Athens must be the ugliest city in europe

Kyriakos said:
Sure, it is a throbbing ugly huge mess, but oslo is tiny :)

Btw, i have been to oslo. Nice, but very forgetable- though stll better than village helsinki.
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Oslo has changed a bit so if you havent been here for 5-10+ years there may be some surprises. Thx for the warning about the Athens though. Lowering my expectations is likely going to help me enjoy my stay. I am planning to focus on the UNESCO sites and good food anyway...
 
Kyriakos said:
Sure, it is a throbbing ugly huge mess, but oslo is tiny :)

Btw, i have been to oslo. Nice, but very forgetable- though stll better than village helsinki.
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Never been to Helsinki, so can't comment on that.

The best thing I can say about Oslo, is that it is the biggest city in Norway.
 
Cheetah said:
Never been to Helsinki, so can't comment on that.

The best thing I can say about Oslo, is that it is the biggest city in Norway.
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It has a decent weather too - not a usual thing over here.
 
Cheetah said:
What? No.

Oslo is a Norwegian city, which says quite a bit, but it's not truly ugly.
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Yeah no I agree, I'm just playing to the trope. It lacks some charm like many of our cities but it's not ugly. Also it's been years since I've walked the streets of Oslo so I'm a bad judge in that regard at any rate.
 
Snerk said:
Yeah no I agree, I'm just playing to the trope. It lacks some charm like many of our cities but it's not ugly. Also it's been years since I've walked the streets of Oslo so I'm a bad judge in that regard at any rate.
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I have been to Bergen and Trondheim and the old harbour areas are pretty decent. But most of all the Norwegian cities are a great bases for nature trips. But walking the streets of Oslo I am a bit surprised how worn out the roads sometimes are...
 
When the only good thing everyone can agree on about Norwegian cities is that they're close to great nature, I feel I can rest my case on how lousy Norwegian cities are. :p
 
Cheetah said:
When the only good thing everyone can agree on about Norwegian cities is that they're close to great nature, I feel I can rest my case on how lousy Norwegian cities are. :p
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Seriously you need to visit some cities in SE Asia or equivalents of thereof in Africa and such. To have a great infrustructure close to pristine nature is a big thing.
 
yung.carl.jung said:
people have weird aesthetics when it comes to cities (imo). most people think a city that is run down or dirty is ugly. I really don't, I think it gives a place personality. I think a city that is too clean and sterile is ugly. I think streamlined cities are ugly. I think soulless, commercialized cities are ugly. I think overdesigned high-tech cities are ugly.
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Pretty much the reason I didn't care for Florence when I visited it.
 
Mechanicalsalvation said:
What? Too much art and history?
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Too manicured and cultivated. It felt like a section of a Disney theme park, rather than a real city that people actually live and work in. I enjoyed Rome a lot more: still get great art and history, but it actually feels like a city that has continued to exist past the 18th century.
 
Owen Glyndwr said:
Too manicured and cultivated. It felt like a section of a Disney theme park, rather than a real city that people actually live and work in. I enjoyed Rome a lot more: still get great art and history, but it actually feels like a city that has continued to exist past the 18th century.
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I am asking becouse I will be in north Italy next week. Do you like some other part of it?
 
Mechanicalsalvation said:
I am asking becouse I will be in north Italy next week. Do you like some other part of it?
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I'm not saying you won't like it. My then-girlfriend liked the experience. I just couldn't help thinking about how the buildings are meticulously maintained to give off a specific impression of a Renaissance city to attract tourists. And I know that the suburbs around the downtown area is where the real city is, but that's my point: it's like walking around the DC mall area: a not-real city that is carefully curated to give off a specific impression to tourists, rather than a real city that grows and changes, and that people actually live and work in. As I said, it just felt very Disneyland-esque.

I really liked Siena though.
 
Owen Glyndwr said:
I'm not saying you won't like it. My then-girlfriend liked the experience. I just couldn't help thinking about how the buildings are meticulously maintained to give off a specific impression of a Renaissance city to attract tourists. As I said, it just felt very Disneyland-esque.

I really liked Siena though.
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Good. I think the main season is over so hopefuly that is going to help a little. Siena, Modena and Pisa are on my list too.
 
yung.carl.jung said:
Turin was another fantastic, underrated, city in Italy
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I thought about it but its a little off road for me this time. I am going to bundle it up with Genoa and such some time in the future.
 
Cheetah said:
Hehe. I know, I know. :)

I just prefer bigger cities. Tokyo had an okay size.
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I like it the other way. Something around 200-300k is a big enough for me. 40 million people megapolis I find little too excessive...
 
yung.carl.jung said:
people have weird aesthetics when it comes to cities (imo). most people think a city that is run down or dirty is ugly. I really don't, I think it gives a place personality. I think a city that is too clean and sterile is ugly. I think streamlined cities are ugly. I think soulless, commercialized cities are ugly. I think overdesigned high-tech cities are ugly.
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I hope Athens has more green spaces than are shown in the photo above.

Cheetah said:
When the only good thing everyone can agree on about Norwegian cities is that they're close to great nature, I feel I can rest my case on how lousy Norwegian cities are. :p
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There's nothing wrong with being close to great nature. Back when I used to work at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre (in the bookstore and giving talks on astronomy), we had visitors from all over the world who came to see the Gaetz Lakes wildlife sanctuary. Red Deer has a fantastic amount of green space that's a wildlife migration corridor and walking/biking trails throughout the city.

Owen Glyndwr said:
I'm not saying you won't like it. My then-girlfriend liked the experience. I just couldn't help thinking about how the buildings are meticulously maintained to give off a specific impression of a Renaissance city to attract tourists. And I know that the suburbs around the downtown area is where the real city is, but that's my point: it's like walking around the DC mall area: a not-real city that is carefully curated to give off a specific impression to tourists, rather than a real city that grows and changes, and that people actually live and work in. As I said, it just felt very Disneyland-esque.

I really liked Siena though.
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If most people associate Florence with the Renaissance, I don't see the problem. There are plenty of cities and towns here that include parks and interpretive centers and whole areas where the "pioneer era" is still very much on display, sometimes with costumed interpreters and re-enactors.
 
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