Travel + Leisure magazine has named Lafayette one of America’s Best College Towns.
The Hub City is ranked 17th in a list of 20 places featured in the November 2013 issue. Burlington, Vt., was ranked No. 1. Other notable college towns are Asheville, N.C.; San Luis Ibispo, Calif.; and Flagstaff, Ariz.
The list is based on the publication’s first America’s Favorite Towns survey, which was conducted via social media. A total of 744 towns were nominated in 55 categories.
“If our reader poll had included a ‘most well-rounded’ category, Lafayette may very well have swept the competition. It ranked in the top five for four categories (friendliest, cool souvenirs, burgers, and local accent) and in the top 10 for four more (cafés, bars, ice cream, and fairs),” the Travel + Leisure article states.
It cites Johnson’s Boucanière, a popular downtown restaurant known for its specialty meats, and the “moss-draped Cypress Lake” on campus.