Conde Nast Traveler: 50 Most Beautiful Cities in the World

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Architype

I wonder about these lists, the standards for beauty seem to change with the observer & year. Here is a list from 2019 that puts Vancouver at no. 5. There may be reasons for demotion or elimination, but they didn't happen just yesterday.

https://www.insider.com/most-beautif...uver-canada-46

lets put it this way. years ago i was out at ye olde pub with friends and we ran into a pack of forbes magazine writers. forbes is or was notorious for these kinds of listicles. of course as we all were yapping i started peppering them with questions about the lists. they laughed and said they just make them up.

[10023]

Originally Posted by JManc

New York beautiful? London?

Parts of both are beautiful. It’s not like every street in greater Prague is postcard perfect either.

[muppet]

London is beautiful, its changed dramatically over the past few years. Spotless streets, restored architecture, public art and taking down the postwar brutalism.


London rn -the commercial centre, always a wonderland

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entertainment centre

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the aristocratic centre -old money not new money. Note how much quieter it is despite being next to the heart of the West End - where mortals fear to tread with few things to lure them. The scant shops sell bespoke singular items (eg shoes, umbrellas, cigars, suits) that take 9 months to make, and reflected in price.

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main financial centre -crazy mix of architecture. I don't know any CBD or skyscraper cluster that looks like this. On a weekday 560,000 workers and visitors populate this district, aka The Square Mile. It's also largely closed off to traffic.

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[muppet]

Ye Old Town districts surrounding the centre

Chelsea & Kensington

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Mayfair

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Notting Hill

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Hampstead

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Not to mention Belgravia, Highgate, Holland Park, Knightsbridge

[DCReid]

Does anyone have recent pictures of Beirut? I know it was once considered the jewel in the Middle East but is it still beautiful? I thought large parts were destroyed by the civil war and regional wars over the last few years...

[austin242]

Beirut.

[proghousehead]

London was by far the least visually appealing of all European cities I’ve visited. Having said that, there’s plenty of pretty spots, and Western Europe at its ugliest, relatively speaking, is still prettier than most of the USA at its best. In general. There are of course exceptions to this rule.

I feel the same way about NYC. Tons of picturesque streets that are beautiful. Not just in Manhattan either. But on the whole, NYC is pretty gritty. I think NYC and London are about on par.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by SanFranciscoSportFan

In what universe is San Diego prettier than San Francisco?

No universe

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by Manitopiaaa

In a world where it's increasingly hard to admire San Francisco's beauty without skipping over drug syringes, avoiding human shit, and praying you aren't assaulted by a mentally ill homeless man.

Aka, the world we live in.

This narrative is so overblown but exists in San Diego's world too.

[dc_denizen]

Doha ?

[Manitopiaaa]

Originally Posted by DCReid

Does anyone have recent pictures of Beirut? I know it was once considered the jewel in the Middle East but is it still beautiful? I thought large parts were destroyed by the civil war and regional wars over the last few years...

You can find drone videos of Beirut from 2021 that show little damage to the city. Visually, other than the port area, it doesn't look THAT much different. There are parts controlled by Hezbollah and fights, but it's not an active warzone like Aleppo.

Most of the damage is psychological:

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A year ago, the USD was worth 8,200 Lebanese pounds. Now it's worth 22,750. Two years ago it was 2,000 pounds to the dollar. So you've seen real purchasing power diminish by 10x in 2 years. People are struggling just to survive.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I can see why some might disagree but New York is an extremely photogenic city. I would argue the same for London.

Photogenic, certainly but beautiful though? They have beautiful areas but overall, looked lived in and a mishmash of 150 years of chaotic growth.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by Manitopiaaa

If San Franciscans spent as much time solving the problem as they do denying its existence to people on the Internet, the city would be so much nicer by now. Alas:

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I walked from 8th street up to this area yesterday, just to stroll around the downtown area. That was enough of downtown for me. Walked by feces that I'm gonna choose to believe came from a dog , some mentally ill people, people dropping weed on the sidewalks and picking it up and still using it. Some guy tried to toss a cigarette on my head from a building above. They put up a beautiful Xmas tree in front of City Hall. This should be SF's grand space, but there's no pride it in. Everyone seems to have given up. Are the tents going to be there forever? Grand old palatial buildings just there amongst so much desperation.

If San Diego is voted more beautiful than San Francisco it's strictly because it's cleaner. That's the very low bar set for SF now. I don't even care about the architecture anymore. San Diego could put up a bunch of Texas Donuts and I'd still find it more pleasant at this point. Sorry to turn this into a bash of SF homelessness, but it's infuriating and it's become a talking point obsession among SF conversation. SF has been dealing with this for how many years? Nothing to show for it.

[SanFranciscoSportFan]

Have you visited downtown San Diego recently?

[muppet]

Originally Posted by JManc

Photogenic, certainly but beautiful though? They have beautiful areas but overall, looked lived in and a mishmash of 150 years of chaotic growth.

do come again - the last few years has seen the centre (and many outskirts too) doll up considerably. Instagram did one thing good, as many businesses and districts tarted themselves up to look photogenic, and become 'destination' shops/ restaurants/ pubs n bars.

This is Mayfair, the playground of the rich. Very pretty as to be expected - but if you look VERY carefully the buildings are no different from the rest of the city centre, despite the lambos. The backstreets cover former Victorian slums, and every now and then there are modernist additions, although it all seams together despite the 'mish mash' /variety.

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This is the rest of the commercial centre -much more run of the mill only 2 or 3 years ago, now not that different anymore despite the crowds. The buildings have been cleaned, the brutalist monstrosities replaced, the dank alleyways turned into oases, and the most boring bits get modern art added. Flowerboxes, bunting, street furniture. Even the graffiti is commissioned street art these days.

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The same's happened elsewhere (check out the other vids in the posts above, that'll cover the rest of the central city). I used to be very, very critical of London's centre- every time I walked down a street I'd think about how I'd make it livable and beautiful, what needed to stay or go. Now everywhere I go it's really hard to improve, and for once I'm starting to appreciate it. It's an almost perfect balance right now of vibrancy and beauty, variety and complimenting without having to cancel each other out.


The problem with all this beatification is of course the prices, the increase in rents and pushing out of independent or former community businesses. It's critically affecting the whole city, although pleasantly offset by the Covid downturn -but that's another story obviously, just enjoy the beauty.

[Yuri]

London has by far the largest stock of fine 19th century architecture in the world. London is not only beautiful, but very beautiful.

I guess people are comparing the tiny historic centres of European cities with the whole London. Rome, for instance, is incredibly beautiful inside its central square mile, but out of it, it's quite ugly and rundown.

[Centropolis]

SFs greater setting AND architecture is beautiful in a way few (none?) can match in North America. Chicago/lake, NYC/central park, Seattle on a clear day, theres a lot of runners up.

[SAN Man]

Originally Posted by SanFranciscoSportFan

Have you visited downtown San Diego recently?

I took these this this week. It was a beautiful December morning.


Skyline with Ferry by Manuel Sanchez, on Flickr

You might have to scroll to the right.

DTSD Skyline from Coronado by Manuel Sanchez, on Flickr

[10023]

Originally Posted by Yuri

London has by far the largest stock of fine 19th century architecture in the world. London is not only beautiful, but very beautiful.

I guess people are comparing the tiny historic centres of European cities with the whole London. Rome, for instance, is incredibly beautiful inside its central square mile, but out of it, it's quite ugly and rundown.

I don’t think that’s really true of Rome.

London is prettiest in places that are barely London, far from the center, or some selected areas (Chelsea, Notting Hill, Mayfair). Most of the center was bombed and rebuilt quite poorly, so it doesn’t generally have the elegance of say Paris or even Stockholm in its central area.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Manitopiaaa

Would also shift Quebec City to Montreal, ]

Montreal is definitely a more interesting and exciting city than Quebec City but I wouldn't call it prettier.