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Said a Parisian Mayor of San Francisco on a visit to the city in 2006...
Quote:
I'm pulling Paris into the 21st century, and this visit to San Francisco has helped speed things up. I will bring back to Paris contacts, desires, wishes and know-how.
To be fair, I actually think the Victorians are more probably instantly recognizable to the average person than the Louvre.
Also to be fair, those cities I listed look more beautiful than San Francisco, but the thing I like about San Francisco is that it looks more "livable" and "welcoming" and "warm" than say Oxford, England which I also find more beautiful architecturally yet so aesthetically cold or too historic and hard to see yourself living in.
I do appreciate the warmth of San Francisco.
Well, as far as urban layout and streetscapes(and a host of other things of course), I love Paris and I dont know what other cities your talking about but I'll concede that there are other cities out there with more beautiful architecture than SF. Sure.
But beauty also involves a natural element imo and San Francisco has a setting that most cities could only dream of.
Of course at the end of the beauty depends on personal opinions and I think both cities offer a lot to keep a visitor happy(and well fed-LOL).
#1 New York, economic importance, 2nd most important global financial center after London
#2 Washington, the most influential political capital in the world
#3 Chicago, the nations largest transportation center and 2nd most important financial center in North America, the largest commodities market in the world
#4 Boston, North America's foremost educational and intellectual center, as well as one of the most important financial centers in North America
#5 Los Angeles, the world's entertainment capital and the nations 2nd largest urban economy
#6 SF Bay Area, the world's most important tech hub and one of America's most important financial centers, a private equity and venture capital powerhouse
#7 Houston, one of America's most international cities and North America's energy hub, strong connections to the Middle East
Honorable mention; Detroit, North American auto capital; Charlotte, 2nd largest consumer banking center; Miami, gateway to Latin America; Atlanta, 2nd largest transportation hub; sorry if I forgot anything
But aside from the Eiffel Tower and IM Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre, its still not as distinct as San Francisco's signature residential housing. Perhaps only Barcelona's Gaudi masterpieces are as associated with a specific city as colorful and ornamented victorians are to SF, and even then, Barcelona's signature architecture is still not as widely known as SFs.
Paris is one of a kind for sure, but then so is San Francisco.
I assure you, I'm not doing this just for the sake of arguing...but I think many more people would recognize and associate (though they may not be able to name it haha) Hausmannian development in Paris moreso than Victorian in San Francisco.
You could also argue Monte Carlo, Monaco is home to the most beautiful streets in the world in terms of chariots...
Thanks (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedro-18/5431804466/ - broken link)
I assure you, I'm not doing this just for the sake of arguing...but I think many more people would recognize and associate (though they may not be able to name it haha) Hausmannian development in Paris moreso than Victorian in San Francisco.
Once again, your wrong. Beautiful as those scenes may be and as familiar as they may appear, quite frankly its still not as distinct as San Francisco's unmistakable residential architecture.
Sorry.
And based on how high both Paris and San Francisco rank in visitor surveys(Conde Nast, T + L, etc) and image surveys(Anholt City Index), I feel comfortable asserting that San Francisco and Paris are at very least equals as far as recognizability.
But I give San Francisco the edge because its architectures is just so different from other US Cities whereas Paris' is not too different from other European cities as far as layout and even the designs have a similar look to them-even if they are still different.
Ironically the Eiffel Tower and Golden Gate Bridge are the 2 most easily recognizable attractions in the world according to a survey done by Anholt for the British government.
#1 New York, economic importance, 2nd most important global financial center after London
#2 Washington, the most influential political capital in the world
#3 Chicago, the nations largest transportation center and 2nd most important financial center in North America, the largest commodities market in the world
#4 Boston, North America's foremost educational and intellectual center, as well as one of the most important financial centers in North America
#5 Los Angeles, the world's entertainment capital and the nations 2nd largest urban economy
#6 SF Bay Area, the world's most important tech hub and one of America's most important financial centers, a private equity and venture capital powerhouse
#7 Houston, one of America's most international cities and North America's energy hub, strong connections to the Middle East
Switch 5 and 3, and 6 and 4.
One could even argue that Miami comes before Chicago and Houston in terms of world recognition.
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
Beautful but I prefer my old neighborhood, Camps Bay in Cape Town, South Africa.
And for all their flashy cars, the Bay Area is richer than Monaco too.
Some other cool ones:
- Seychelles
- Rio de Janeiro
- Sao Paulo
- Hong Kong
- Melbourne
- Sicily
- Venice
- Prague
- Nice
- Buenos Aires
Ohh and here's one in the United States that never gets any attention on this forum for being absolutely beautiful!
What about Santa Catalina Island, California: It's right in your backyard and in our country!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Avalon-Catalina-Island.jpg/800px-Avalon-Catalina-Island.jpg (broken link)
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