Is London a beautiful city?
How does it rate compared to Paris and Prague? I know it's one a must-see place, but I'm just wondering how scenic of a city is it? And what are the most beautiful cities to visit in England?
Paul
LA, California 7/4/09
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Its all in the eye of the beholder.
To me, Prague is probably the most scenic especially when on top of the hill next to the cathedral. Others will have their own opinions.
It isn't as visually attractive as the ones you mentioned and pales compared to the beauty of Stockholm but is a wonderful city to visit nonetheless.
London is a great city but I wouldn't call it beautiful.
For great scenery, get out of the cities and visit the Cotswalds, Yorkshire, Lake District...and then up to the Scottish Highlands. HIt the smaller towns.
Paul
I love London. I was born and brought up there, and still spend a lot of time there. I wouldn't call it beautiful though: I would call it fascinating, historic, unique and really varied.
Bombing in the second world war did it not favours, and a rush to development in the 1960's was even worse. As a result there are a lot of remarkable buildings but they tend to be mixed in with some real carbuncles.
To my eye both Prague and Paris are more beautiful, and I'd also put in a bid for Athens, if only for the area around the Acropolis.
Alan
London is fabulous city, but not beautiful. There are some beautiful buildings and parks, but there are also a lot of ugly buildings. It always frustrated me when I would see a bland modern building beside some beautiful old buildings. But don't let that keep you away from visiting. There are so many great sites and so much history in London.
I totally agree with what everyone is saying - London is not beautiful but, if I had to pick one city to continue visiting, that would be it. It's just wonderful!
Paul,
I tend to agree with the others. London is a fantastic and wonderful city with some very beautiful and historic areas, however overall I wouldn't characterize it as "beautiful" in the same sense as other European cities.
Some other beautiful cities to visit in England.....
You might consider York, Bath or the villages of the Cotswolds. I also like Richmond (in the north) and the North York Moors, although they're not "cities" (I'm a Heartbeat fan, so had to include the Moors).
Cheers!
Why not take a Google street view "walk" through London and the other cities and see what you think.
For my twopence worth on the question, most visitors comment on the amount of greenery right in the city centre, my favourite is St James' Park. Used to walk through it to and from work.
I find London to be a gorgeous city. The people as plesant (Parisians were RUDE), the Tube has great (and sometimes funny) art in the stations and poetry in the ads inside the cars, the parks and gardens are perfection (Kew is my favorite) and the history is personally addictive. I agree that York, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Canturbury, and Bath are also lovely. And the Highlands of Scotland and Snowdonia area of Wales are nature's highlights.
I seem to be piling on. Beautiful? No, not in the sense that Paris is beautiful. But I also think London is fascinating and much more dynamic than many other European cities, especially Paris. And yes, the people are extremely nice.
Yes, it is beautiful, especially Central London. I arrived expecting a big dirty congested city and discovered a very walkable city with lots of huge leafy trees, gorgeous green parks, interesting old buildings, very orderly looking rows of homes (love the wrought iron and glossy painted doors), and statues everywhere. In my two weeks in the UK I travelled all over (Bath, northern Wales, the Lake district, the Yorkshire moors, Edinburgh) and after travelling about I spent my last four nights in London and I loved it! I love London so much I am returning in August for another visit.
Our first evening we walked through the neighbourhood south east of Victoria Station and crossed the Thames, walked north to Westminster Bridge, and back through the neighbourhood around Buckingham Palace. We also spent a lovely day walking from Victoria Station to the British Museum via Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. I found the Theatre district to be very charming. We spent lots of time walking through the big parks in Central London.
Not every area was beautiful. The area around Waterloo Station and along the South Bank was a bit tired looking in places, but most of the neighbourhoods we wanderered through were very pedestrian friendly and had trees and flowers everywhere.
Watch the movie "Last Chance Harvey" for some scenes in London. It seems that whenever London is made to seem attractive the scenes are along the river. I like the area around Westminster and Buckingham Palace; with the parks and historic buildings it's beautiful.
Knowing and loving all three of those cities, what I would say is that you can find beauty and ugliness in abundance in all three. Look hard enough and you will find both. In NORMAL conditions, you will fly into Heathrow over central London, and, on a cloud-free day the view is breathtaking. (Get a seat on the right-hand side of the plane if you can.)
Roger Bruton
http://www.fermedecandeloup.fr
I have never been to Prague so I cannot comment on it. However I think Paris is the most beautiful but it also has grubby, unattractive areas like any city. London is my second favorite city and parts are quite lovely. I think many tourists never see some of the really lovely residential areas as they are off the tourist beat. But if you are into architecture, there are still many lovely Georgian buildings. Unfortunately, London was very badly bombed during the Blitz so there are some truly awful 50s/60s buildings plugged in here and there. Some neighborhoods in the east around the docks were just about completely destroyed. What is amazing is the fairly recent development of Canary Wharf anad all the high rises in the City (financial area).One of the most interesting newish buildings is known as the Gherkin. Although they were very badly damaged in the Blitz, you can still tour what remains of the amazing Christopher Wren churches in the City. As other people have noted, the parks are incredible. A lovely day(or part) can be spent in Kensington Gardens, touring Kensington Palace and having something to eat at the Orangerie and you will never feel like you are in a huge, bustling city.
Other cities...I don't particularly think Rome is beautiful but I was awe-struck the first time I saw St. Peter's and the fabulous piazza. I kept going back just to look as it was incredible. The sheer scale of it is mind-blowing.
Each city in Europe has something special about it, but in everyone, you will will find the good, the bad and the ugly!!!
PS I do think the flowers in London in the parks, the squares, etc. are much better than the ones in Paris!!!! The Brits just do flowers so much better than anyone.
I went to London last year and loved it so much that I am going again this year!!
Along with London, there are beautiful towns surrounding it (Bath, Warwick, the Cotswolds, etc).
I've also noticed that the Tube is extremely easy to follow and not too crowded as other European places that I have been.
Enjoy!
I've actually found the London Tube to be the most crowed of all the metros I've used around the world, and that includes Tokyo, Mexico City and even NYC! I love everything else about London, so for me it's just a minor annoyance.
Im addicted to London. It has so many different areas. Sloane Square in Chelsea is very nice to walk around and the buildings are wonderful. Bloomsbury near the British Museum has some awesome well-maintained old buildings as well. One of my favorites is Notting Hill. Rows and rows of Victorian terraces and little parks in between(like in the movie) and some big Manor houses. I have been there twice in the past year and am taking my daughter with me in November for another trip.
And yes, avoid the Tube at rush hour. Armpits in your nose and a briefcase up your bum are not conducive to happy travels. Rush hour is approx. 7-9 am and 4-6 pm. Horrible mess, crowds, running, swearing, pushing and shoving. And thats just the turnstile. :)
I love London, and can spend weeks there, but I like the feel of a big city with plenty of things to see and do. I do find it beautiful, in the same way I find So Cal beautiful. We have the pretty places, like the beaches, and the scummy parts too.
If you go outside London, the rest of England is what you imagine from a story book. Green, picturesque, old, castle like, etc.
I just got back from Dublin and Newcastle (Northern England) and found it to be... beautiful!
Well not all of Northern England is beautiful unfortunately. Ive been to Lancashire and Manchester and there wasnt anything to have a song and dance about there.
Coming from Seattle, I found London very beautiful. Certainly comparing London to other major cities I've visited, Tokyo, Osaka, Los Angeles, London is the clear winner! I love the river, the trees, the history, the people, the museums, the tube, the busses, the food, the culture, the taxis. Yes, London is beautiful.
I can't believe people don't find London beautiful as I think its gorgeous. Almost every neighborhood in the SW districts has a park/square in the center of it, loads of character in the architecture, and it is very green there due to all that rain. In the center of course are Hyde Park, etc. which is a very large green space and the riverfront is quite nice although it is touristy in many parts so that is not so beautiful. The eastern and Southern parts of town aren't especially beautiful, but chances are you wouldn't be there as a tourist. I go to London fairly often and I don't think its particularly dirty either. It is a big city though, so there are the predictable annoyances such as traffic and crowds, especially if you go to places like Piccadilly Circus or the London Eye where they flock to. If you want idyllic scenery, England's biggest cities are probably not what you have in mind (and stay away from Liverpool and Birmingham). Cambridge and Bath are both nice. You might find you like Leeds and if you have the time to go a little further, Edinburgh too.
Tami - That was a bit of a sweeping statement about Lancashire. For one thing, it has some of the most spectacular beaches in the country around Formby. And the countryside around the Forest of Bowland is gorgeous.
Roger
Sorry Roger. I have been to Salford in Lancashire to visit my British husbands family. Please excuse my language but is a real craphole. 12 year old skinheaded thug-lets hanging out in alleyways smoking cigarettes, teenage mothers at bus stop screaming at their babies, run down council houses built at the turn of the century, and just a general feeling of suckiness all-around , which is why my husband emigrated to the states in the first place!
London however, has some wonderful areas and I cant get enough of the old buildings. And from the amount of scaffolding around, I can see that they care enough to fix alot of the old buildings up and not let them fall to rubble.
I think you're confusing "all of Lancashire" with "parts of Lancashire" there Tami. Just like London, some bits are pretty, some not and all stations in between. A council estate in Salford would definitely be towards the "not" end but no worse than similar in London, Pendleton or Peckham? Not much of a choice...
In fact I think you're in danger of doing something a bit silly; responding to one sweeping generalisation ("Northern England is beautiful") with another sweeping generalisation ("Lancashire is a 'real craphole.'")
Tami I do believe the original thread was comparing London, Paris and Prague. You seem to have gone rather further afield.
Also if you look around the USA, you can find the same conditions here.
The countryside in England is fabulous...some places more so than others. Even in the north! No one is recommending a tour of grim Northern industrial cities any more than we would recommend visiting Gary, Indiana or Detroit.
Sorry MaryAnn but it does happen. I made a comment that someone else commented on so I was explaining. Excuse me for being human and teetering off course, like so many others do in many other postings.. Someone else originally mentioned the north.. not me... so please let them know as well that they ventured off course...
Tami -- You are TOTALLY correct about Salford! I will help you push the red button!
Roger
London is beautiful for those of us that love old buildings and history. Some areas make you feel like you could be stepping back in time if it wasnt for the cars and light posts in the way!!! There were several areas in Notting Hill that I got pictures of that just showed all the streets and buildings and could be a picture easily taken 100 years ago. Same with Southwark - Cobbled streets and 400 year old pubs...Love it.
I would not say that it's pretty either, but it's got so much history. That's more what it is about. If you are not into Museums and just want to stroll around, I think there are better cities. If you are in the mood to see the largest diamond in the world or enormous pieces from the actual Parthenon or bones from human ancestors or ancient roman artifacts or a collection of mummies, London is your kind of place. It's a great place to Geek out.
Dave, I'm not sure what you mean by "coming from Seattle, I found London beautiful." Seattle is a beautiful city and certainly more beautiful than the East Side. Any road, I'll put a positive spin in it and agree with you about just how wonderful London is. London is not beautiful like Paris is beautiful, but it's where I'd rather be. Paul, Another vote for beautiful Bath. I'm also very fond of York, Chester and Oxford. Other beautiful places? Just about anywhere in Devon or Dorset.
London has scenes, but not necessarily a beautiful city. It is historic, and has amazing character. There are great gems hidden about the modern city. The beauty of London is in the history, the people and all the activity. London is just plain fun.
Bath is probably the most beautiful city I've been to in England. Windsor town is also cute and the castle is treat.
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