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I would like to which sane person that has ever been to Times Square confuses those pics of Tokyo with it. Not to even mention it's streets filled with like what, 97% Japanese looking people... and apparently they are still easily confused with New York...
I would argue the exact opposite - there are some other southern towns in the US that have echoes of New Orleans, but there's nothing else outside that region in the world that is particularly reminiscent of NOLA. NOLA has its own distinct culture from food to art to music to local accents - it would be my US pick, easily. Certainly NYC is unique due to scale, but you can find pockets of that "feel" elsewhere in a way you cannot when discussing NOLA. Did you mean just the "French" thing? If so, I have to believe you've never been to NOLA.
That "French" thing is why people think New Orleans is unique to begin with.
All the things tourists relish about New Orleans (food, architecture, festival etc) are all derived from Francophone culture. It's certainly not it's vibrancy, there are plenty of more vibrant cities than NOLA than in the US alone. And it's most certainly not the southern black people and white people and their culture which there aren't any shortages of in the country.
Just to play devil's advocate, Old Quebec is very, very small, and it's mostly comprised of overpriced restaurants and shops that sell cheesy shot glasses and t-shirts. Once you leave Old Quebec, the city isn't all that different from Rochester, Minnesota; London, Ontario; or Cheektowaga, New York, complete with Targets, Wal-Marts, strip malls, and TGI Fridays.
Small parts of Boston and Philadelphia feel very European as well.
Here are my top ten: 1. Washington, District of Columbia, USA - Truly iconic. One of the best examples of a planned city on the planet. It enchants and inspires Americans and intimates non-Americans. No other city in the world is like Washington DC.
2. Havana, Cuba - From the culture to the architecture to the cars to the music to the politics, this city is one-of-a-kind in every way. Though, it's not as iconic as DC.
3. Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico - Perfect synthesis of all things Spanish and all things Mexican.
4. Saint John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada - Most "European" feeling city I've been to North America. It feels more like Ireland than it does Canada. Distinctive accent. Distinction, bright-colored houses. Isolated from the rest of North America.
5. New York City, New York, USA - Probably the most iconic of American cities, but some parts feel interchangeable with Philadelphia or Chicago.
6. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - The Strip is iconic and unique, but the rest of the city is the epitome of suburban blah.
7. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada - see above.
8. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA - Quintessential Southern city with French flair.
9. Savannah, Georgia, USA - Quintessential Southern city
10. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada - The most English-feeling city in North America. Studding scenery and great architecture.
Oddly enough, I think Detroit should get some consideration. While many of the neighborhoods look like lower income sprawl, if you go to the areas in and near downtown, you have an odd mix of shiny, new buildings, rough-looking and older but usable buildings, and clearly abandoned buildings with busted out windows. Plus, the speed of the rise and fall of Detroit, and the large percentage that is African American - I don't think this is replicated anywhere else in America.
Just to play devil's advocate, Old Quebec is very, very small, and it's mostly comprised of overpriced restaurants and shops that sell cheesy shot glasses and t-shirts. Once you leave Old Quebec, the city isn't all that different from Rochester, Minnesota; London, Ontario; or Cheektowaga, New York, complete with Targets, Wal-Marts, strip malls, and TGI Fridays.
Small parts of Boston and Philadelphia feel very European as well.
Here are my top ten: 1. Washington, District of Columbia, USA - Truly iconic. One of the best examples of a planned city on the planet. It enchants and inspires Americans and intimates non-Americans. No other city in the world is like Washington DC.
2. Havana, Cuba - From the culture to the architecture to the cars to the music to the politics, this city is one-of-a-kind in every way. Though, it's not as iconic as DC.
3. Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico - Perfect synthesis of all things Spanish and all things Mexican.
4. Saint John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada - Most "European" feeling city I've been to North America. It feels more like Ireland than it does Canada. Distinctive accent. Distinction, bright-colored houses. Isolated from the rest of North America.
5. New York City, New York, USA - Probably the most iconic of American cities, but some parts feel interchangeable with Philadelphia or Chicago.
6. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - The Strip is iconic and unique, but the rest of the city is the epitome of suburban blah.
7. Quebec City, Quebec, Canada - see above.
8. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA - Quintessential Southern city with French flair.
9. Savannah, Georgia, USA - Quintessential Southern city
10. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada - The most English-feeling city in North America. Studding scenery and great architecture.
Don't really agree with that. The city and metro is very small, so having Old Quebec being small still means a large proportion of the population lives in a very dense urban environment and there is a good portion of the historic area outside of the walled fortifications that is not dominated by solely tourists. There are also some other notable traits such as having an extremely hilly city built overlooking a massive river and being the capital of a province that is home to a people with a language that is fairly unique for the North American continent and being used by a people that descend from one of the oldest European settler communities on the continent.
That "French" thing is why people think New Orleans is unique to begin with.
All the things tourists relish about New Orleans (food, architecture, festival etc) are all derived from Francophone culture.
Definitely not true. NOLA's vibe has very little to do with a "French" thing. A city in France looks and feels nothing like NOLA. The city never received immigration directly from France.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cityguy7
It's certainly not it's vibrancy, there are plenty of more vibrant cities than NOLA than in the US alone.
Really? Pound-for-pound, name one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cityguy7
And it's most certainly not the southern black people and white people and their culture which there aren't any shortages of in the country.
NOLA has very little "southern culture" relative to most cities in the South. It has a very localized culture distinct from the South.
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