Best Downtowns in the World (neighbourhood, nicest, offices)

[nei]

Originally Posted by pbobcat

To me calling London more monotonous suggests a lack of variety in architecture but it's far more varied than NYC in that respect. Those pictures posted by Nei look like pastiches of older buildings and are hardly representative of NY in any case.

I'm not sure how London is more varied, most of the buildings are roughly the same height and type (outisde the areas with skyscrapers). Manhattan streetscapes tend to be more varied with 3 story buildings next to much larger ones. Here's a good example:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Broad...2.07,,0,-13.85

The second photo is of Union Square, I'm unsure how that could be unrepresentative, it's among the busiest intersections in Manhattan. The third is further is further down at Washington Square. There' plenty of that style by Broadway.

[dunno what to put here]

I was talking more about different styles of architecture from different time periods, rather than height.

[P London]

Originally Posted by nei

I'm not sure how London is more varied, most of the buildings are roughly the same height and type (outisde the areas with skyscrapers). Manhattan streetscapes tend to be more varied with 3 story buildings next to much larger ones. Here's a good example:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Broad...2.07,,0,-13.85

The second photo is of Union Square, I'm unsure how that could be unrepresentative, it's among the busiest intersections in Manhattan. The third is further is further down at Washington Square. There' plenty of that style by Broadway.

Is that particular part of Manhattan suppose to be ''Downtown NYC''? because it looks quite grubby.

London does have variation

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=gar...3.55,,0,-12.01

Famously so!

[Rozenn]

I guess nei was refering to places outside the City.

Rather homogeneous height (though still some variation), but a lot of variation in architecture:
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=gar...,0,-14.76&z=17

More homogeneous
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=gar...,,0,-5.98&z=15

Of places I've been to, my favorite "downtown" is London. Though the only megacities I've been to are London, Paris and LA. Prague and Vienna would win for beauty.
Need to visit at least NYC, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, HK, Tokyo and Shanghai to have a broader picture. Won't happen anytime soon.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by BigLake

IMHO, Portland DT is a lot more vibrant than San Diego's *blah* downtown. Nice weather though.

Hmmm interesting. I will have to actually make a point to do a direct comparison. I'll admit that it only seems that way to me.

[Antillano89]

You forgot Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Rio. All those have better downtown/core ares than most US cities. I liked your inclusion of "Carcass" though.

[nei]

Judging from streetview, Rio has much nicer downtown than Saõ Paulo. But I haven't visited either.

[BennyBucks]

The non-ultra modern architecture in London is not all homogenous. They are often centuries apart, and very different in style.












My photos

[dunno what to put here]

Westminster Cathedral is kind of unusual:




A trip up Westminster Cathedral Campanile Tower, Victoria, London, April 2011

[ragnarkar]

San Francisco
Beijing
Munich
Amsterdam