Through astounding Walmart philanthropy and plenty of taxes paid by the home office, Bentonville has invested billions in world-class art museums, parks, architecture, public spaces, restaurants, mountain biking, human resources, clean energy, concert venues, entertainment, housing, biking lanes, universities, a medical school, and children centers. Heck, there are 50 miles of multi-use paved trails around downtown alone, not to mention Central Park-sized green spaces. All that… in a tiny town!

Why? Because Walmart wants to attract and retain top talent. And it’s working. In the last five years, the city has boomed and is expected to double within as little as 15 years. Make no mistake — one of America’s wealthiest families clearly wanted to give back to the community. But Bentonville is proof of what happens when you pair a geographically gifted part of the world with the even greater gift of “corporate endowment in perpetuity.”

Let me say that in simpler terms: Bentonville, Arkansas is Walmart’s gift to America. Not only is it one of the most desirable places to live in the oh-so-hospital “High South,” it’s an amazing place to visit for a long weekend, if not more for massive mountain biking, marvelous museums, and “Is this place for real?”

After visiting with my wife this summer, I’m happy to report: yes, it is. Bentonville is a real-life Disneyland with an all brick and heavily-moneyed town square from Back to The Future (minus the time traveling clock tower). Far from being an urban jungle, the Truman Show-like town is surrounded with flowers, arbory, parks, and hilly green canopies of forested fun. 

There are award-winning farmers markets, coffee shops, bougie restaurants to wine and dine vendors and visitors in, public installations, outsized concert venues, fireflies in summer, and a billion dollar art museum called Crystal Bridges (aka “America’s Art Museum”) that rivals, if not supersedes, some of our nation’s greatest museums located in cities of millions. In that way, so much of what you find in Bentonville would be a National Treasure in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago–let alone a town of just 60,000. 

On top of that, Walmart is the gift that keeps on giving. Two more enormous parks are opening this fall, one with a spaceship-like multi-use path like something out of Apple’s futuristic headquarters in Cupertino. In a competitive nod to Amazon’s glass and steel orb in downtown Seattle, there are similar chrome and cultivating orbs all throughout Bentonville. Heck, even new stretches of “Adapt a bike trail” are sponsored by Walmart, as if they haven’t given enough already.

If it sounds like I’m hard-selling Bentonville, it’s because I am. Not only could I live there, but it’s a truly deserving and stimulating place to visit. Not just for Americans. I’m convinced even international visitors would gawk at the quality of life, culture, parks, and attractions on display. 

Over three short days, my wife and I enjoyed not only Crystal Bridges, but the free and impressive Walmart museum and corporate headquarters tour. We gawked at The Momemtary’s full-size grocery store made entirely out of felt before listening to a million dollar DJ who usually plays for ocean sized crowds in Vegas. And we delighted in ripping bike lanes, mountain terrain, and terrain parks. As one local put it, “In Bentonville, every driveway is a trailhead.” 

We adored both modern and historical residences as we walked the charming streets. We devoured Michelin-like meals prepared by chefs who left New York, California, and Texas to find something new in the Ozarks. And by the quality of drinks and dishes we consumed–especially from Bar Cleeta, Yeyo’s, and Conifer–it’s clear those chefs have found what they were looking for, as seemingly have the rest of the doubling population. 

Outside of its natural good looks, much of what you see in Bentonville can be traced back to Walmart. Again, the town is a tale of two gifts (natural beauty and money) joined at the hip. As the concluding sign at Crystal Bridges tells visitors, “Admission is always free, thanks to Walmart.” Admittedly, it’s a small town that might take itself too seriously. But the altruism is real and easily felt. 

Nevertheless, while Walmart is the origin story, Bentonville is outgrowing its corporate shadow to become something all its own. Unexpectedly delightful, wholesome, immaculate, charming, and full of families and working professionals alike. I’m convinced it’s one of the nicest cities in the entire South, if not country. 

I hope you see it for yourself someday. 

Blake Snow contributes to fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies as a bodacious writer-for-hire and seasoned travel journalist to all seven continents. He lives in Provo, Utah with his wife, five children, and one ferocious chihuahua.