which city has lots to offer to their inhabitants outside the urban area ?

Stockholm, Barcelona

Berlin

i think Catania in Sicilia.
how many cities in the world have the great sea of Taormina and the Etna volcano (more than 3.000 meters) in few km?
you can swimm from May to October and ski in winter!
and the city is a small jewell!

i think Catania in Sicilia.
how many cities in the world have the great sea of Taormina and the Etna volcano (more than 3.000 meters) in few km?
you can swimm from May to October and ski in winter!
and the city is a small jewell!

I have an idea of the city U're searching 4...

But what do U mean by "major city" (let's set some limits, i.e. the city or metro-area inhabs)? :wave:

I'd have to say Istanbul after those pictures, so...Nice job messiah! :)

Perhaps munich? some big lakes and the alps are not far away.
Or Hamburg? the North sea and the Baltic sea are not far away. To the south you have the "Lüneburger Heide".
http://www.reiseland-niedersachsen.de/imperia/md/images/reiseland/regionen-staedte/regionen/lueneburger_heide/81.jpg

Hamburg has also a lot of nature within the city: for example the Alster lake which is big enough for sailing

I would say: Zurich, Barcelona, Stockholm (apart from lack of mountains), Istambul, Milano (including the lake area and southern Ticino)

Or the small towns: Inverness, Interlaken, Annecy, Narvik, Ronda, Bled...

stuttgart is ugly, but has a beautiful natural surrounding.

Napoli

http://www.petrone.it/wall/napoli.jpg

Yeap, Istanbul fully complies with this thread.

So, I'll also add Istanbul, along with Lisbon, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, Napels, Milan, and even Nice (around a million people in it's vicinity so it complies).

Zürich deserves a mention, as do Stockholm and Copenhagen and Porto.

Quite a few really.

Clermont Ferrand: the city is not so beautiful (Michelin plants) but surrounding is marvelous.
http://www.unf.edu/classes/crusades/image/clermontferrandcathed.jpg
Downtown

http://www.jo-casanova.com/Images/cltfd_gr.jpg
view from "la pierre carrée"

http://catholique-clermont.cef.fr/images/cathed01.jpg
The famous black cathedral build with andesite (volcano stones)

http://www.brgm.fr/volcan/images/photopuy.gif
Puy de Pariou and the famous Puy de Dôme

http://www.fastergaard.dk/massif-central/picsider/images/Puy%20de%20Dome%206-b500.jpg
http://decobed.club.fr/puydedome.jpg
Puy de dôme

http://www.vulcania.com/photos/legendes/15.jpg
Lac Pavin

Venice can be add...
If we mean the Lagoon as "surroundings"

Oslo ;)

2/3 of the city's area on 454 sqkm is natural forest.

The city has 40 islands, and 343 lakes within its borders.

This map shows the forests in Oslo and surrounding municipalities. 810.000 people live in the urban area on 280 sqkm, marked in gray. All the green is forest where most human interference is prohibited.
http://www.sportsguiden.no/images/kart4.gif

Some images from the city of Oslo
http://lahlum.net/skog/tonekoll.jpg

http://odin.dep.no/filarkiv/144420/asdol220.jpg

http://www.aktivioslo.no/kunder/trollvannstua/2003.jpg

http://www.norgereiser.nl/winter/images/oslomarka.jpg

http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~haakonsa/flyfishing/oslomarka.jpg

http://www.kjentmannsmerket.org/Vinterlys/Vinterlysbilde17.jpg

http://www.lovenskioldskog.no/jakt_og_fiske/bilder/skogva01.jpg

http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/slideshow/10741/0.jpg?1104228696257

http://home.broadpark.no/~bjhauge/grafikk/bilder/maridalen.jpg

http://www.villmarksbilder.com/Friluftsliv/images/prevs/prev24.jpg

http://vingilot.org/python/photos/august2002/2_image.jpg

I think my vote would go to Istanbul, I also like Stockholm's natural setting.

Some pics of the Lagoon of Venice

http://www.venezianinelmondo.it/images/servsud.jpg

http://www.salve.it/it/eco/destra/faunave/images/acquaterra.jpeg

http://www.salve.it/it/eco/destra/faunave/images/bassifondi.jpeg http://www.salve.it/it/eco/destra/faunave/images/velme.jpeg http://www.salve.it/it/eco/destra/faunave/images/barene.jpeg

http://tinypic.com/141zkw

http://tinypic.com/142l92

http://ottenb.areca.de/venice/Valle%20di%20Cavallino.jpg

http://ottenb.areca.de/venice/lagune.jpg

http://ottenb.areca.de/venice/torcell2.jpg

http://ottenb.areca.de/venice/haus4.jpg

http://ottenb.areca.de/venice/valle.jpg

http://ottenb.areca.de/venice/valle2.jpg

http://ottenb.areca.de/venice/barena.jpg

http://ottenb.areca.de/venice/valle5.jpg

http://www.palladio-tv.it/Internet/Informazioni/Finlandia/barene.jpg http://webapps.janus.it/AltaVoce/2002/venezia/Immagini/campalto.gif

http://www.palladio-tv.it/Internet/Informazioni/Finlandia/venezia.jpg

My vote goes to Oslo.
I think Oslo has one of the most beautiful surroundings :okay:

It's not major, but I think Sarajevo has some really nice surroundings! :)

Stuttgart

PS Turkey is not European

You can argue about Turkey as a whole not being European, but there is no doubt that Istanbul is in Europe (or at least half of it is).

http://istanbul.crowneplaza.com/gifs/loca/map1.gif

Oslo or Stockholm
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/Ringil/fjderholmarna.jpg

Warsaw !! (near is Kempinowski forest)

Annecy for me :D

I agree with you, but Annecy is not a major city - but you can go for Geneva (it's nearly in it's metro ;))

What about Monte Carlo? Genoa or Nice? Naples?

How about Lisbon and its suburbs Sintra and Cascais?? A few pics to illustrate my point:

Sintra
http://p.vtourist.com/1536957-Exploring_the_Ramparts-Sintra.jpg
http://p.vtourist.com/1536960-Near_the_Top_of_the_Ramparts-Sintra.jpg
http://p.vtourist.com/1536951-Looking_from_the_Palace_to_the_Train_Station-
http://p.vtourist.com/1670141-Chapel_on_the_gardens_of_Regaleira_Sintra-
http://www.cm-sintra.pt/images/bank/ParquePenaPM.jpg http://www.cm-sintra.pt/images/bank/ParqueMonserrate.jpg

Cascais
http://p.vtourist.com/1279998-Attractions_Activities-Cascais.jpg
http://p.vtourist.com/1587679-Attractions_Activities-Cascais.jpg
http://p.vtourist.com/1586021-Off_Beaten_Path-Cascais.jpg
http://p.vtourist.com/1589223-Sports_Travel-Cascais.jpg
http://p.vtourist.com/746522-Bike_path-Cascais.jpg
http://p.vtourist.com/1700643-Travel_Picture-Cascais.jpg
http://p.vtourist.com/1700682-Attractions_Activities-Cascais.jpg

i would vote granada spain

Sheffield.

The worlds second most visited national park, the Peak District is only five miles from Downtown Sheffield.

Napoli
Not the worst but the best natural surroundings.

Sarajevo, Istanbul and Wroclaw

I would like to see Wroclaw's natural beauty.

In Europe maybe Napoli and Istanbul.

But in Rome's area there's simply ALL.
Sea, lakes, mountains, hills, beaches, volcans, rivers, islands, lagoons, forests, falls.
Sure, not the best natural surrounding, but one of the most complete.

Sarajevo has some beautiful natural surroundings, including the mountains used for the 1984 Olympic games.

A Roman Bridge on the Bosnia River:
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/1305/sarajevo53as.jpg

Sarajevo's East End:
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8180/sarajevo12xz.jpg

The Miljacka River winding into the East End:
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4789/sarajevo27ps.jpg

The view of the hills from Strosmajerova Street, downtown:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7276/sarajevo178em.jpg

And, the crowning jewel, the Bosnia River hot springs:
http://files.photojerk.com/sarajka/vb7.jpg

Without doubt, Napoli.
Ever heard nothing about Vesuvio, Capri, Ischia, Pompei, Palinuro, Amalfi?

http://www.ondaverde.it/images/map2.jpg


Vesuvio

http://www.nsa.naples.navy.mil/psd/images/Vesuvio.jpg

http://www.fotoeweb.it/sorrentina/Foto/Castellammare/Vesuvio%20tra%20alberi.JPG

http://www.informarte.org/vesuvio_800.jpg


CAPRI

http://www.holidaym.ru/italy/capri/capri-port_b.jpg

http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/media/images/CAPRI-9-04.gif

http://newsite.tpf.iif.hu/alumni/fotoalbum/nyari_elmeny/Capri-arconaturale.jpg

http://www.barrettwells.com/images/Capri%20Italy.jpg

http://www.kle.nw.schule.de/gymgoch/faecher/fahrten/ital99/fotos/capri09.jpg

http://www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/Romancivimages16/capri.jpg

http://www.battelliericapresi.com/Interno11.jpg

http://www.capri.it/capri_images/capri_hotel/8_1.jpg


ISCHIA

http://www.zangarditours.com/fotocatalogo/FOTO/porto%20ischia.jpg

http://www.drk-reise.de/ischia/ischia-burg.jpg


POSITANO

http://www.giovis.com/canon/positano.jpg

http://www.giovis.com/smcpos/cap1.jpg

http://www.ondaverde.it/images/torreg.jpg


PROCIDA

http://www.ov.ingv.it/img/vulcani/procida.jpg

http://deluge.ssec.wisc.edu/~shis/ADRIEX/Procida.jpg

http://www.arcat.it/photoonline/simone/campania_file/big/faraglioni%20procida.jpg


PALINURO

http://www.cilentonet.it/morfeo/galleria/images/capo-Palinuro.JPG

http://www.fontelunaresidence.it/immagini/359.jpg

http://www.cilento-aktiv.de/img/fotos/ausfluege/ausflug_palinuro_4GR.jpg


SORRENTO

http://www.fotoeweb.it/sorrentina/Foto/Sorrento/Sorrento%20belvedere.JPG

http://www.ece.ubc.ca/~stevew/photos/Sorrento/DSC07862.jpg


AMALFI

http://www.foto.portanapoli.com/FOTO/amalfi_panorama.jpg

http://www.members.cox.net/a-gcarter/Amalfi/the%20coast%20north%20of%20Amalfi%20.jpg


CASTEL DELL'OVO

http://www.globalgeografia.com/album/italia/campania/castel_dell_ovo.jpg


POSILLLIPO

http://www.globalgeografia.com/album/italia/campania/napoli3.jpg

http://fc.retecivica.milano.it/Rete%20Civica%20di%20Milano/Hobbies/Viaggi%20e%20Turismo/043CBF68-000F4A4A-043CBFE4.0/Costa%20di%20Posillipo.jpg


NISIDA

http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/nisida3.JPG


MONTE FAITO

http://www.alfonsomartone.itb.it/viyobe.jpg

http://www.giovis.com/canon/molare2.jpg

http://www.sorrent.info/jpg/montefaito/faito5103_26a_75.jpg



POMPEI (and the volcan)

http://www.miti3000.it/mito/image/pompei/scavi%20pompei%20bn.JPG

Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Bergen (Norway)

I think the title says "which European major city has the best natural surroundings?"

I think the title talks about best natural surroundings, ie landscapes, so why are you posting pics of mansions.

I think Innsbruck offers pretty cool views (and it's the largest city lying in the Alps)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Panorama_insbruck1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Panorama_insbruck4.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/95/1900/1024/Innsbruck%20010.jpg

http://www.oe-journal.at/Wallpapers/Tirol/Innsbruck/theresienstr_1024.jpg

Innsbruck is stunning..:drool:

I'm quite sure that Sarajevo has very nice surrounding. But let me mention Zagreb: at 3 sides it is surrounded by meadows, forests, fields. But it is not my point. At the north side of the city is mountain Medvednica. The city centre is at 135 m, the top of Medvednica (Sljeme) is 1035 m high. The point is that you can come in less then 1 h from the city centre to the top if you're using your car. Of course, you can use public transportation (tram and bus comes to the foot of the mountain where you change to funnicular ( I think that it is the english word). Or you can chose walking. About 2 hours from last tram/bus stop to the top. Maybe it is not the most beatifull, but it is totaly interesting to have a mountain such in nearless to centre. (btw, walking tours are very nice and interesting, you walk through forest on nice walk sides, you see nice brookes, different sorts of trees and bushes, often wild animals...
At the top is held World Ski Cup race in winter and Zagreb is the only capital city that has conditions for ski races in nearless.

Istanbul is shit...

What about Geneva? Beautiful mountains, great lake. Well I liked it when I was there :yes:

But not the city, not so good :(

Btw Athens should be in this too!Napoli isn't bad either!

Speaking about major cities: Istanbul, Napoli then arctic beauty - Stockholm.

What about Bergen (not a major city, but anyway second in the country)?
http://laurent.dervaux.free.fr/Bergen.jpg
http://depts.washington.edu/scand/uwbergen/bergen-harbour.jpg
http://www.bologna-bergen2005.no/Pics/IMAGES/000405Bergen_by_air.jpg
http://www.bergen-turlag.no/album2/trollheimen03/20_G.jpg

and what about genoa in the middle of the italian riviera, with Portofino and the wonderful "five lands - cinque terre"

Tirana - It has very beautiful surroundings, a mountain in the East part of the city and a lake in the South not to mention its narrow river canal that runs through the city (8.7 km long)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a321/Football99/26315501_df30afa56a.jpg

I would say Athens, Istanbul and Budapest.

Berlinn

Barcelona, Naples, Stockholm...

Stockholm.

Sintra :yes:

http://wurm.wh-wurm.uni-ulm.de/~redman/albums/portugal2000/sintra.sized.jpg

But Sintra is Lisboa - and that was already voted as one of nice surrounding cities ;)

I think because of Sintra :lol:

Berlin - Grünewald, Havel, Mügelsee, etc.
Stockholm - Archipelago, Mälaren, Djurgården, Hagaparken, etc.

Unbeatable! :)

Milan is very well laid...inside a rich green land full of wonderful lakes (such as Como), very near to alpes and to the sea of Liguria or Toscana (where there's a beautiful country too). There's as well a big Luna Park (Gardaland) like for Paris. But I choose Barcellona, great sea!!! (in Italy the same for Cagliari and Palermo)

the müggelsee in berlin:

http://www.spd-fraktion-treptow-koepenick.de/Webgalerie/images/grosser%20Mueggelsee.jpg

http://www.tkt-berlin.de/Presse/Bilder_presse/19g.jpg

grunewald:

http://www.luftschiffreise.de/bilder/zf-grunewald-large.jpg

wannsee:

http://www.luftschiffreise.de/bilder/zf-wannsee-large.jpg

Belgrade:
http://zivotic.com/photo/fin/d100_04/dsc_4702.jpg
http://zivotic.com/photo/fin/d100_04/dsc_4661.jpg
http://www.strugar.co.yu/slike2/0149.jpg
http://zivotic.com/photo/show.asp?img=d70a_5839
http://zivotic.com/photo/show.asp?img=20da_0536
http://zivotic.com/photo/show.asp?img=_dsc3456
http://zivotic.com/photo/show.asp?img=_dsc3421
http://zivotic.com/photo/show.asp?img=_dsc0749
http://www.danas.co.yu/20030517/images/beograd_1.jpg

Istanbul, Naples, and Athens are large cities that come to mind as candidates.

Lisbon is the Best forget all the rest!!!

:dance:

Reason why????

Sintra, Estoril, Queluz, Cascais, Cabo da Roca, Serra de Sintra, Oeiras, Belem, Caparica, Mafra........................................

Cities with views of the sea and/or mountains such as Naples, Salzburg, Torino & Istanbul.

Hm, I'd say Stockholm.

Annecy

maybe not the best, but natural surroundings in Vilnius is really breathtaking sometimes - Neris and Vilnelė rivers' valleys, many hills... forests and parks cover ~44% of the city's territory, Pavilniai and Verkiai regional parks...

http://www.pavilniai-verkiai.lt/eng_verepa/zeez.jpg http://www.pavilniai-verkiai.lt/eng_verepa/up.jpg

http://www.pavilniai-verkiai.lt/eng_parepa/rilalika.jpg http://www.pavilniai-verkiai.lt/eng_parepa/vise.jpg

http://www.pavilniai-verkiai.lt/eng_parepa/puap.jpg http://www.pavilniai-verkiai.lt/eng_parepa/puap2.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/nuotr3/verkiai/005.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/nuotr3/verkiai/008.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/nuotr3/verkiai/011.jpg

http://weecheng.com/europe/bbs/lithuania/trakai1.jpg

http://www.vilniausmuziejai.lt/a_puskinas/a_p_files/a_p_istorija/markuciai/Markuciu_kalvos.jpg

http://pictures.mobrules.nu/albums/2003/20030603_Puckoriu_Atodanga/0041_View.JPG

http://pictures.mobrules.nu/albums/2003/20030603_Puckoriu_Atodanga/0046_View.JPG

http://www.miskas.lt/data/images/neris_ties_sviliskiemis.jpg

http://www.vilna.info/galleria/vilna/images/28-copy_jpg.jpg

http://tunelis.ginklai.net/others/ola/tiltas.jpg

http://www.pbworks.net/albums/aiesec_vilnius_lms/DSCN2862.jpg

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~ts/photos/images/1997-latvia-03-16-small.jpg

http://www.zona.lt/kaimoturizmas/pic/Neris_baidares.jpg

photo by (c)Pijus Girdziusas
http://www.heritage.lt/konkursai/mkonk05/05_02.jpg

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/574/27933718hl.jpg

saddly i dont have the photos which would really show how beautifull it is, this is only what i found with google, but i simply must and will make a phototour and a thread about Vilnius' surroundings

^lovely landscape whatever... thnk! to your photos :okay:

I don't know all the cities in Europe, but from which I saw the better is Stockholm, i think so.

(Vilnius have a great landscapes as well, i just saw now it, but i never have been there :(

Grenoble, France has lovely natural surroundings.

Athens

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5590/astirl17gv.gif

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9417/vouliagmeni4bg.jpg

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/8259/zapp6oc.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/vicfalls/pictures/greece2003/greece2003-Images/8.jpg


http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/7388/lycabettus5cq.jpg

more to come

I think it's Athens- in only couple of hours you are on Cycladic islands and there are so many to chose from and each one so unique .
Loved living in Athens !

Havent read all the posts so I dont know if I'm repeating someone.....
Definately Venice!!

Athens

more to come

It looks like a total holiday city, rather than a serious bureacratic capital.
I know this is about nature but feel free to post Partheon's pics too! It's one of the best buildings in the world...