Ugliest and Most Beautiful Cities?

Munich was excellent too, and I wasn't there during the Oktoberfest.
 
In the U.S. I like: San Francisco, Chicago, NYC, San Diego

dislike: Detroit, Cleveland, Las Vegas (It usually gives me a headache)
 
From what I saw, Pheonix was pretty ugly, what with all the nasty redness.

I don't really have a most beautiful city I've ever been to because they're all beautiful in their own way - on the inside.
 
Prairie cities seem to be universally ugly, but I think Edmonton probably tops the list. It's been quite a while, but I remember Naples, Italy to be a very nice city. The houses on top of those ocean-side cliffs were quite spectacular, if only for the novelty.
 
It's not even enough to count, but going through Baltimore on Amtrak was pretty depressing.
 
Beijing fits both categories.

The ugliest city I've visited, maybe Qiqihaer in China. I didn't find many redeeming qualities there. Harbin, China has a Russian style city center but I found most of the city ugly and dirty as well.

I'd agree with Qiqihar - especially in winter - although some of the newer buildings in Fularji aren't bad.
 
Most beautiful is Toledo, the original Spanish one.
800px-Toledo_Skyline_Panorama%2C_Spain_-_Dec_2006.jpg
 
That looks ugly to me. Orange usually equals nastay.

That also jogged my memory. When we drove through Wilmington, DE, it was terribly ugly.
 
Kuala Lumpur - ugliest
I'd have to disagree with this. KL is certainly a place of contrasts - it has very good and very bad like most places - but overall it's not ugly.

At first, the KL city planners made a mistake when chopped down the jungle for the ever expanding city. But when it got to the 80s, they realized their mistake. So they planted trees along the streets to make it look good. The problem with that was the buildings were close together and the tree roots could cause damage, but the local government took out insurance to cover that! So now you have the best of both worlds: village atmosphere because of close buildings, and garden feel with all the trees. :thumbsup:

Besides, Kuala Lumpur International Airport is one of my favorites of anywhere in the world. And the people are friendly. :)
 
A city I have found particularly beautiful: Lucerne

A city I have found particularly ugly: Venice

Edit: A city I have found particularly uglier: Houston
 


Pyongyang

It's like an entire country without an interior designer.
 
It's like an entire country without an interior designer.
That's totally wrong, the exteriors are crap but the interiors are totally fabulous!
 


You're right! It's beautiful!!!
*sparkly eyes
 


Pyongyang

It's like an entire country without an interior designer.

I like that one blue and white building in the upper right hand corner, stands out from all the gray and death.
 
I like that one blue and white building in the upper right hand corner, stands out from all the gray and death.

That's where all the foreign embassies are. :p

Spoiler :
Five Thousandth post!!! Ce-le-brate good time come on!!
 
I'm not much of a world traveler, but I think that Charleston, South Carolina is very beautiful. It has some great colonial architecture, and alot of houses have amazing gardens in their back/side yards. You've also gotta love pink, light blue, and other pastel colored houses.

For larger cities, I think Atlanta and Chicago are pretty cool. Rio De Jeniero also gets special mention. I'd love to go there sometime.

I think Pyongyang will have to get my vote for uglies after seeing that picture.
 
I rather like various parts of the Norfolk region. I went to Montreal last year and it was ugly as sin, as was Toronto, although in certain parts not nearly as much.
 
Dubrovnik.

But excepting the obvious, there are a few contenders.

Istanbul- Sultanahmet Park is the best part I've ever been to. Hagia Sophia on one side, Blue Mosque on the other, beautiful (although by no means monumental) fountain in the middle. From the Bosphorus, the city is also quite beautiful, but in a rather dirty and dusty way. So it's rather unconventionally beautiful.

Oslo- Specifically, the new bit around the Opera House. The Opera House is spectacular in itself, and the new office buildings are very elegantly designed (I especially liked the new PWC )IIRC) one). Even the more downtrodden Grønland area is quite pretty. Frogner Park is also quite notable in its tranquility and beauty, even if the centrepiece is notoriously suspect. The beauty in Oslo is quite definitely a modern one, and again unconventional, but I like it! Also, those Norwegians really know how to do their water features, which adds to it!

Sydney- Sydney Harbour, specifically. Maybe I'm just biased, but it really is exceptionally pretty, especially on a day when the sun is shining. Even the skyscrapers give it a certain metropolitan beauty. I've heard the Opera House described as ugly, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how it is. It is highly aesthetically pleasing.

Amsterdam- So nice and quaint and pretty! The canals lined with beautiful trees. :love:

Bern- The cathedral on the top of the hill is the highlight, looked at from the opposite side of the river, from around about the bear enclosure.

Timisoara- The centre is surprisingly modern and clean, and the Metropolitan Cathedral is without a doubt brilliantly beautiful. There are also heaps of gardens and parks, which are for the most part well kept and manicured.

And a couple of the ugliest:

Cologne- Not that it's exceptionally ugly. It's just not pretty at all. You argue that the cathedral is nice, but it is blackened and dirty, and is situated next to the train station, whose bridge across the Rhine is not exactly nice!

Bucharest- I got out of here as soon as I could, but what I saw was horribly downtrodden and in need of urgent repair. It's pretty notorious for being ugly, so it seems a safe bet.

Belgrade- I think they've made an effort to make it look at least semi-respectable, but it's by no means pretty. It's still largely a stereotypical Eastern European city.

Edit: Bah! I forgot so many pretty ones, particularly Lucerne, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Tallinn, Brasov and Split.
 
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