Feeling SAD? The Welsh village scientifically proven to boost your mood this winter

As the days grow shorter and many of us look for ways to stay positive during winter, a Welsh location has been revealed as having the power to uplift our spirits, all thanks to the power of colour.

Have you ever felt instantly uplifted just by looking at a bright blue sky or wandering through a street bursting with colourful buildings? You’re not alone.

A growing trend called “ChromaTravel” is all about just that, choosing travel destinations based on their vibrant, mood-boosting palettes.

According to globally renowned applied colour psychology expert Karen Haller, it’s grounded in psychological science.

She shared: “The colours in our environment have a powerful effect on our psychological wellbeing. Travelling to visually rich destinations can lift our mood, change how we feel and respond, and make our experiences even more memorable.”

Recent scientific research has revealed the world’s most colourful destinations – and how colour itself can boost mood and wellbeing.

Commissioned by Staysure, the UK’s leading medical travel insurance provider, the study introduces the “ChromaTravel Index”: a data-led ranking of 26 global destinations based on colour saturation, vibrancy and hue variation.

To dig deeper into this trend, the data team created a ChromaTravel Index, a ranking of the world’s most colourful travel hotspots.

Using daylight-only images from trusted public sources, each destination was analysed for things like saturation, vibrancy, and hue variation (the subtle shifts in colour, like turquoise to teal). Backed by Haller’s expertise, every spot was given a score out of 100 based on how visually vivid it really is.

With more travellers seeking experiences that support mental wellbeing during the darker months, Staysure’s data team set out to measure colour objectively in real travel photography. Each location was analysed using 15 daylight-only images from public sources, with scores combined to create a single ChromaTravel Index score out of 100.

So, whether you’re planning your next getaway or just daydreaming, the colourful escapes that make up their Top 25 might be just what your mood needs.

But luckily for us in Wales, we don’t need to travel far since one location that came in for high praise is right here in Wales… namely the ever-popular Portmeirion.

Chefchaouen in Morocco – the iconic ‘Blue City’ – topped the list for its calming sky-blue streets. Copenhagen’s brightly painted Nyhavn waterfront and Cape Town’s vivid Bo-Kaap neighbourhood also ranked highly for their mood-lifting palettes.

Closer to home, Tobermory in Scotland, coming in at number 11, Brighton in England which made number 19, as well as Portmeirion at a respectable number 13 – offering uplifting escapes for those wishing to stay local this winter.

Portmeirion

Portmeirion is a folly tourist village in Gwynedd. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, 2 miles from Porthmadog and 1 mile from Minffordd railway station.
Portmeirion was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the Baroque style and is now owned by a charitable trust.

It has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously as “the Village” in the 1960s television show The Prisoner.

Many of the buildings within the village are listed by Cadw, the Welsh historic environment service, for their architectural and historical importance, and the gardens are listed, at Grade II, on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, Portmeirion’s architect, denied repeated claims that the design was based on the fishing village of Portofino on the Italian Riviera. He stated only that he wanted to pay tribute to the atmosphere of the Mediterranean. He did, however, draw on a love of the Italian village stating, “How should I not have fallen for Portofino?

The village of Portmeirion has been a source of inspiration for writers and television producers.

Noël Coward wrote Blithe Spirit while staying in the Fountain 2 (Upper Fountain) suite at Portmeirion, though Clough Williams-Ellis, in a television interview, said: “…the Watch House…where Noel Coward wrote that delightful thing of his, Blithe Spirit”. George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells were also early visitors.

In 1956 the architect Frank Lloyd Wright came, and other famous guests included Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman.

In the late 1950s, Stanley Long, a former RAF photographer, came to create a collectible stereoview series through VistaScreen.

The village has many connections to the Beatles. Their manager Brian Epstein was a frequent visitor, along with Paul McCartney, and George Harrison spent his 50th birthday there in 1993.

It was while Harrison was in Portmeirion that he filmed interviews for The Beatles Anthology documentary.

Lifted

The research was supported by leading colour psychology expert Karen Haller, a global authority in the field of applied colour psychology, with over 20 years of experience in how colour influences behaviour and wellbeing.

Commenting on the findings, she said: “There’s something about stepping into a place full of colour that instantly lifts you.

“It changes how you feel, how you move through the space, and even how you connect with others. That’s why colour-filled destinations are becoming more popular.

“We’re drawn to them not just because they look good, but because they leave us feeling better. Happier. More open. More alive. It’s something I do myself, seeking out places where colour isn’t just seen, it’s felt.

And those are the experiences that stay with you.

See the full Top 25 here.