Favorite City You've Visited

[Gail Simone]

I don't mean places you've lived, but places you've been on vacation, or to see family or whatever.

For me, it's impossible to beat Hong Kong. Hong Kong is my favorite city in the world, I think. Nice people, amazing art, history and culture, the best food on the planet and only a short hop from places like Lantau Island and the New Territories and Macau.

I love Hong Kong and can't wait to go back.

We were told that the HK people could be a little standoffish and we found nothing could be further from the truth. We got lots of hugs, made some good friends, and every time we looked like we didn't know where we were, someone always stopped whether we needed help or not.

It was great.

One of my favorite little stories is, I had to use the restroom in this mall near Kowloon, and there was a pack of high school girls, maybe around 15 or 16, all in the cute sailor-style uniform of their school. And they had a few little questions to try their English, and I thought they were adorable, and one of them turns to me and says, utterly sincerely..."You is SO beautiful!" and all the other girls were agreeing, and I thought of how some high school girls act in the states...Yikes.

Anyway, I thought that was one of the sweetest things I'd ever had a teenager say to me, and I was a total stranger. I assured them that they were the beautiful ones. Now, if my son could have a girlfriend like THAT, I'd be pretty dang ecstatic!


A VERY close second is Singapore. What a beautiful city and what amazing hospitality. The pride these people feel in their country is unbelievable, and there was art and history around every corner. Never seen ANYWHERE quite so obsessed with food, though...people were either EATING or TALKING about eating. :)

Fantastic place, another place I can't wait to see again.


In North America, I am crazy about Toronto and New York.

[Chris Hansbrough]

Probably Toronto.....but then again I lived an hour from there in Kitchner/Waterloo (Think Eugene Springfield...there really isn't a difference....Kitchner the cheap less affluent city, cross a train track and it's Waterloo.....a nice relatively well off city with the best Wing restaurant in the world) so I guess that doesn't count. I do love that city though...It's like a Giant Eugene....it really doesn't feel like a big city. Some areas d but for the most part it feels like an extended small city. Plus.....hockey Hall of Fame FTW. So Screw it...I say Toronto.....

[darkhanamaru]

I really would love to go back to Prague and see how it has changed since I left. I went in 1990 right after the wall fell. Lots of stuff has happened since then obviously.

But London in the spring is next for me. I have never taken a trip alone so this will be a new experience for me.

[Pink Bat Maxine]

New York. No contest.

[section 8]

Chicago.
..........

[Tad Sivana]

Lyon, France - better than Paris!
Built on two rivers, the fashion capitol of France, home to hearty Lyonnaise cuisine, great for walking, the most fantastic street market I've ever been to, great Opera house, historic weaving center, banking center, resistance center in WWII, fantastic architecture and hidden door, tunnel and alleys through the city. All this plus Roman ruins and Roman theater museum.
I'd go back in a minute.

[K-DoG7p7]

I'm actually going to say Paris.. or Cairo..
both just a busy but the feeling was like... a thousand years apart..

[Major Comma]

San Diego .
Hands down.

[Ben Morgan]

Either Chicago or Vegas

[schwamp]

Florence in '04. Beautiful city and very welcoming people. Vatican city was awesome, but I was only 6 when I was there. I remember walking through the entire Sistine Chapel with my neck bent towards the ceiling. Even a 6 year old could appreciate that. In the U.S., it would probably be New Orleans. My Dad was born and raised there, so I got a great tour of the points of interest from his POV.
Even though they are not cities, technically, Amboselli National Park in Kenya, and the Tiger Tops Lodge in Nepal were incredible experiences for a raw nature experience.

[fireSTRIKE!]

Loved visiting New York, but wouldn't wanna live there... was in Orlando and Clearwater, as well...liked them too, except for the incident at the hotel beach where a seagull dropped un unwelcome present past my face, landing on my chest...if only I was a half-second faster in walking... :eek: :mad:

[Red Jack]

Rio. No contest.

[schwamp]

A VERY close second is Singapore. What a beautiful city and what amazing hospitality. The pride these people feel in their country is unbelievable, and there was art and history around every corner. Never seen ANYWHERE quite so obsessed with food, though...people were either EATING or TALKING about eating. :)

Fantastic place, another place I can't wait to see again.

.

Gail,

Please tell about points of interest here. I was thinking of starting a thread asking about Singapore. I'm going in early February, and prefer personal suggestions over the advertising sites for things to seek out when there.

[fireSTRIKE!]

Chicago.
..........

Welcome to my kind of town, 8...:biggrin:

[Ian Boothby]

London England. Great people, history, culture and so much fun.

[thehod]

I should say Berlin, where I had my stag do, but I can't remember a fucking thing about it, so I'm going to have to say Paris, where we spent our first anniversary. Me and the missus just fell in love with the place.

[Weetomuncher]

It has got to be Glasgow, Scotland for me.
Glasgow, the historic second city of the British Empire has an amazing charm.

'Glesga' is considered the home of the finest Victorian era architecture in the world as a look around the offices and stores of the city centre shows the fantastic 19th century features which brighten the city like a beacon of light. Much of the city's greatest architecture is above ground level with excellent carved stone designs and wonderful sights at every turn.

Glasgow also has a strong arts scene and has top music venues, wonderful museums and also art galleries and other attractions such as Scottish Ballet and various operas. Glasgow is also the home of many of Scotland's top theatres such as The Pavillon, Citizen's Theatre and smaller more specialised venues. The pantomime season at Christmas brings many families to the city to see Scottish comedians in the traditional shows.

Glasgow is also a fine sporting city, known mostly for football (soccer) and the two biggest clubs are Rangers, who play in the west of the city and Celtic from the east. The rivalry is the most heated in football, with Rangers being seen as a Protestant Scottish / Northern Irish club and Celtic as an Irish Catholic club. The Scottish national team play at Hampden Park which is the home of Queens Park, an amateur club which was the leading club in the country in early years.

To be continued in a moment.

[the4thpip]

Avignon

http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/avignon_009p.jpg

[Nicola Scott]

New York is my very favourite, but I have lived there.

Bangkok - It's such a gutter but I really LOVE it. First place I'll head if I ever need to skip the country on tax evasion!

Wellington - It's so beautiful and kinda groovy. Great arts community.

Florence - Of the cities I've been to in Italy (not that many) Florence is my absolute favourite. I love everything about that city including it being the home of my fantasy boyfriend, David. You know, as in statue of.... YUM!

[Corrina]

Another vote for Chicago.

I love NY, but Chicago seems to have as much stuff to do as New York, except it's better organized. :)

I love the Blues clubs in Chicago and the food and the baseball, and all the different neighborhoods.

I was only in London three days, many years ago, and I want to go back.

I have to say I've like just about every city that I've visited: Nashville, Orlando (well, it's really one big theme park, right?), San Francisco (NYC! Sorta. With lots of hills....) D.C. (can't beat the museums), and a few others.

Dallas and Atlanta are two cities that I wouldn't make any effort to go back, though. I'm sure the rest of Texas and Georgia are much more interesting than these concrete boxes. (Though I did like the new Aquarium in Atlanta.)

[Weetomuncher]

I tried to continue my post about Glasgow earlier but I had a system crash.

The shopping in Glasgow is excellent and the city centre has three interconnected streets where the best stores are located, Sauchiehall Street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street.

There are excellent department stores, clothes stores to suit various budgets and excellent comic and book stores.

Glasgow has some great food and has everything from the traditional fish & chips and bakeries to stylish cafes and
restaurants serving a very cosmopolitan menu with Italian and Indian food being especially popular. Glasgow & Birmingham, England are seen as the top two places in the western world for Indian food. The two cities often squabble over the origin of British created curry dishes including Chicken Tikka Masala which is considered a British national dish by many people.

[Phrozen]

I liked Santa Fe alot.

Omaha is nice too.

But I have to go with my 'home' city of Newport News/Hampton, VA.

[4PointOh]

When my partner and I went to South Africa last year, people kept telling us to stay away from Johannesburg (because of the crime, etc) and to stay in Capetown. We actually stayed in Johannesburg for a few days and eventually flew to Capetown. Both of those cities were really nice, but honestly neither compared to Soweto. It's an incredibly impoverished part of the country, but there remains a tremendous natural beauty. The people were just so incredibly friendly and warm. It was such a welcoming place.

[TomStillwell]

Yay! People love Chicago! Let's hope the IOC does too. Go Chicago 2016!

I can't really say I have a favorite city besides my home. So many places have so many different reasons they are special and wonderful.

New Orleans before Katrina. New York for the energy. Paris for its beauty. Rome for its history. London for its international feel.

[Samurai]

I really loved Osaka and Nagasaki when I was there, but it's so hard to pick just 1...

[Shisho]

Just one? London, I guess. Spent a semester there, and it was one of the best times of my life.

[Solaris]

Ft. Lauderdale. We love it!

Tropical weather, great places to eat, a lot of things to do, some really fun and cool people, Miami only half an hour away, clothing optional beach, great night life, some beautiful shops, the Riverwalk... *bliss*.

[Tien Long]

I haven't travelled a lot of places and in a way I truly envy Gail. While I've read all these articles, books, and documents concerning East Asia, I've never been there. Someday, hopefully.

Still, the one city that I really have a fondness for is, of course, NYC. I've lived next to it my entire life, and have spent the past 7 years of my life interning, studying, and living in "the city" (as we in Jersey like to call it). Commuting into the city along the Lincoln tunnel, I always, ALWAYS, just have to turn my head to get a glimpse of that magnificent skyline. I love walking the streets, where an adventure lies in wait every single day. Indeed, when I've finished my grad school work here, I plan just to do a walkabout around Manhattan, to see where I've been, and remind myself of how much New York means to me.

[Mick]

Istanbul. So much history. So much great architecture. So many cats.







And Seoul, which has less cats but very friendly people and a great public transport system.

[thehod]

Glasgow & Birmingham, England are seen as the top two places in the western world for Indian food. The two cities often squabble over the origin of British created curry dishes including Chicken Tikka Masala which is considered a British national dish by many people.

I was always under the impression that it was a given that Chicken Tikka Masala originated in Glasgow, but the Balti originated in Birmingham.

Besides, everyone knows that the Balti is far superior. :wink:

[Gary_B]

I gather that this thread is for making lists, rather than picking favourites.

I love Yellowknife for The Midnight Classic Golf Tournament, Quebec City for Olde Tyme goodness, Vancouver for accessible nature, Toronto for the CN Tower, New York for MoMA and San Diego for a cool annual conference.

[section 8]

In addition to Chi-town

Myrtle Beach, SC.
Lafeyette, LA.
Meinz, Germany
and Believe it or not Charolotte NC. (but I knew the right people, that kept things...interesting)

[Sally Sensational]

In the country - New Orleans wins hands down. I've gone as a "grown-up" and partied my ass off. I've gone as a professional and had a great conference. I've even taken my kid - before Katrina - and had a fabulous family vacation, which you can do as long as you get back to the hotel pretty early. :wink:

Outside the US - Well, let's just say, if I ever get back to Rome, I'm never coming home! There's nothing like literally feeling thousands of years of history soaking up through the soles of your feet. And the climate is exquisite. Oh, to be sipping cappuchino at the little cafe around the corner from the Forum again.

[Christopher Cross Is God]

Can't think of what I'd rate as my favorite international city. So many I've been to, yet so many I have yet to visit.

In North America it would be:

New Orleans: The architecture, the cuisine, the adventure (Haven't been there after Katrina)
Montreal: Like a posh/clean version of New Orleans, but with much more French influence, obviously (I hear Quebec City is nicer, but I haven't been)

I've been to Nintendo's North American headquarters, and the little town it's in is rather interesting. It's where Twin Peaks was filmed.......It's a bit outside of Seattle. Seattle, itself, wasn't bad, either, but I'd rate New Orleans & Montreal above it.

And I've been to some real dives, but one that really comes up in recent memory is Sioux City, Iowa......What a depressing area that is, a real dump.

[oddballuk]

Prague.

I've been several times now and despite more and more modern additions appearing between each visit, it still remains the beautiful city i've visited.

[suedenim]

I really would love to go back to Prague and see how it has changed since I left. I went in 1990 right after the wall fell. Lots of stuff has happened since then obviously.


I was there at the same time, barely a half year after the revolution. It's an amazing city, especially compared with most places I saw that summer in Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Somehow, Prague managed to largely survive the twin urban catastrophes of the 20th Century (WWII and Communist architecture) intact. In a lot of places, you see a cool old building from the late 19th century or earlier, and it's a tourist attraction of some sort. In Prague, that's practically the entire city! And (at least in the central part of the city), huge Stalinist monstrosities and "stack-a-prole" apartment complexes are refreshingly absent. (There was one glaring exception, I think it was the State Bank building or something? Hopefully that's been torn down and replaced with something cool.)

I sometimes wonder whatever became of the cheerful young capitalist who was out every day with a big sign for his shoe-shine business reading "FIRST SHOES CLEANER IN EAST EUROPE - WAY TO MILLIONS". I hope he got there.

I was in Vienna once with my family when I was about 13 or so, and that's a great city, my mom's favorite. Something about Vienna is just really pleasant and welcoming.

[Merey]

London. I'd live there in a second. Of all the cities I've visited, London just feels like home. But at the same time, it's so mysterious and mystical due to its rich global-influencing history. Luckily, I have a good friend there and living on the East Coast makes it easy for long weekend trips over the pond. So, I'll probably never live there, but I will always consider it my second home.

New York, since I live here, I love like a sibling. I will always have great love for the place, but I also know it so well that it can easily annoy me. And some days its faults obscure its wonder and beauty that I first fell in love with.

[Michael P]

Istanbul.

Not Constantinople?

[jhota]

Glasgow is also a fine sporting city, known mostly for football (soccer) and the two biggest clubs are Rangers, who play in the west of the city and Celtic from the east. The rivalry is the most heated in football, with Rangers being seen as a Protestant Scottish / Northern Irish club and Celtic as an Irish Catholic club. The Scottish national team play at Hampden Park which is the home of Queens Park, an amateur club which was the leading club in the country in early years.

great-great-grandad played for the Rangers before he emigrated to the US to play pro (association) football for a club in NYC.

that said, i've got to go with Edinburgh, "Athens of the North."

if pressed, i will admit that i think NYC is the greatest city in the world, but Auld Reekie is my favourite.

[Sanlear]

New Orleans (although this was in 2001, and obviously before the damage of Katrina). Very atmospheric and fun city.

[Joshua Pantalleresco]

San Diego California or Vancouver BC Canada. I'd love to live in either one. Hope to add a few more cities under my belt this year.

JP

[Dazzler]

Does San Francisco count if I live here?

if not, Brighton, England.

Like San Francisco, but, you know, in England.

--Dazz