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Favourite and least favourite cities


Rick James

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Hong Kong - party central. Honorable mentions to Madrid, Washington DC, Cape Town and Brisbane.

Would definitely never go back to Manila. Crumbling, dirty, desperate poverty and really sad people.

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Favourite cities:  Gdańsk and Wrocław.  Beautiful cities, each with a totally different style and setting.  Excellent food and drink, and both are incredibly cheap.  Anyone going to the latter should check out The Granary - La Suite hotel, specifically the Garden rooms.  Easily the best hotel I've been in, and the food in the restaurant was absolutely unreal.  Costs about £100 per night, and it's so good, that we're planning to head back there again this summer.

 

Least favourite: London. Far too busy, far too expensive.  I just don't understand the hype around it.

 

Honourable mention - Budapest.  Beautiful to walk around, and an absolutely excellent transport system to help you explore all of it.

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Favs: Jerusalem (so much going on and scorching), Paris (Beautiful city with tons to do and the metro system is amazing) and Savannah ( Bit different small and lovely centre, with some good bars and interesting museums)

 

Hates:  Genoa (shithole, old town dark and stinks), Las Vegas (terrible place full of terrible people), Baltimore (shithole and dangerous when we got lost)

 

Don't like: Amsterdam

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Favs : NY , Rome ,  Paris, Ghent (way better than Bruges), Maastricht (beautiful wee place , stunning bursd , good nightlife) , Split (beautiful & elegant)

 

Dislike - Miami - stayed on Miami beach and it is MILES to the city and costs the earth in a cab. 

               San Francisco - forget the hype , not that great IMO. 

               Berlin - I don't get it , 2 nights is plenty. 

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3 hours ago, N Lincs Jambo said:

Going back 25-30 years I lived in Vienna for a while. Amazing city and apart from the centre and one or two posh neighbourhoods it’s surprisingly working class but without any slum areas. Very vibrant as well and great value for money with the exception of the 1st district.

 

30 miles up the Danube is Bratislava. Total dump though it may have changed by now. Budapest also amazing, even in the Communist days.

TBF, it's had a ton of money spent on it and the old town looks nice . Was there 3 years ago, not much to see but only an hour to Vienna by train. Now, that was amazing. 

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1 hour ago, Smithee said:

I love Amsterdam, miss it loads, but then I'm a smoker. I also loved Haarlem, Alkmaar, Tilburg, Eindhoven and Utrecht in Holland, Rome's epic, I like Koln a lot, Aalborg in Denmark too.

New York I didn't like, needs to calm down a bit, London too.

 

Much preferred Utrecht to Amsterdam. Beautiful wee city.

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1 hour ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

Places I would go back to or have been to more than once - Rome, Venice, Budapest, Paphos, Athens, Pompeii & Anywhere on Santorini.

 

Been & probably wouldn't rush to go back to - Berlin, Naples, Messina & Sorrento.

 

Went on holiday there 5 years ago :  beach front restaurants selling poor food at rip off  prices and "beer/bar street" was a ghost town. Genuinely one of the worst holidays I've ever had. 

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Favourite: Vancouver. Its stunning. Flew over it in a sea prop job plane for half an hour and its probably the most beautiful city out there. Great people, clean and tidy, amazing food and bars. Love it.

 

Least: Paris. It's probably a lot of peoples favourites but I just don't like it. 

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37 minutes ago, Morgan said:

Give me a PM if/when you’re going, Marv.

 

We lived there for 11 months and visit 5 or 6 times a year so would be delighted to give you any help/advice.

 

yeah thanks. Need to get my passport renewed to that horrible looking green one. My gorgeous Maroon one is over 6 months passed it's expiry.

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Bridge of Djoum

Favorites...

 

Florence...beautiful and incredible sense of history.

Singapore...amazingly clean, great transport, so green.

london... we ran the world from there.

 

 

least favorite...an entire country. Australia. The most pointless shitehole on earth. Special mention to Darwin. You ain’t heard backward until you’ve been there.

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Unknown user
27 minutes ago, Glib and Shameless Crier said:

 

Much preferred Utrecht to Amsterdam. Beautiful wee city.

It is a smashing city, it was our go-to for weekend breaks over there

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Shanks said no

Favourites - yet to visit a European city that could hold a candle to Edinburgh although I liked Barca and Valencia. Going slightly leftfield and knowing it will be an unpopular choice but I actually really liked Dubai. Yes its new and artificial but I found getting around so easy, clean and cheap.  Wee mention for Marrakesh and in particular Jemaa el-Fnaa although I felt a bit unsafe when I ventured away from the tourist spots.

 

 

Least favourite - Can I firstly say I love Greece & Greeks but I hated Athens. First time I thought it was maybe just me so I spent more time the 2nd time and it didn't get any better. Cairo was truly awful. Brussels was the most boring.

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Francis Albert

Favourite New York.

 

Least Las Vegas (Although it took 3 visits to decide that!). Dubai runs it close after just one day there.

 

Used to love Paris but it has become a bit of a museum, and it is now easier to eat badly there than in London - we were also mugged on two of our last 3 visits, which tends to put you off.

 

Valencia is probably current favourite for a short break. Wroclav and St Petersburg  for Eastern Europe.

 

On the question of whether Bratislava has improved ... it hasn't.

Edited by Francis Albert
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Favourites Vancouver (Partly cos my bairn lives there mind), Venice, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, 

Least favourites Thessalonika, Las Vegas, Manchester

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luckyBatistuta

 

3 hours ago, Morgan said:

Just out of curiousity, why did you not like Milan?

 

Never been there, but pretty much everyone I’ve spoken to that’s been, hasn’t been a fan.

 

1 hour ago, Greenbank2 said:

Hong Kong - party central. Honorable mentions to Madrid, Washington DC, Cape Town and Brisbane.

Would definitely never go back to Manila. Crumbling, dirty, desperate poverty and really sad people.

 

Love Hong Kong, but we were spoilt whilst over, as my friends sister is one of the richest folk there. :verysmug:

 

 

Looking like Rome is coming out tops a lot, not surprising.

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Bratislava has greatly improved and the cheapest city for a drink I have been to. Of course Vienna is nearby for a  visit as well. Bilbao was interesting and has had real makeover in the last 20years with San sebastian nearby and one of Europe's best beaches along with a nice old town area.

Lisbon is also pretty good.

Milan expensive but with a race course and the football stadium well worth it..never mind the shopping, cathedral, opera etc

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Favourite - Bydgoszcz. Honestly the best nights out I've had in my life have been in this city. 4 visits each one amazing. It looks a dump but the people are Amazing, food is cheap and excellent and the beer prices cheap.

 

Least favourite - Amsterdam. Boring as **** and the people seemed "bofhered" by foreigners  

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What's with all the hate for Bratislava? It's a nice enough wee city. Granted its not a patch on it's near neighbours Prague, Budapest and Vienna but it also isn't overrun with tourists and feels quite a bit more 'authentic' for it. The old town is small but quite pretty and the Communist architecture outwith it is really interesting too. Certainly not my favourite city but I've been twice (2012 and just a few weeks ago) and enjoyed myself both times. 

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Jambo-Jimbo
1 hour ago, NANOJAMBO said:

Went on holiday there 5 years ago :  beach front restaurants selling poor food at rip off  prices and "beer/bar street" was a ghost town. Genuinely one of the worst holidays I've ever had. 

 

Fair enough it was 2008 I was there, so maybe has went downhill since then.

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Favourites are NYC, Washington DC, Buenos Aries, Istanbul, Prague, Ho Chi Min, Cusco and Marrakesh

 

Dislikes    Sydney, Philadelphia, Dublin

 

 

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Never been to a bad city in Italy.

Vienna,Madrid,Valencia,Bilbao and Paris up there as well.

Found all the places in Holland a bit underwhelming but worse for me is Barcelona..

3 days long enough.No rush to go back.

Ten minutes in and caught someone trying to pickpocket me.

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Ibrahim Tall

Favourite

Gdansk, Gdynia, Osaka, Madrid, Barcelona, Wakayama

 

least

Frankfurt

 

Frankfurt seemed boring, was only there 2 days though so maybe I'm being harsh.

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Craig Gordons Gloves

Favorite is tough, I would say it's between New York & Boston, both very different in terms of layout, history, feel but equally great to be in.  Honorable mentions to Kathmandhu & Zagreb.

 

Least favorite, the list is endless but Orlando & LA are the 2 that spring to mind.  Orlando is just one massive exercise in removing your money from you, is completely soul less and is in the middle of a friggin swamp.  LA, just far too sprawling, dirty and takes forever to get anywhere.  Honorable mentions to Split, London & Dallas

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Favourite - Amsterdam, expensive but people are so friendly and everything is chilled, great transport links too.

 

Not keen on - Prague, cheap as chips but locals are miserable and they still smoked in bar and restaurants when we were there.

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Favourite: Washington DC is up there, having visited in 2010 - I didn't really like the place. Ended up moving there for a year in 2014 and loved the place. 

 

Unsurprising to see a lot of mention of LA as 'least favourite'. It's certainly not a tourist city, but some of the coastal communities are fantastic and you could spend the majority of your time there. Even still, Downtown has changed a lot in the last few years - give it another decade and it'll be closer to downtown San Francisco than what it is now. 

 

Least favourite: Not been to a lot of unpleasant places tbh.Sheffield was pretty grim when I had to go there for work. 

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Joey J J Jr Shabadoo
5 minutes ago, Toggie88 said:

Favourite: Washington DC is up there, having visited in 2010 - I didn't really like the place. Ended up moving there for a year in 2014 and loved the place. 

 

Unsurprising to see a lot of mention of LA as 'least favourite'. It's certainly not a tourist city, but some of the coastal communities are fantastic and you could spend the majority of your time there. Even still, Downtown has changed a lot in the last few years - give it another decade and it'll be closer to downtown San Francisco than what it is now. 

 

Least favourite: Not been to a lot of unpleasant places tbh.Sheffield was pretty grim when I had to go there for work. 

Agree with DC & LA. The underground at LA has improved it and made it easier to get around and the beach communities are great (in the main).

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15 minutes ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

Agree with DC & LA. The underground at LA has improved it and made it easier to get around and the beach communities are great (in the main).

 

Yup, LA gets better every time I visit. Also, all you have to do is head along in the coast and either direction and there's places you could never leave. 

 

Have you ever visited Solvang? Little Danish town with windmills, scandinavian houses and everything a couple hours north. 

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Guest Paul Allen

Like: Edinburgh.

Dislike: Glasgow, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Sydney, Athens, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Brussels.

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Joey J J Jr Shabadoo
1 hour ago, Toggie88 said:

 

Yup, LA gets better every time I visit. Also, all you have to do is head along in the coast and either direction and there's places you could never leave. 

 

Have you ever visited Solvang? Little Danish town with windmills, scandinavian houses and everything a couple hours north. 

:lol: Solvang's great. Got family near San Luis Obispo (Los Osos). Great part of he world, from San Diego up to San Francisco/Sausalito.

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luckyBatistuta
Just now, Paul Allen said:

Like: Edinburgh.

Dislike: Glasgow, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Sydney, Athens, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Brussels.

 

Ffs, somebody take his passport off him 

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Budgie's Boyfriend
3 minutes ago, luckyBatistuta said:

 

Ffs, somebody take his passport off him 

Aye because Edinburgh is a shithole compared to most of those places

Edited by Budgie's Boyfriend
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1 minute ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

:lol: Solvang's great. Got family near San Luis Obispo (Los Osos). Great part of he world, from San Diego up to San Francisco/Sausalito.

Been through Slo a few times - a great wee place. 

 

Sausalito also excellent. California all round is just a phenomenal place for the weather alone, but it's got everything. 

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Faves: Vienna was stunning and Dubrovnik is also great.

Least Fave: Naples is an absolute cludgie of a place.

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Joey J J Jr Shabadoo
1 minute ago, Toggie88 said:

Been through Slo a few times - a great wee place. 

 

Sausalito also excellent. California all round is just a phenomenal place for the weather alone, but it's got everything. 

Yes, climate is great all year round. I haven't experienced an earthquake, yet. I haven;t done northern California, yet. I fancy doing that, up to Oregon at some point.

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rudi must stay

Favourite - New York. What can you say, the buzz and excitement people have for the place is totally justified

 

Least - Rome. Didn't get the hype at all (average places to eat) and everywhere was packed

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North Berwick Jambo

Favourites 

Edinburgh, Barcelona, Sevilla.

 

Avoid at all cost! 

Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, London & Rotterdam.

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luckyBatistuta

 

1 hour ago, Budgie's Boyfriend said:

Aye because Edinburgh is a shithole compared to most of those places

 

Aye, because every one of these is a shithole...Glasgow, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Sydney, Athens, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Brussels.

 

 

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The White Cockade

Best Cape Town, Rome, Edinburgh and Nairobi

 

Worst Amsterdam and Johannesburg

 

Best small towns Simonstown, Franschoek, Hermanus, Malindi and North Berwick, St Andrews, Elie and South Queensferry

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Leningrad was pretty beautiful back in 1989, no idea what it's like now.  Moscow had its charms too, but again no idea how it has faired in the last 30 years.

 

Paris is lovely, as is Amsterdam, IMO.

 

Barcelona doesn't really do it for me, but happy to be converted.

 

Malmo is cute, was slightly underwhelmed by Copenhagen, although I was only really there for a day.  Some nice parts to it, did a canal tour, but I didn't stay long enough to get an overall feel for the place.

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the general

Soft spot for Prague and Bucharest as visited both before and after their 'revolutions'

Kiev was beautiful and pretty cheap 

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18 hours ago, Glib and Shameless Crier said:

 

Much preferred Utrecht to Amsterdam. Beautiful wee city.

When I was in the Dam, we did a day trip to Utrecht for a game. Didn't get to see as much of the city as I'd have liked but it was a lovely Sunday evening and the area around the back of the train station was lovely and quiet. Think it was a lot of university buildings. Also found a bar that was near the river not far from Stadion Galgenwaard. Loads of seats outside and was a scorcher so duly stayed for a few drinks. That whole residential area by the river looked gorgeous.

 

16 hours ago, Ibrahim Tall said:

Favourite

Gdansk, Gdynia, Osaka, Madrid, Barcelona, Wakayama

 

least

Frankfurt

 

Frankfurt seemed boring, was only there 2 days though so maybe I'm being harsh.

Haven't been, but been told you're well within your rights to say that. Been past on the Autobahn and thought it looked fantastic with the skyscrapers et al. Frankfurt is the financial hub of Germany, thus the city is really just a city for the workers. Because of this, the city doesn't have a huge deal of personality or charm. And, despite this, it's actually one of the worst cities in Germany for crime rates. One would imagine with the high roller types there, the cocaine trade is booming.

 

Down the road from Frankfurt you've got Stuttgart which is a lovely city. Some really nice classic architecture. Bit pricey though and a lot of homeless sleeping in the park. Better yet, Heidelberg is not far on a train. Been twice. You wouldn't find lots to do for days on end, but the old city and the castle are well worth a visit.

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AlphonseCapone
2 hours ago, Boris said:

Leningrad was pretty beautiful back in 1989, no idea what it's like now.  Moscow had its charms too, but again no idea how it has faired in the last 30 years.

 

Paris is lovely, as is Amsterdam, IMO.

 

Barcelona doesn't really do it for me, but happy to be converted.

 

Malmo is cute, was slightly underwhelmed by Copenhagen, although I was only really there for a day.  Some nice parts to it, did a canal tour, but I didn't stay long enough to get an overall feel for the place.

 

Haha I loved Copenhagen and thought Malmo was boring. People eh! 

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21 minutes ago, AlphonseCapone said:

 

Haha I loved Copenhagen and thought Malmo was boring. People eh! 

 

I probably wouldn't argue with that comparison - Malmo is smaller compared to Copenhagen and is probably boring by that comparison, but I've been a few times as the wife's brother lives there.  Went to a mental pop up rave on the outskirts, followed by a warehouse party in some industrial outskirt, so that has tainted my view no doubt!

 

Would like to see more of Copenhagen so will pop that on the to do list next time we are over!

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22 hours ago, Jeff said:

Fav - Berlin or Barcelona

 

Least Fav - Paris... city of romance my bum. The place absolutely reeks of pee, there's homeless people everywhere, sadly, and rats just kicking about like they own the place. Food is terrible as well.... although the transport isn't too bad.

 

My granddaughter just spent a month in Paris and she said the exact same thing.  

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Favourites:  Vancouver, Palm Springs, Phoenix. Bridgetown Barbados, Singapore.

 

Least:  Honolulu, Kingston Jamaica, any American city that has a 'no go' area.

 

 

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The Continental Op

from Italy

 

Favourite: Rome (despite crowds, prices and indifferent hotels )

 

Least favourite: Naples, Genoa

 

 

From Central America:

 

Favourite: Granada, Nicaragua

 

Least favourite: Panama City

 

 

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5 minutes ago, jonnothejambo said:

Why don't people like Sydney ? 

 

 

I know.

 

He's quite devine in my opinion.

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