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Gobal cities and languages
<<Most of those cities are pretty ugly: concrete everywhere, skyscrapers, crowded, polluted and dirty: I>>
Isn't this pretty much the case with all big cities? Can someone name a big city that isn't crowded, and doesn't have much concrete (or bricks, glass, asphalt, etc.)?
What are the greatest cities in the world to visit as a tourist/traveller? Imagine advising someone who had never been anywhere in the world, of the best cities to visit. For example, Tokyo is a major city but there is not much to see there as a visitor compared to, say, Paris (in my humble opinion). I have come up with a top 20 list below compiled from places I or my friends have visited. I would like anyone else to reply with their lists (it doesn’t have to be 20). If you haven’t been somewhere on my original list, add it on the bottom with a star. Any replies I will try and correlate to come up with a final list. MY LIST 1. Rome 2. Paris 3. London 4. Venice 5. Hong Kong 6. Beijing 7. Berlin 8. Prague 9. St Petersburg 10. Jerusalem 11. Sydney 12. New York 13. Amsterdam 14. Vienna 15. Bangkok 16. Istanbul 17. Cape Town 18. Monaco 19. Vancouver 20. Salzburg
cities that i've visited and are more beautiful than all the ones in that ranking:
1. Carcassona 2. San Sebastián 3. Santander 4. Pisa 5. Coimbra 6. Port Montt 7. La Coruña 8. Aviñón 9. Lecce
" Madrid is nicer than London??? You're completely crazy! "
Yes, I find London (as well as the other English cities) a really ugly city. Well that is my opinion, I like much more Madrid. Most of London is an enless surface covered by cloned lined-red-bricked sad houses to me... while the city center seems an anarchic mess of ugly soulness buisseness buildings mixed with some industrial reconverted into more or less intereting museums. the western districts (westminster, etc) are more classy but I find them architecturally and urbanly boring. Also, culturally speaking I like much more Spanish culture than Anglo-saxon ones. the foof in Madrid is also much better than in London in ly opinion. Also, around Madrid there are very interesting historic cities such as Toledo or Segovia. And for nature, just outside the city you have a moutain range. Not even need to speak about the weather... Well that is my opinion. You have the right to love London.
<< madrid airport is one of the three biggest in Europe >>
-- Impossible: #1 is London LHR (without counting Gatwick and Stanstead) #2 Paris CDG (without counting Orly and Beauvais) #3 Frankfurt/Main #4 Amsterdam-Schiphol. #5 Rome Fiumicino + Ciampino Madrid (is at best) ranked sixth.
1. Atlanta International Airport Atlanta, Georgia, United States
2. Hillingdon, Greater London, United Kingdom 3. O'Hare International Airport Chicago, Illinois, United States 4. Beijing Capital International Airport Chaoyang, Beijing, People's Republic of China 5. Tokyo International Airport Ōta, Tokyo, Japan 6. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport Roissy-en-France, Val d'Oise, Île-de-France, France 7. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, United States 8. Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, California, United States 9. Denver International Airport Denver, Colorado 10. Frankfurt Airport Flughafen (Frankfurt am Main), Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany 11. Madrid Barajas International Airport Barajas, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain Two things: Frankfurt airport recently overtook Barajas . Two years ago Madrid was number 10. There are so many airports in this list because USA is a continental country and there are many domestic flights. But in terms of international and intercontinental flights I doubt the airport of Colorado suparses Barajas or Frankfurt airport. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_busiest_airports_by_passenger_traffic
" Madrid (is at best) ranked sixth "
No, wrong. Well, now Barajas airport (Madrid) is ranked fourth in Europe. It seems it has been overtaken by Frankfurt recently. In previous ranking Madrid's airport was third in Europe (as Madird is the third biggest European city). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busiest_airports_in_Europe_by_passenger_traffic
It is very interesting the first post. It doesn't matter which data you want to use, but English, Chinese and Spanish are the Big 3 in the list.
After them German, French, Portuguese, Italian and Russian. Yes, the list shows clearly the most important World languages.
following foreign policy ranking
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4509&page=1 The four main global cities: 1. New York (English) 2. London (English) 3. Paris (French) 4. Tokyo (Japanese)
And Auckland the capital of New Zealand, a little country in the middle of nowhere is an Alpha city?
This list is made by Anglos. There are 7 Anglo cities. Too much
I agree, this list does seem a little strange. I wouldn't include any of these cities in a list of global, alpha cities:
Madrid Milan Toronto Kuala Lumpur Warsaw Dublin Lisbon Budapest Auckland Santiago Some of them are regionally important, at best, while others are totally off the map. Then there are a couple of cities that could be added, like Cairo, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Johannesburg (or Cape Town), and maybe another city from India, China or the US. I mean, honestly, Washington isn't on there. And there is no representation from Africa or the Middle East. You can tell that this list is heavily economic, but even then the ones that I listed up top only have marginal global economic importance.
<<I wouldn't include any of these cities in a list of global, alpha cities>>
Who cares the cities you would include or not?. |