[sonicl]

Getting back on topic (sorry for hijacking the thread there), another nice city in the UK is Cambridge. I went to see Sunburned Hand up there last summer and had a little bit of a walk around, and it definitely warrants a second look. Beautiful architechture.

Oxford, on the other hand, I find a bit uninteresting.

[Georgekrz]

London- Ive been there 2 times for total of about 10 days, I love it its a great city, great tube system, though why close down after 11 pm? The pubs as well, too bad most close at 11. I stayed right in the center by the London University. Here is the difference between London and NY- London is clean and hardly any homeless people, and where I was I felt completely safe walking around at all times of day. prices are comparable to expensive(cheapest tea in a sit down place will run you around 2 GBP- thats $4! and Im not talking fancy tea, just regular English Breakfast. People I found to be mostly friendly. You walk into a shop people address you as "gentleman". Anyway I went to Wembley Arena for a show, also to Astoria which is just about one of the most awesome concert venues Ive ever been inside.

Manchester- I went there for a football game at Old Trafford- man this place is scary. I was in the city center and you have these 12 year old toughs smoking cigarettes, slapping each other giving people dirty looks. Plus older looking toughs looking like they stepped out of "Trainspotting" sitting on the benches. The general vibe was- this place is not safe to be in. After a certain hour, by the time that big mall closes, the center becomes deserted. Also, i got lost on the way back from the game, fortunately the area around Old Trafford is nice, some people from Leeds pointed me in the right direction.

Canterbury- ok you know why I went there- the cathedral, which is amazing piece of art, but also that town center I was surprised how rich it seemed, you have a whole bunch of nice restaurants and shops there. I didnt stay the night, but if youre looking for a day trip out of London, this place seems nice.

Poland- Ive been to quite a few cities there:

Warsaw- I have some good friends there, Ive visited there for the past few years, and its getting better I think. Theres more clubs now and I think its much safer than it was in the past. You will see a lot of Englishmen there, I kept on running into them. Btw- I did go there in 94 and our group got jumped by some hooligans(Legia fans I think) which was pretty bad, a friend of mine lost a few teeth(he got hit with a brick), this was right by the central train station, which seemed to me the most dangerous area from what Ive seen.

Krakow- a good record shop is right in the town square, the Empik next to the cathedral. Ive been there about 3 or 4 times. I think the old city is relatively safe, however, same problem, if you run into soccer hooligans all bets are off I guess...

Gdansk/Gdynia/Sopot- I love Sopot this is a beach resort town, Gdansk and Gdynia are all right for the most part, I did get offered a switch knife for sale by a thug though, haha

[sonicl]

You've picked up well on the main drawback with London, Georgekrz - the ridiculous hour at which it closes down in the evening. Many is the time that I've had to leave concerts early in order not to get stuck in the city overnight, which is a bit of a crap situation for a place that believes itself to be one of the world's leading culture centres.

[Concept7or8]

Originally Posted by SpectralJulianIsNotDead

I'm going to wear hockey jerseys all the time and say the word about as "aboot" and add "eh" onto everything I say. That way they won't judge me for being from the US, they'll just be like "he's canadian."

Us Europeans can't tell the difference between Americans and Canadians! Really annoys Canadians when we assume they're American!

Back on topic:

Dublin: My Home town - shithole. Everybody's stressed out big-time and there's nothing to do but drink!

Barcelona - Had a great time there about 10 years ago. Great city, very clean, good buzz, good transport system

Paris - been there 3 times - love the place - a proper city - so much to see and do - easy to get around!

Brussels - Can't really judge this city. was permanently drunk while there and got mugged, so I'm probably biased against the city. Many people have loved it.

Belfast - Great city, the city centre's lovely, ther people are very nice, and they have the sexiest accent in the world too!

[Trasher02]

Paris: The statues and monuments are very nice but the overpopulation of japanese tourists and drugdealers trying to sell hats makes it a annoying city.

Brussels: Quite nice, not to crowded and nice places to hang out.

[lalie]

Stockholm ************************************************
Such a beautiful city built on small islands, surrounded by water you can swim in.
Went there in summer, it was wonderful.
So many beauty spots in the archipelago. It looks like paradise to me.

[jon boy]

berlin - live there and its a pretty amazing place. lots to see and do. nice cafes and bars and a good art scene. noise music scene is fairly up and coming. too many boring squat bands though. always playing the same thing and if you have been to one then you have been to them all to be honest. also massive unemployment. if you want a job you may as well forget it as there are virtually no decent ones. for a city of millions over 50% are unemployed and live of the state. berlin is bankrupt.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Originally Posted by Georgekrz

London- Ive been there 2 times for total of about 10 days, I love it its a great city, great tube system, though why close down after 11 pm? The pubs as well, too bad most close at 11. I stayed right in the center by the London University. Here is the difference between London and NY- London is clean and hardly any homeless people, and where I was I felt completely safe walking around at all times of day. prices are comparable to expensive(cheapest tea in a sit down place will run you around 2 GBP- thats $4! and Im not talking fancy tea, just regular English Breakfast. People I found to be mostly friendly. You walk into a shop people address you as "gentleman".

they keep certain parts of the city clean so that tourists think it's nicer than it is, and i don't know how you managed to avoid seeing a million homeless people (there's something like 80,000 homeless in london). the centre of the city is pretty safe though.

[porkmarras]

Originally Posted by Georgekrz

You walk into a shop people address you as "gentleman".

Really?

[Georgekrz]

honestly, I saw only one, ok maybe 2 homeless people, one was talking to a cop about some trouble happening down the block, some guy got drunk and was raving out of control. if you think you have a lot homeless, you should come to the states...

as far as politeness, "gentleman" etc.- yes really, i was taken aback by that so it kind of stuck in my mind, one time it was in one of those ticket reseller places, i was looking to get some tottenham tickets, (250 gbp? forget it...) and the other time in the Virgin store right by Picadilly.

oh forgot- Victoria Train/Coach Station, (used it for the bus to Manchester) I was expecting something like Port Authority in NY, from what i read etc that it wasnt such a great area, but once again, compared to NYC it was like disneyland.

[Iain]

Nah, the area around Victoria is fine. You should have gone to Elephant and Castle or Peckham or something.

[Toilet & Bowels]

yeah, or round where i live, 2 mins walk from the murder mile

[Katy]

London - I've lived here all my life and still haven't seen half of it. Interesting, plenty to do.. if you can afford it.

Amsterdam - I've had a great times there. Found it to be easy and pleasant to walk around, good record shops, good food, I like all the canals and little bridges and the bicycles (I am scared of the trams, though). The nightlife was fun. I love arriving there by train at the Centraal station at sunset. It's gorgeous when you step out of the station. Gotta admit I quite like the openness of all the drugs, whores and porn too.

Berlin - Very cool. Very interesting, great nightlife, lots of weird people (a good thing.) Arty but not in a pretentious way. I'd like to go back and stay for a while. Surprizingly modern and people were nice, generally. Just don't say the N word.

Paris - Have been there numerous times and never much liked it. Says a lot that my favourite place in Paris a great big ornate cemetary (the Pere Lachaise). I found the people mostly rude and unfriendly. Not like Amelie at all.. except there seem to be lots of brown-eyed pretty women around. Don't much like the wide boulevards and ostentatious architecture. Seemed to me to be all show.

Edinburgh - Lovely. Really like it up there. I've been there in the summer for the Festival and in winter for Hogmanay. Great both times of year. Love Avalanche Records, love the buildings, it's great for gigs and cinema and comedy (particularly, of course, during the festival). The people are nice too.

Brighton - Probably my favouruite place in the UK. Love the people, love the nightlife, love the buildings, love the beach and the piers. LOVE the fact that I can get there cheaply from London and stay with people there for free. I always have fun there.

Brussells - Strange. Wasn't there for very long and it didn't make much of an impression on me. Seemed like a nice enough place. Honestly can't say much beyond "Brussell's MIDI train station was very clean and the baguettes were quite nice". Very similar experience with Cologne.

St Petersburg - Gorgeous beyond gorgeous. All the bridges and buildings and the sky during the "white nights". Some of the people were a bit odd, though and the food was not great. But I'd like to go back. I remember thinking "fuck Paris" a lot.

other places I quite like: Hay-On-Wye, Taunton, Cambridge, Eastbourne...

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by Katy

St Petersburg - Gorgeous beyond gorgeous. All the bridges and buildings and the sky during the "white nights". Some of the people were a bit odd, though and the food was not great. But I'd like to go back. I remember thinking "fuck Paris" a lot.

I've been wanting to visit St Petersburgh for ages now but get put off by stories of it being quite a dangerous city at the moment. How did you find it?

[space_monkey]

1.Vienna - Austria
2.Padova - italy
3. Belgrade - Serbia

[Iain]

Yeahp, Hay-on-Wye is pretty nice...not nearly a city unless you take a look at it during the lit fest. Rolled up in Hay in a canoe last September or so, got out and had some coffee, cake and took a quick look round and a much needed piss. Then back in the canoe and onto the pub. Good times.

[Katy]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I've been wanting to visit St Petersburgh for ages now but get put off by stories of it being quite a dangerous city at the moment. How did you find it?

I made it out alive.

Didn't have any problems.

[Katy]

Originally Posted by Iain

Yeahp, Hay-on-Wye is pretty nice...not nearly a city unless you take a look at it during the lit fest. Rolled up in Hay in a canoe last September or so, got out and had some coffee, cake and took a quick look round and a much needed piss. Then back in the canoe and onto the pub. Good times.

I've only been there during the festival. Probably very un-city-like at any other time, yeah.

I might retire there if I live long enough. They'll find my half-rotted corpse buried beneath a collapsed bookshelf one day. That'd be nice.

[Bertrand]

London - I sticked to Soho, Notting Hill, Portobello Road, Ladbroke Grove (when I saw Saint-John's church I wished I could afford a house nearby; it's a small church), and found all these places wonderful.
Oxford street was overcrowded at times, but it's easy to walk at your pace in the parallel streets.
Tiny islands of green everywhere.
The parks are wonderful. I sat in Regent's Park, in the Queen's Circle, on an april afternoon, in that wide garden of roses and felt it was heaven. The way they are shaped never makes them boring.
What surprised me the most : noone seemed to ignore you (apart from Oxford Street and that tube station), expensive food, expensive water, but... you've got room in the restaurants, the fries at McDonalds are made from a different brand of potatoe (different to the ones we eat in France), advertising for theater is very present, in garish colors sometimes, but I can't remember seeing two posters for movies; only spotted one cinema that seemed to be ashame of itself; lots of homeless in the morning (I was in the streets at 7 - 8 o'clock French time).

Paris - Bastille has fine shops; Montparnasse I used to like but I can't recall why, as there's this broad avenue giving you the idea that it's just a part of town you go through; go to Saint-Michel & Odéon when I've got to shop; les Halles for cinema.
I don't like going there. Too many people and no quiet streets to walk in. A constant rush. People are brutes. Even my own friends. Ignoring waiters who remain unpolite even if you thank them with a smile. Restaurants and cafés are loaded with the maximum chairs and tables the owners could find. Almost always fearing bruises.
Two places though : a tiny café in rue Marcadet (around number 134), and an Irish pub by the Opéra - Kitty O'Shea's, where waiters come from the UK; there are the places where you can breathe.
The parks : unlike the British parks, Paris parks offer 20% of lawn, 80% of yellowish gravel, and some trees here and there that can't hide the buildings; wherever you look, you'll see something that will remind you you're in a city.

Brest - Windy. Huge monuments popping up. Rather intimidating. The city hall looks like the replica of a soviet monument in a B movie.
Because of the intimidation of it all, the young seem to look for fun with more stamina than in other towns. Lots of students. Hence many shows by local bands. I liked it.

Perros-Guirec - Expensive. Wonderful place to stay. By the sea. Wonderful.

Saint-Brieuc - My friends are there. So it's fine. When in fact, apart from the Art Rock festival in June, there's nothing interesting.

Rennes - My favorite French town. Lots and lots of cafés. Students galore. Every thursday, they fight the police or start races down the street my friend lives in. They don't use cars but trash containers. Two dedicated record stores. And a wonderful park, with lawn, trees, Japanese ducks...

Nancy - My childhood city. A bit grey but I loved it.

Metz - A beautiful city. One beautiful cemetary, a huge cathedral.

Bordeaux - Almost a disaster of a town. Parts of it are nearly ruins.

Toulouse - The people look like the Parisians. Unless you've got their accent.

I can't remember Brussels, it was so long ago.

And I wish I could go to Norway (Oslo and, most of all, Tromsoe).

[Georgekrz]

oh wow, the above post made me remember one of the most unexpected things about London- St James Park, right near the Buckingham palace, and all the birds, the ducks and swans, the ducks just walking around among the people, and the squirrels. its a beautiful park.