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It's well short of the 2 million population requirement set by the OP anyway, as is Seattle, among others. I'm not sure why he included it in the poll.
A lot of those cities don't meet the 2 million requirement - Stockholm, Prague, Amsterdam, Oslo (!!). People should ignore these stupid arbitrary population cut-off points - some of the most beautiful and interesting cities are not megacities like London or New York.
A lot of those cities don't meet the 2 million requirement - Stockholm, Prague, Amsterdam, Oslo (!!). People should ignore these stupid arbitrary population cut-off points - some of the most beautiful and interesting cities are not megacities like London or New York.
I don't disagree. The point is that the OP himself defined his criteria for on-topic discussion in this thread according to these boundaries.
Portland has a very pleasant feel, but it's rather small. I don't think it should be on a list of best downtowns in the world.
It has a nice downtown for a US city of it's size(which in part just reflects on how many dead and boring US downtowns there are), but no it's obviously not up there with the best central commerical/retail districts in the world. Neither is San Diego though either, which also got brought up(great city though), and neither is Los Angeles(which I love as a city, but while their downtown has a weird funky charm to it, it could still use some work to make it more of a destination).
And really neither is Seattle's downtown either, which is great for a US city(probably by far the best of these four cities), but in comparison to the rest of the world's great cities is kind of mediocre. It really lacks any good public spaces in the central district, and while it's fairly lively during the day, it's not really the best spot for nightlife. Again, it's good for the US and there's a nice mix from the older area around Pioneer Square and the International District to up by Pike Place and Belltown, but still, I'm not comparing it to a European capital or Tokyo by any means...
Vancouver's downtown is close in some ways, but just has the added advantage of being largely redeveloped for tourism(or rich foreigners) and having one of the most spectacular city locations in the world---so they'll get ranked higher. Overall there's not much more to do in terms of amenites downtown than Seattle(though Stanley Park adds a little more), but it's just a very good looking downtown location.
Also, where is Buenos Aires on this list? That's a central area that could top about half the cities on here... I'd even put Montreal above a lot of cities on the list as well...
Bangkok has a reputation for its seedy underbelly, which is appropriate to some degree, but it's a vibrant city with a polite cultural tradition, and very safe to due to good police presence - at least much safer than most US large city urban areas.
Service is variable, depending on how much you pay, but the people, in general, are great, cheerful and eager to help. We often speak of juxtaposition of old and new when it comes to cities like London, but this place demonstrates asian history juxtaposed with modernity in an equally interesting way.
The downside are the mosquitos. You're recommended vaccinations if travelling from Europe/US. Also, the tap water isn't yet safe to drink.
Last edited by Rozenn; 11-19-2013 at 12:08 PM..
Reason: Off topic
Bangkok has a reputation for its seedy underbelly, which is appropriate to some degree, but it's a vibrant city with a polite cultural tradition, and very safe to due to good police presence - at least much safer than most US large city urban areas.
Service is variable, depending on how much you pay, but the people, in general, are great, cheerful and eager to help. We often speak of juxtaposition of old and new when it comes to cities like London, but this place demonstrates asian history juxtaposed with modernity in an equally interesting way.
The downside are the mosquitos. You're recommended vaccinations if travelling from Europe/US. Also, the tap water isn't yet safe to drink.
Is bangkok really still as seedy as it used to be? I thought it became much more respectable in recent years
I took a look in the Street View of Sydney. It appears to be really awesome, and with an interesting architecture, with both old and modern buildings. The streets appear to bem also absolutely clean.
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