Slightly off topic, what do you think is the prettiest city in the USA?

[Squiggles]

Madison is beautiful in the spring and summer, and San Fran is just always beautiful.

[NorthDallas]

Austin

Seriously, I do not find cities like New York or Chicago all that "pretty" or "beautiful in the sense that I would consider something beautiful or pretty. Those cities are definitely urban and have amazingly beautiful architecture and skyscrapers. Austin is a nice combo of both(although not near as urban and gritty). I also recommend Portland, Seattle and Denver.

[NorthDallas]

Small towns would be Bend, Oregon, Santa Fe, Durango, Colorado and Flagstaff

[CNB30]

Boston

[Cal_Escapee]

Originally Posted by herodotus

Savannah, by a mile.

Second, there is no Georgian Architecture in Baltimore's Bolton Hill, or Charles Village sections. There is not much Georgian left in Baltimore, but there is a ton of Federal/Adam, and Greek Revival, and endless amounts of Italianate. Bolton Hill is full of late Victorian styles (Romanesque, Queen Anne etc), while Charles Village seems to have a lot of Neo-Classical and Neo-Colonial.

So I guess you are calling this "Federal/Adam" but most people, including me who stared at it daily for 4 years, would call it "Georgian":



This too?

[musiccity]

Meh...

Is there a thread on the prettiest small town in the US? There are gazillions, I would love a thread like that.

[Cal_Escapee]

Originally Posted by Clássico

san francisco ... obviously, beautiful city, not chaotic. beach and forest near

San Francisco, far from being "chaotic", is actually rather refined in its urban form. It has at least 2 (I would argue 3) classic "central piazzas" in the European fashion:

Union Square:


http://www.aerialarchives.com/stock/img/AHLB3647.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Un...Macy%27s_1.JPG


Mine


Mine

Civic Center Plaza










All images from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_C..._San_Francisco

Yerba Buena Gardens


http://www.yerbabuenagardens.com/


http://www.yerbabuenagardens.com/features/gardens.html


http://www.sfcityguides.org/public_g...=neighborhoods

[Sarcasticity]

Based on the cities I've been to, I can say San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia are pretty damn beautiful major cities. Honolulu is also beautiful, mostly due to its location but the urban landscape itself is not as beautiful

[Lordpenguinton]

I believe "Federal" style architecture is what it's called in the U.S. instead of "Georgian". Same thing, maybe not as quite elegant as in the motherland, but we tried.

[CincyBearcats]

Originally Posted by CNB30

Boston

Those are older pictures aren't they?

[Sean in New Orleans]

San Francisco, New York, Charleston, SC, & Savannah for sure....but, I'll give my own city credit where creidit is due, as well.....New Orleans isn't mentioned enough on all of these pages. I may be from here, but, I'm a seasoned traveler, and I'll be truthful....I live in a beautiful city....

[Cal_Escapee]

Let others judge:

[Cal_Escapee]

SF v. Seattle (not starting a debate, just posting one, in pictures, that already exists)--really, very few cities appreciate each other as much as these 2 (plus Portland):

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2012/07/...y-wins/#6088-1

[Sarcasticity]

New Orleans looks amazing in those pictures... almost un-American. My sister always goes there every few months, and now I see why. It's an unappreciated and underrated beauty

[-Corey-]

The most?? Hmm I think is hard to say, every city is unique... But in my opinion the top 5 would be in random order: San Diego, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston.

[Dralcoffin]

New Orleans is my contender for the most unique city in the lower 48, but it's a bit too gritty and swampy to make my "beautiful" list.

My list:
San Francisco
San Diego
Miami (especially bayside)
Washington
Salt Lake City
Honolulu

[ikops]

From an outsiders point of view. I was pretty imprssed by New Orleans, Natchez and Chattanooga.

Other cities that I really liked were Rapid City, Cody and Durango.