Colorado's Bavarian Fairytale Village Is A Car-Free Paradise Boasting Tasty Restaurants And Unique Shops

It's a slightly surreal experience to step into a place where cars simply don't exist. You realize how much they control the rhythm of a place: where you can walk, how fast you move, whether you can stop to look at something, or keep going because there's nowhere to pull over. In Lionshead Village, Colorado, cars don't factor into the equation at all. The Bavarian-inspired, fairytale-like streets are all cobblestone, heated to melt snow in winter, and they connect cafes, shops, and the base of the Eagle Bahn Gondola without a single stoplight or crosswalk in sight. A free shuttle runs between Lionshead and neighboring Vail Village (one of the cities in the U.S. that convinces you that you've landed in Europe) for anyone who'd rather ride than walk the mile-long path that follows Gore Creek, but most people seem content to move at their own pace.

Lionshead began as a somewhat haphazard development in 1969 to mirror Vail Village's alpine aesthetic with timber beams and peaked rooflines that feel as though Bavaria picked up and dropped itself right into the Rockies. Its name came from a rock formation nearby that supposedly resembles a lion's head (though whether you see it depends on your imagination and possibly how much hot cocoa you've consumed). After a major overhaul in the early 2000s, it finally became the fairytale village you'll encounter today. That glow-up also brought the Arrabelle at Vail Square, which in turn drew a wave of upscale dining and boutique shopping. The village now works as one of three base areas for Vail Mountain, with a setup that hands the streets back to pedestrians entirely. Best of all, it's only a 40-minute drive from Eagle Airport (EGE) — a vast improvement over the hours you'd spend getting to the "real" thing in Germany.

What carless means in practice: You can linger, sit by the fire pits scattered all around Lionshead, watch the swaying gondolas ferrying people overhead, and smell the almost taunting food coming from the smattering of dining options in the area. Call it gluttonous urban planning — this village has more tempting menus than seems fair. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. In Lionshead, that means joining the swarm of locals over at Little Diner, a postage-stamp-sized spot that somehow feeds half the valley every morning. The line often snakes out the door of this family-owned spot, but the menu is worth the wait — especially the German pancake (a sweet crepe that's become something of a house legend) and the eggs Benedict (apparently the dish the owner's father used to win over his mother). With over 1,200 glowing reviews and a 4.7-star rating on Tripadvisor, it's safe to say this little spot is disproportionately good at what it does.

For something less breakfast-centric, head to Blue Moose Pizza, a casual joint that can absorb entire ski families and groups of friends. You'll find the classic pies, of course, but also unapologetically American spins, such as buffalo chicken or pesto toppings. The prime location right by the ice rink in Vail Square makes it as much a people-watching perch as a pizza stop. And because no alpine village outing feels complete without something sweet, Rimini Gelato, just across the street, covers that base with a rainbow of flavors that swing from classic chocolate to lavender and lemon. Owner Michael Schneider modeled it after his favorite gelaterias in Rimini, Italy. However, if you're willing to think beyond gelato, the shop also offers artisanal chocolates, crepes, and specialty coffees.

Shopping in Lionshead follows a predictable trajectory, where you come for ski boots and leave with a meteorite. Seeing as you're in the state with the best skiing in the U.S., Performance Sports is an obvious stop. The store opened in 1979 by locals who go by J.P. and The General. This spot handles ski and snowboard rentals as well as outerwear and boots. If you're a woman, it's worth stopping by Outdoor Divas instead — a shop that claims the title of the only women-specific ski shop in the country (and maybe the whole world).

Of course, not every shop needs to revolve around skis. Vail is one of the best mountain destinations in the country for non-skiers, and stores like Lionshead Jewelers are a big part of the reason. It occupies 4,000 square feet and multiple rooms, but calling it a jewelry store severely undersells the delightfully bizarre mix it houses inside. You'll surely find diamonds and designer pieces, but that seems almost mundane alongside the store's plethora of museum-quality fossils, meteorites, geodes, and crinoids. You could very well end up learning more about prehistoric life than you bargained for upon entering, which either enhances the experience or derails the entire afternoon.

Between all that, Rocket Fizz exists as a sugar-fueled intermission — thousands of bottled sodas and candies from across the country, plus novelty flavors like carrot cake, that test the limits of what qualifies as a beverage. A Yelp reviewer describes it as carrying "every kind of candy and chocolate imaginable," which tracks given the sheer square footage devoted to confections — though it does make one wonder who's buying bacon-flavored soda at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. (Apparently, enough people to justify the inventory.)