Saban Pension which has a mellow atmosphere and the prices include a mostly vegetarian, locally sourced breakfast and dinner buffet.
Bungalow for two from £26 half-board, sabanpansion.com
Annie O’Connor

Cool Christiania: Denmark

Photograph: Alamy

Forget the more cliched hippy trails and visit Christiania, an autonomous “free town” in Copenhagen, with its own flag and currency. An abandoned military base, it was taken over by the hippy community in 1971. The once notorious “pusher street” is now closed down. We found a family-friendly place with amazing street murals and colourful architecture (including a house made entirely of recycled windows). You can stroll around the streets, picnic by the tree-lined lake or visit one of many organic food outlets (Morgenstedet vegan restaurant is especially good). The cinema even hosts fortnightly “science and cocktails” evenings.
visitcopenhagen.com
rja123

Medieval festival: Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

Photograph: Alamy

Parades, live music, re-enactments and beer! What makes it great is it’s free entry and the whole town gets involved with celebrating the battle of Tewkesbury.
8-9 July, tewkesburymedievalfestival.org
Mike Reynolds

Hang with George and Jimi: London

Jimi Hendrix’s former girlfriend, Kathy Etchingham,
in a recreation of his bedroom at the Handel and Hendrix museum in London.
Photograph: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images

Feel the vibes in Jimi Hendrix’s bedroom, 23 Brook Street, his London pad in 1968-69. He thought he had moved into the house of George Frideric Handel. Sometimes students of classical music would knock on the door asking to be shown around Handel’s place; Jimi would invite them up to take a look. In fact, the Baroque composer lived at number 25 from 1723 until his death in 1759. One night Hendrix saw Handel’s ghost coming towards him through the bathroom mirror. A tantalising thought: Jimi and George jamming together – one with a harpsichord the other with an electric guitar. Improvisation and virtuosity - in rock and baroque. Both were immigrants with flamboyant hairstyles who came to London and changed the face of music forever.
handelhendrix.org, £10 adult, £5 child, closed Sunday
Julia Semmer

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