# Cities around the world you loved and hated. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261 "2014-06-07T09:47:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Caneknife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Caneknife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caneknife)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/1 "2014-06-07T09:47:17Z")
My wife and I have been lucky enough to travel to 26 countries around the world, what cities did u hate or was disappointed in and loved, I didn’t like London, Los Angeles, but loved New York, Paris, Rome, Venice. What’s yours. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/2 "2014-06-07T12:44:40Z")
London, Chicago, Tokyo, New Orleans, New York, Las Vegas, Rome, and Venice are some of the most beautiful and fascinating places I’ve ever been. If someone offered me a guaranteed, full-time job at a middle-class income in any of those cities, I would move there tomorrow. Paris, to me, was “meh.” Other than sitting atop the _Sacre Couer_ at dusk and watching the sun set and the lights come on (which was breathtaking), I found it kind of dull. I found Amsterdam and Florence similarly dull; mostly art museums on a city-wide scale. Osaka is probably awesome, but it was super cold and I was in a bad mood when I was there, so that has clouded my view. Madrid and Sevilla were “meh,” but they hold a special place in my heart because, down to the last person, the Spaniards were exceptionally warm and friendly. Orlando (the city itself, not the surrounding tourist attractions) is pretty dull, too. And super hot. And the traffic! ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/3 "2014-06-07T15:48:23Z")
My top three faves: Cape Town is heavenly. Set like a jewel between mountains and sea, it feels young and vibrant. Love it! Probably my favorite city. I loved Beijing. I happened to be there on a rare blue-sky week with good weather, so that helped. Beijing seethes with history, while still feeling young and hip. Pondicherry in India is a beautiful place. Good food and a nice promenade by the sea. It’s hard to complain. I can’t think of many places I don’t like. I spent a few hours in Bordeaux and it seemed seedy. Geneva is boring and far too restrained. And Chongqing is a festering post-apocalyptic wound on the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/4 "2014-06-07T15:56:48Z")
I adore London and think it’s one of the greatest cities on Earth. Possibly the greatest. I had a great morning in Ghent one year on Easter Sunday sitting in a square and listening to the church bells start tolling across the city. On the other hand, in Cairo I had terrible allergies the entire time and, while the pyramids and such are astonishing, I was ready to leave pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/5 "2014-06-07T16:14:50Z")
I’ve been to 87 countries. Loved: 1. Esfahan, Iran 2. Sana’a, Yemen 3. Male, Maldives 4. Tbilisi, Georgia 5. Istanbul, Turkey Didn’t Like (hate is too strong): 1. Bratislava, Slovakia 2. Belgrade, Serbia 3. London, England 4. Cochin, India 5. Tunis, Tunisia ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/6 "2014-06-07T16:53:13Z")
I didn’t see much of Tunis itself, but loved the Bardo mosaic museum, and of course, the Carthage excavations. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/7 "2014-06-07T17:08:02Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I didn’t see much of Tunis itself, but loved the Bardo mosaic museum, and of course, the Carthage excavations. Agreed. Tunis itself was a disappointment though. I did like that the trian made it easy to get to Carthage. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/8 "2014-06-07T17:21:54Z")
Cities that have surpassed my expectations include London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Hangzhou. Cities that underwhelmed me include Venice, Los Angeles, Macao, and Suzhou. ---
**Author:** ![Caneknife](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Caneknife](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caneknife)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/9 "2014-06-07T22:37:49Z")
Los Angeles was the biggest disappointment for me, all my life i wanted to go , but no glitz and glamor , I’ll tell u that, very dirty city, but i loved New York so much, probably my favourite city in the world to visit then Paris. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/10 "2014-06-07T22:48:08Z")
Venice could sink into the Adriatic tomorrow and I would care in the least. Hated that city. Athens didn’t do much for me either, although I absolutely love the rest of Greece and most of the rest of Italy. Domestically, they could nuke Miami and I wouldn’t blink. Cities I absolutely love include London, Paris, Vienna, San Antonio, San Diego and Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/11 "2014-06-07T22:55:21Z")
Love Kyoto and Denver. Hate Philadelphia and KC. New York and Tokyo are OK I suppose but I’m in no rush to go back. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/12 "2014-06-07T23:03:06Z")
Best: Florence, Sienna , Lucca, Vienna, Munich ,Nuremberg , York, Chester , Dublin, Edinburgh, Prague , Dubrovnik, San Francisco, Chicago, Madison, Wisconsin, Boston , Seattle , Portland, Maine. Marrakech , Seville Christchurch NZ Worse: Ryaidh , Yambu, Damamm(KSA) Gladstone, Australia , Naples , Tangiers , Nashville, Atlanta , Houston I’m sure there are others … ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/13 "2014-06-11T13:31:23Z")
Like/Love: Cleveland (best location, in the nation!) NYC Chicago Toronto Esfahan Washington, DC New Orleans San Francisco Pittsburgh Las Vegas San Juan, PR Ann Arbor Minneapolis Montreal Meh: Denver Detroit St. Louis Orlando Columbus Los Angeles Windsor, ON St. Paul, MN Yuck: Gary, IN Indianapolis Cincinnati Atlanta Tuscaloosa ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/14 "2014-06-11T13:39:44Z")
It’s no coincidence that my favorite cities are usually great food cities. Among my favorites: Chicago, Istanbul, Singapore, Budapest and Tallinn. My least favorites were probably Bangkok, Novosibirsk and Indianapolis. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/15 "2014-06-11T14:17:13Z")
I lived in London for a college semester abroad and just loved it. (“When you’re tired of London, you’re tired of life,” quoth Dr. Johnson). So much history, great architecture, high-stakes politics, culture, arts, music, etc. I always enjoy visiting Washington, D.C. for much the same reasons. Gives me a little patriotic shiver down my spine every time. Had a long weekend with a college friend in Paris and liked it, too. New York City is much better since the Giuliani years. I’m always happy to visit. Cleveland and Pittsburgh are similar towns (sports rivalries aside) and have a lot to offer. Chicago is them on a grand scale; my family had a great visit there a few years ago. Vancouver, B.C. and Portland, Ore. struck me as very clean, beautiful cities during brief visits there a few years ago. Hated? Well, I lived just outside of, and worked in, Detroit for awhile during the 1988 Presidential campaign, and it sucked. I hear it’s gotten no better since. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/16 "2014-06-11T14:18:39Z")
I’ve been to Italy many times, and this is surprising even to me, but my favorite city there is Trieste. The architecture of the piazza, the layout of the city (on a mountainside along the sea, very steep hills), its very colorful history, its cathedral with Byzantine mosaics…I just love it. Its wiki page states, “In 2012 Lonely [Planet.com](http://Planet.com) listed the city of Trieste as the world’s most underrated travel destination.” Not a surprise. I’ve been all over Europe and the US, and it’s probably my favorite city I’ve ever visited. (Although I loved living in Boston. That’s my favorite US city.) Least favorite city I’ve ever been to is Las Vegas. One giant strip-mall. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/17 "2014-06-11T14:33:06Z")
I love love love Naples. It’s not picture taking pretty, but it has stolen my heart. I love Rome as well. I do imagine neither would be easy to actually live in, though. I also like Amsterdam, but I’m Dutch and probably see different parts of it and in a different way. I’m currently living half an hour from Venice and therefore have figured out ways to avoid it driving me insane. It’s stunningly beautiful, but I can also see that on the wrong day (heat or pouring rain) and in the wrong places (Venetians are not shy about taking the tourist buck) it could be aggravating. I don’t like Dublin. People are friendly and Guinness is a good thing, but I think it’s not particularly beautiful, there’s not all that much to see or do compared to similarly sized European cities and it’s very expensive - can never figure what all the tourists are doing there. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/18 "2014-06-11T14:46:14Z")
Cities I loved: Paris Cuzco, Peru Quito, Ecuador Antigua, Guatemala Granada, Nicaragua Rio de Janiero, Brazil Cape Town, South Africa Cities I hated: Lagos, Nigeria :eek: New Delhi, India Lima, Peru Caracas, Venezuela Mexico City Guatemala City Tegucigalpa, Honduras ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/19 "2014-06-11T14:49:52Z")
Like a few people in the thread, I didn’t care much for Venice. Maybe good to visit for a day for the novelty of it but the city itself did nothing for me and anything over a day is too long. Rome was a little disappointing, very dirty and every available surface covered in graffiti. Domestically, neither my wife or I much enjoyed Boston when we were there. I can’t pinpoint a reason although it didn’t help that everyone we met seemed to have a chip on their shoulder about something. I enjoyed Florence, Paris and London. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261/20 "2014-06-11T15:11:18Z")
Loved San Francisco New York Sydney Aspen London Aberdeen Helsinki St. Petersburg ( Russia ) Vaitape Hated ( maybe too strong a word. ) Houston Phoenix Bangkok Miami Rio de Janeiro Lagos Mumbai [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-around-the-world-you-loved-and-hated/690261.md?page=2)