You can catch at least some fall foliage just about anywhere—often by just going out your front door. But many travelers want to head for someplace where the foliage viewing is especially good, and that desire generates a lot of "best fall foliage" lists. One such list from Homes.com should really be called the "Seven Best Unexpected Cities for Fall Foliage," because these mainly urban centers don't usually top anyone's foliage tour considerations. They won't outdo such traditional leaf-peeping areas as Vermont or Great Smoky Mountain National Park, but as advertised, they're in the mix.

Best Cities for Seeing Fall Foliage

Charlottesville, Virginia, provides access to some spectacular foliage spreads in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the town is also an attractive regional destination in itself. Greenville, South Carolina, shows that fall foliage doesn't require mountains: The city's center, with its river walk and adjacent parks, provides numerous opportunities.

Then there's Boston. Yes, it's a big city, but boasts two great public preserves with trees in the city center: The Public Garden and Boston Common, and the Esplanade along the Charles River.

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Aspen, Colorado's namesake trees put on quite a different show than trees in the Northeast and Midwest, but their annual yellow-gold show is spectacular. Oakland, Maryland, sits among a mix of oak, aspen, hickory, and pine trees in the state's western Appalachian region. It's an easy trip from Washington or Baltimore.

Saint Helens, Oregon, is something of an outlier on this list: Local foliage isn't a lot different from other Oregon towns along the Columbia River. It made this list because of its annual Halloween festival.

Escanaba, Houghton, and Marquette, Michigan, are in the sparsely populated North Woods area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Although not one of the nation's top summer or winter destinations, the Mount Bohemia chairlift it does provide fall-color excursions prior to the ski season.

More from SmarterTravel:

• Fall Foliage Beyond New England
• 5 Best Fall Train Rides in the U.S.
• Best Lightweight Fall Jackets for Travelers

Consumer advocate Ed Perkins has been writing about travel for more than three decades. The founding editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, he continues to inform travelers and fight consumer abuse every day at SmarterTravel.

Read the original story: 7 Best Cities for Seeing Fall Foliage by Ed Perkins, who is a regular contributor to SmarterTravel.