A contentious issue, for once.
Rules:
- you have to have been there
- if you haven’t, you can’t comment on that city (positive or negative).
- you can give a top 3.
- have to argue why.
I’ll start:
3. Paris
Oh, museums, sitting on the steps in Mont Martre, in front of the Sacre Couer sipping coke, gazing out over the city. Sipping wine at a corner bistro, lights and fun to drive through.
2. Rome
An open air museum, some of the best foods I’ve ever eaten, I saw Simon and Garfunkel play (during their Friends tour) in front of the colosseum, St. Paul’s (technically not Rome, but hey, a country within a city… who’s complianing). The amount of history is breathtaking.
I stepped into a church (close to the pantheon) and stumbled upon two Caravaggio’s.
1. Jerusalem
Basically East-Jerusalem (the old city). The history, the tension, cultures, churches. I met the craziest people there (and considering some of the posters on this site, that’s saying something). I even saw two kids racing donkeys down a narrow crowded street into a procession on the via Dolorosa; crosses and whips flying everywhere… such gorgeous chaos.
I wonder what cities you all love!
@shavixmir saidRome: fabulous open air museum and a immersion into the ancient history of this incredible (and long) period in history. Gorgeous beach, women, cafes, food, low level architecture rules so nothing over a few floors. Just amazing.
A contentious issue, for once.
New York: scale, scope, steam, diners, New Yorkers, cosmopolitan, noise, street pizza, blues/jazz. Drinking red wine in an Italian restaurant all afternoon when it was pouring with rain for hours. Don’t take breakfast in the hotel go to a small diner.
Florence: stone streets, beautiful architecture, the Renaissance, the river, the bridges, the galleries, utterly charming place, quieter and more intimate than Rome.
@divegeester saidOh, I love Florence as well.
Rome: fabulous open air museum and a immersion into the ancient history of this incredible (and long) period in history. Gorgeous beach, women, cafes, food, low level architecture rules so nothing over a few floors. Just amazing.
New York: scale, scope, steam, diners, New Yorkers, cosmopolitan, noise, street pizza, blues/jazz. Drinking red wine in an Italian restauran ...[text shortened]... the river, the bridges, the galleries, utterly charming place, quieter and more intimate than Rome.
Bit of a nightmare to drive around though (although, compared to Marseille, it's easy-peasy).
Not too keen on New York. Way too griddy.
@shavixmir saidI got sick in Florence in 2019; got bitten by several mozzies in the night and gradually fell ill during the day. Ended up in a taxi in Rome at midnight trying to find an emergency clinic as the infection was at my upper arm. Quite scary.
Oh, I love Florence as well.
Bit of a nightmare to drive around though (although, compared to Marseille, it's easy-peasy).
Not too keen on New York. Way too griddy.
America is a strange one. I love the components but find the whole to be a frightening mix of polarised extremism and social decay. Despite Europe’s challenges and Brexit etc I feel much more at home in most foreign language countries in Europe than I do in the US.
I was in Marseille in 2018, even worse than Paris. Didn’t feel safe (in the evening) tbh.
@divegeester saidI was in Marseille this Summer.
I got sick in Florence in 2019; got bitten by several mozzies in the night and gradually fell ill during the day. Ended up in a taxi in Rome at midnight trying to find an emergency clinic as the infection was at my upper arm. Quite scary.
America is a strange one. I love the components but find the whole to be a frightening mix of polarised extremism and social decay. ...[text shortened]... the US.
I was in Marseille in 2018, even worse than Paris. Didn’t feel safe (in the evening) tbh.
Seemed very safe to me. Even drove up the North-West area onto Aix P.
The driving there though. Holy hell. Never in my life have I experienced anything like that. It's like driving over a nuclear blast site in a Mad Max dystopia.
@divegeester saidI can see why foreigners would not like America, you never know what you will run into around the corner. I do love the different flora and fauna, from one coast to another. But you asked about cities, and I refrain from telling you the very best small hamlets in this country, as it could draw the wrong cultures in there. No offense.
I got sick in Florence in 2019; got bitten by several mozzies in the night and gradually fell ill during the day. Ended up in a taxi in Rome at midnight trying to find an emergency clinic as the infection was at my upper arm. Quite scary.
America is a strange one. I love the components but find the whole to be a frightening mix of polarised extremism and social decay. ...[text shortened]... the US.
I was in Marseille in 2018, even worse than Paris. Didn’t feel safe (in the evening) tbh.
May favorite place to visit for pure comfort and relaxation would be London, a lot to do. Lake Como is ideal of course, in Italy. The Florences and Romes of the world are the very best in a class my themselves.
@shavixmir
We lived in Jerusalem for 3 years, great city for sure, and we are folk musicians and fell into the anglo folk crowd quite well🙂
But Bankok was a great city also, lived in Thailand for 3 years also,
Loved Amsterdam! Loved Tivoli Garden in Copenhagen.
Dublin is interesting also, my grandparents are Murphy's and McCarts so I have a bit of Irish in me and spent a few days there, took mandolin and played sessions, great time there.
We hail from Venice Beach California, a true human zoo but we love the place!
- Joined
- 02 Feb 06
- Moves
- 123634
1. Bamberg, Germany - Not very well known but a gem of a small city. Small enough to be able to walk around but big enough where there is plenty to keep one entertained. Stunning baroque architecture (one of the few cities the allies didn't level to the ground), amazing beer with 14 breweries (not to mention the over 100 or so in the surrounding countryside) with some of them operating since the 16th century. Also many other great pubs and restaurants. It's a drinkers paradise. I usually make 1 or 2 visits per year including a 6 day stop there two weeks ago.
2. Prague - for many of the same reasons as above although on a bigger scale. In addition to the great beer and architecture I'll add that it has one of the most amazing public transportation systems I've ever seen. Very handy to get around.
3. Edinburgh, Scotland - Great beer and architecture is a common theme for me. Add in some great whisky on top of that.
Honorable mention to my home city of Boston, Massachusetts ...
To avoid making this a chest-thumping issue, I'll separate in US and outside US.
In US:
New York - impressive skyline and so much going on
Chicago - only US city I've been in that "feels like" New York
Seattle - just a charming city all around (I was tempted to say CHAZ - mark the restraint)
Outside US:
Toronto - big city features minus the grime
Lucerne - beautiful riverscape and surrounded by incredible peaks
Jerusalem - certainly the most "different" place you'll experience
Edit: Upon reflection, I have to put in Hong Kong, which packs an incredible amount into a small geographic area.
@shavixmir saidNot necessarily in this order:
A contentious issue, for once.
Rules:
- you have to have been there
- if you haven’t, you can’t comment on that city (positive or negative).
- you can give a top 3.
- have to argue why.
I’ll start:
3. Paris
Oh, museums, sitting on the steps in Mont Martre, in front of the Sacre Couer sipping coke, gazing out over the city. Sipping wine at a corner bistro, lights ...[text shortened]... osa; crosses and whips flying everywhere… such gorgeous chaos.
I wonder what cities you all love!
1. Victoria B.C. Canada. A beautiful modern city, with the feel of old London.
2. Kapalua / Island of Maui. A little piece of paradise without the usual tourist traps.
3. San Francisco, CA. Beautiful city by the bay. Perfect weather, friendly people, lot's to see and do.
4. Seattle, WA. My town. Sea level to ski level in 90 min. coffee and book shops abound, best kayaking anywhere. Proud of our pro labor roots. (The WTO found that one out the hard way!) 😏
5. New York, NY - Best pizza on planet earth. So many great things to see and do. The Metropolitain museum of art is a city unto itself
@sonhouse saidI love when you share personnel information online. It gives me a chubby.
@shavixmir
We lived in Jerusalem for 3 years, great city for sure, and we are folk musicians and fell into the anglo folk crowd quite well🙂
But Bankok was a great city also, lived in Thailand for 3 years also,
Loved Amsterdam! Loved Tivoli Garden in Copenhagen.
Dublin is interesting also, my grandparents are Murphy's and McCarts so I have a bit of Irish in me and ...[text shortened]... , great time there.
We hail from Venice Beach California, a true human zoo but we love the place!
@hand-of-hecate saidHow’s the frozen North up there in America’s Hat with the walruses and ice beaners?
I love when you share personnel information online. It gives me a chubby.
1. Bern, Switzerland. Sweetest capital city in Europe, doesn't have any industry, not even a proper airport (regional service only). The old town has beautifully preserved buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries, untouched by war or fire for hundreds of years. The arcades offer covered walking, even in inclement weather. University flair, with antique shops and book stores (yup, real books, in cloth bindings). The federal building is open to the public, and the plaza in front of it is home to many restaurants at which, on any given day, you might bump into the president of Switzerland having lunch (no black helicopters hovering overhead, no snippers on rooftops). On a clear day, view of the Alps in the distance.
2. Cambridge, England. Again, superb old town with university dating back to the 13th c. An open market square offers produce and wares. The bicycle is the preferred mode of transport through the old town. The river Cam wanders pleasantly along The Backs (just behind the colleges); hire a punt at Scudamores and punt to the nearby village of Grantchester, tie up your punt and get a pub lunch right on the riverside, then punt back to Cambridge. It doesn't get more romantic than that.
3. San Francisco. Surrounded on three sides by water, so cannot expand into urban sprawl. Has distinctive neighbourhoods, China Town, North Beach, Castro, fisherman's wharf, Presideo, etc., etc. And of course, cable cars and the bridge. To catch a cable car, stand by the curb and look anywhere but at the approaching cable car driver; look disinterested. Otherwise you'll be spotted instantly as a tourist.
I've chosen three I know well (one I lived in / near, two I visit regularly), rather than going for places where I once had a nice time on an isolated holiday.
Stockholm: Old town is gorgeous; location is striking; I feel on a wavelength with the people; I like the contrast between the breezy outdoors in summer Stockholm and the cosy cafes in winter Stockholm.
Bologna: Italy but without the crowds that make Florence or Venice a bit exhausting; great food; stunning architecture (allegedly the most extensive medieval city centre in the world).
Tokyo: You can walk down the street at two o'clock in the morning in the city centre and feel perfectly safe; and that is a priceless virtue. Also, more restaurants than any other city.