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Scenic Cities

138K views 348 replies 116 participants last post by  Jaehaerys 
#1 ·
It's amazing how much scenery can make or break a city. Rio de Janeiro without it's epic mountains would be just another dull developing world skyline, albeit probably still with excellent culture. Then again, Paris has one of the most boring settings imaginable, save for Montmartre, yet is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

What are your favourite natural settings for cities, and what do you think the scenery adds or takes away? Here are my best urban landscapes, in ascending order.

1. Lisbon: amazing scenery, with the sparkling bay and the castle hill. I think the situation is what makes Lisbon such an awesome city, since tbh its architecture, though aesthetically pleasing, is no different from most of the rest of the mediterrean.

2. San Fransisco: similar to Lisbon in many ways, though the architecture compliments the landscape better what with the skyscrapers and the bridge.

3. Rio: in some ways the grey block shaped buildings help with the city's exotic image, since it can't be confused with an American or European city, but I feel the landscape rather dwarfs teh city itself, apart from the majestic statue of Christ the Redeemer.

4. Hong Kong: couldn't be better, huge skyscrapers complementing the hills perfectly, in a city that might otherwise have been something of a Dubai.

5. Edinburgh: again, architecture matches the setting: the castle makes a fine centrepoint with the Royal Mile running down the spine of the crag, and arthur's seat makes Edinburgh truly unique. It's not my favourite architecture style but it's still beautiful.

6. Venice: my favourite scenic city, for obvious reasons: complements it perfectly.

Honourable mention to magnificent mountain cities, such as Munich, Vancouver, Innsbruck, Grenoble, and Darjeeling. I feel all should be better renowned for their beauty than they are.
 
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#4 ·
Paris has one of the most boring settings imaginable, save for Montmartre, yet is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

(...)

Lisbon: amazing scenery, with the sparkling bay and the castle hill. I think the situation is what makes Lisbon such an awesome city, since tbh its architecture, though aesthetically pleasing, is no different from most of the rest of the mediterrean.
For Paris, don't underestimate the Seine river and it's islands.

As for Lisbon's architecture, I don't agree either. It is very different from other southern European countries.

Other cities to note: Porto, Budapest, Luxemburg City, Valparaiso, Veliko Tarnovo, Stockholm, Bergen, La Paz...
 
#10 · (Edited)
Metro Manila may not look scenic in the city centre but it's surrounding areas and suburbs gives it a scenic look.

From Antipolo and San Mateo, Rizal (east of Metro Manila)





From San Pedro, Laguna (south of Metro Manila)





From GMA, Cavite (southwest of Metro Manila)



Laguna De Bay view (south Metro Manila)



In San Pedro, Laguna (south of Metro Manila)

 
#24 · (Edited)
It may not be the most scenic in the world and you may not agree with me but I actually like it's location and surroundings. And you are talking about a large city.

Though there are more scenic cities in The Philippines such as Cebu, Baguio or Tagaytay.

Tagaytay has the view of Taal lake and volcano and is part of Greater Manila. This is one of the major tourist attractions in The Philippines. And it is the only place in the world where you have a volcano within a lake within a volcano.

 
#30 · (Edited)
I agree that Manila really isn't something special when talking about a scenic location...it can't compete here. I think there are a lot of small cities like Carcassone in France who have a beautiful scenic location or most of the towns / cities around the Alps for example (from the ones i know). And since i just went to Nepal I really
Iike Pokhara or Kathmandu who are surrounded by mountains. The ones already mentionned as San Francisco and Cap Town are of course wonderful.
 
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