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NYC is definitely on the same level as London as a cultural capital from my personal experience.
I would say Jerusalem is a cultural capital in terms of history and religion.
I would venture to guess that Hong Kong as well as Shanghai are both cultural capitals of the world.
Well, Hong Kong and Shanghai are relatively new cities. 150 years ago, they were small villages. But it really depends on what you are looking for. History, no, but museums and art scenes, okay.
Personally I prefer older cities for cultural experience, like Beijing, Athens, Luxor, etc.
Rome, Istanbul, NYC are all on par with London or Paris. Different reasons for each, but they include great universities, museums, historical sights, architecture, food, theater, music, sports. Many people like shopping, and it is available at all.
Closely behind this group I would include Boston, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Toronto.
LA is definitely the world capital of the film industry. But I can enjoy films at home, no need to fly to LA.
Actually, the only reason I'm still willing to spend a couple of nights in LA is the food scene.
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better cultural destinations than London or Paris
Well... as mentioned... that would be about anywhere EXCEPT Paris and London. (if you want a unique or diverse culture).
for BIG cities... Bangkok has a lot of unique and different cultures.
Singapore has many cultures, but all are required to align with British / English expectations and communication (So you need to get into people's homes to get to their national cultural roots).
Nairobi?
Rabat Morocco?
Istanbul?
Mumbai?
As mentioned... Jerusalem has a unique culture, and a bit of variety.
It depends on what you mean by culture. There’s also the accessibility aspect.
In Prague, I had no problem getting good seats to the symphony on short notice at inexpensive prices. There are a lot of major cities where symphony, opera, ballet, and theater require making plans months in advance and spending big money on tickets. In the tourist saturated cities, you can get shut out of museums. It’s impossible to find a good restaurant on short notice.
Well, Hong Kong and Shanghai are relatively new cities. 150 years ago, they were small villages. But it really depends on what you are looking for. History, no, but museums and art scenes, okay.
Shanghai has some very interesting 20th century history. There is a museum related to China's first president Sun Yat-sen and the former Jewish Quarter (from the around the WW2 era) with museum are also quite interesting. A good guide can tell one the history of the Peace Hotel as well as the Bund with its colonial buildings by the river. So I definitely think Shanghai is an interesting place to visit if one has an interest in modern history.
Shanghai has some very interesting 20th century history. There is a museum related to China's first president Sun Yat-sen and the former Jewish Quarter (from the around the WW2 era) with museum are also quite interesting. A good guide can tell one the history of the Peace Hotel as well as the Bund with its colonial buildings by the river. So I definitely think Shanghai is an interesting place to visit if one has an interest in modern history.
Yep, I really like Shanghai and agree with the other poster about Bangkok.
I lived in Nagasaki for two years. While people associate it with the bombing, it’s actually a really interesting city. It was the only city open to foreign trade in Japan for centuries and has a lot of Portuguese/Christian influence as well as Chinese influence, unlike many other places in Japan. I lived near a convent. It definitely has a different character than many other cities in Japan.
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