London: cosmopolitan, ethnically, religiously and culturally diverse. Tolerant and socially liberal outlook. Lots of ambitious people who are proud to be from London. Lots going on in art, fashion, music, theatre. It’s by far the most innovative of British and English cities in my opinion- Londoners have a strong creative and entrepreneurial spirit.
A high diversity and number of jobs and high GDP. But also unaffordable for many, hard to find a good place to rent or buy. World-class public transport system and universities. Some heavy inequality; some neighbourhoods are crazy rich and others are really poor.
Birmingham: a bit of a basket case considering it’s the second largest city. It has lots of potential that hasn’t been unlocked. It has a large population of over 1 million and has one of the youngest demographics in Europe, nearly 40% of the city is aged under 25. It’s also very diverse with a significant cultural Asian influence - 31% of Birmingham residents are of Asian ancestry. Crime, poor city infrastructure and inequality are problems. Its food scene is pretty good, with iconic curry hotspots such as the Balti Triangle. It doesn’t have much going for it economically as far as I know, at least it’s not as notable as London’s.
Manchester: Thriving and quickly growing, many people see Manchester as a viable alternative to London because of its affordability. Locals are friendly. Lots of new developments but still some really deprived areas. It does well across many economic sectors, including finance, tourism, education, media and sports. The public transport is pretty good compared to many other cities of its size- there are trams as well as buses and trains. Manchester is ethnically and culturally diverse. The city is aesthetically unattractive in my opinion.
Liverpool: Very underrated city. Easily the friendliest people in England can be found in Liverpool. It has a rich multicultural, multi-faith heritage dating back centuries, with some of Europe’s oldest Chinese and African communities, and one of the most ethnically Irish cities outside Ireland. Welsh heritage is also significant in Liverpool.
The city’s architecture is beautiful in the centre and it’s very compact, making it easy to walk around. Quite affordable for a UK city, home to 3 good universities. It is the city with the most museums outside of London and has a rich musical heritage and nightlife. Its tourist infrastructure is accordingly well-developed. Poverty, deprivation, litter and drug abuse are some of Liverpool’s biggest problems at the moment.
Leeds: Another thriving northern city with a diverse economy and an attractive place to live for many. It has the second largest legal sector in England after London and 4 universities. Relatively affordable. Some beautiful and grand architecture and walkable areas. Public transport kinda sucks though and the city is heavily car-brained- so many cars and big roads all over, it used to be called the “Motorway City of the 70s”. Feels like a British version of an American city for that reason. Leeds took the big L on public transport.
Popular with students, good nightlife. As ever, poverty, deprivation and inequality are a problem. Despite its grandeur and liveliness, it’s not really a touristy city.
I have contact with Hong Kong culture. Do the recently arrived Hong Kongers in the UK find much culture shock? I imagine the social liberalism (especially on sexual morals) in the UK and amplified 10x in London and these big cities can shock some/many ex-Hong Kongers.
I’ve met quite a few HKers here in Manchester. I think the ones moving here are more inclined to like the culture. I’ve heard people be surprised at how multicultural it is. There are difficulties with work and language for sure.
Not surprised, there was probably 20 years after the 1997 Handover when middle class Hong Kongers had been isolated from social developments in the UK. That generation was more interested in Japanese and Korean popular culture, so before they came to the UK they hadn’t realised the UK was no longer quite the popular depictions of the “white” one dating from the 1980s.
Berlin - capital, grumpy, interesting, techno, lots of recent history, poor but sexy, less cosmopolitan than it pretends to be.
Hamburg - port city, people are a bit cold, but also cool.
Munich - capital of Bavaria. Cultural antidote to Hamburg. Posh, beer, Oktoberfest, beautiful.
Cologne - the fun one in the bunch. Known to be very open minded. Gay capital (even though Berlin wants that title, because Berlin wants all the things). Carnival, beer, party, warm people.
Frankfurt - Transportation and finance.
Yeah, posh isn't what I would consider the antidote to be. I'm more referring to mentality. However, Munich is much more posh in general or embraces being posh much more.
Amsterdam: the capital and cultural heart. overrun by tourists and expats.
Rotterdam: the working city. Largest harbor. More blue collar, more modern.
The Hague: the court city. Government seat, filled with diplomats and embassies.
Utrecht: Railway hub, university city. These four are essentially one large conurbation, the Randstad.
Eindhoven: collection of villages that grew together during the industrial revolution, home to industry (Philips and DAF) and the leading technical university.
And because the sixth city is my hometown: Groningen, capital of the North, kind of just did their own thing for the longest time. Larger than the 5 nearest Northern cities combined. University city for people who want to escape their parents. Too far away to be important.
Maastricht, regional center, bit off the beaten track, kinda like Gronigen.
It differs in that it has a catholic tradition, much further south, seemed warmer for it.. but maybe that was just in my head.. more touristic, and with lots of great restaurants.
Maastricht is way smaller than all of those. It wouldn't be considered a city as much by Dutch people but more like a large town. I think Groningen is on the border of city/large town (stad/grote plaats). The town is internationally well known because the university is made up of a majority of foreign students, usually European. It makes sense because the region is squeezed right in between Germany and Belgium. The international connections are amazing because of that. Surrounding towns in the area are known for degrading because they were industry heavy and that has faded, thus less good jobs and more old people, Maastricht is different in that sense because the university provides a lot of young people. It's far away from the rest of the country but there is some beautiful nature and villages. It's also the most unitelligeable dialect for people from other parts of the country, but some people want the dialect to be recognised as its own language. The only mountains of the Netherlands can be found near Maastricht ;)
Here's my try. I don't know these cities super well, so let's see what others think.
**Zurich**: The business hub of the country with a huge influence, lots of people from all over the country work there. Also has the biggest airport, major cultural events are hosted here and so on. Highest salaries but also the most expensive. A lot of young people move there for university or work.
**Geneva**: known for the international organizations, French speaking and lots of French work in Geneva and commute across the border daily. I'm not Swiss French, but I assume Geneva is to them what Zurich is to a Swiss German.
**Basel**: big Pharmaceutical industry is here, very close to Germany and they have a famous carnival
**Lausanne**: the second largest French speaking city. But I can't tell you a single thing about it without searching the internet. I've only been here to transit to smaller towns along the Lake Geneva, such as Montreux
**Bern**: the capital, close to the famous tourist areas (Interlaken etc), lots of federal organizations are here, has chill people
I feel Basel, Bern and Lausanne are quite similar. All of them are clearly centers with a lot of infrastructure and provide most things you could want. Zürich and Geneva though *feel* bigger. Zürich because it really is big and Geneva because it's punching over its weight. Both of them are truly international, while the other three are distinctly Swiss. (even Basel which is situated at French-German-Swiss border).
Zürich and Geneva also don't overshadow the other three, as their "clientel" is different. Lausanne and Bern are two of the most important Swiss centers, Basel a trinational one, all of those are the backbones of the local economy. While Zürich also fullfills this role, it and Geneva are more geared towards the international trade/economy and often don't seem to care what happens in the rest of Switzerland
Zurich: real capital (if we like it or not - and we dont like it)
Geneva: capital of French speaking part - nobody likes it
Basel: the only good thing about it is the airport - and it‘s actually in France
Lausanne: int. organisations and shit - or whatever
Bern: Fake capital and too harmless to hate on
We have to be neutral on the outside so we can at least shit on each other
This one is fun from a Latvian perspective.
Riga, some 670k. The capital, both literally and figuratively the center of the country. More than half the country's economic output, this is the only large city with an international feeling, helped by having the country's only airport in regular operation. Beautiful medieval part and early 20th century architecture.
Daugavpils, 80k. Second biggest city but far smaller than Riga. A stone's throw away from Lithuania and Belarus, it has an interesting history and has been a major Polish and Lithuanian city at some points in history, and a major center of Jewish life. Currently it's a culturally Russian city, with the Russian language dominant and much of the population more aware of events in Russia than in the rest of Latvia. The historic areas are very pleasant.
Liepāja, 70k. On the western coast, it's a windy city with a significant harbor but it's mostly known as a city of music and culture. Young people can go there for music festivals, Liepāja is also very active in sports and hosts international competitions. The north has a very interesting part that started as a 19th century Russian military fortification and later was a major strategic base for Soviet forces. One of the most unusual places you could visit in Latvia.
Jelgava, 55k. Historically an important city from the 16th century, Jelgava was pretty much completely destroyed in WW2. Except for a few buildings, it's unfortunately pretty ugly as the modern city was rebuilt by the Soviets from scratch. It has a quite decent university for its size so it somewhat of a student city. A significant amount of people work in Riga as it's close enough to commute by train.
Jūrmala, 50k. This has been officially a city since 1959. It's a resort town that runs in a long strip along the coast and directly connects to Riga so for many practical purposes, this is a suburb of Riga. Jūrmala is about beaches, expensive houses and tourism. It was well known as a tourist city in the Soviet Union so quite a few rich Russians have summer houses here, or did before the war at least. The city's mayors usually end up in prison.
Paris (12M): I don't think I need to say much here. One of the most iconic and powerful cities in the world with all the French political institutions and a huge dose of culture and history. 1 french out of 5 lives there.
Lyon (2.3M) : The culinary capital of France led by its bouchons (traditional restaurants). Many universities and research institutes. A bit hilly. UNESCO old town. Roman history.
Marseille (1.7M) : Mediterranean Greek-founded port city with a bad reputation (crime). Extremely cosmopolitan (especially North Africans). Football is huge there. Huge rap scene that is a rival of the parisian one. Sunny
Toulouse (1M) : The pink city often tops that rankings for the best cities to study or live in. Colorful and cozy. People have a good reputation. They like to say they have both the beach and the mountain but they're both 3 hours away by car. Airbus. Rugby culture as big if not bigger than football.
Nice (1M) : My city. The capital of the French Riviera (most tourist and bigger airport after Paris). Greek-founded. Very italian-like city due to its particular history (has been french since 1860). Has been a tourist hotspot for centuries. Brings in artists just like celebrity millionaires. Older than average population and a pretty right-wing city. UNESCO site. Serves as entrance to Monaco and Cannes.
Poland was already mentioned but I may add some more things to that:
1. Warsaw - 1,8 million people and the capital city. Situated in the Masovian voivodeship, in the centre-east of the country on the Vistula river.
-> It is a large and modern city and also the richest one in Poland. It is clearly and definitely the most important city in the country in vast majority of categories. It has one of the most notable business districts in the EU (and currently the tallest skyscraper of the EU is situated there). You can definitely feel the big city atmosphere there. In terms of architecture - apart from the aforementioned business district - it has an average-sized old town and also a lot of communist-era buildings. It is also known for its dark history during WW2 (it was almost totally destroyed).
2. Kraków (Cracow) - 800 thousand people. Situated in the south in the Lesser Poland voivodeship, also on the Vistula river.
-> it is known for its amazing and quite big old town and the old royal castle. Old architecture is what makes it very popular among tourists (both domestic and international). It is known for its high cultural valors (sometimes even considered as the "cultural capital of Poland") and also for the fact that it hosts the oldest univeristy in Poland (Jagiellonian University). In general it used to be known as the city of "intelligentsia" and is still popular among students. It also used to be our capital city (before the title was transferred to Warsaw in 16th Century)
3. Wrocław - over 600 thousand people. Situated in the southwest, in the Lower Silesian voivodeship, on the Oder river.
-> it is also known for its old architecture, having a lot of bridges and a number of interesting places. The city has a lot of German influence (it used to be German before WW2), especially when it comes to its architecture and history. Its modern-day population are mostly descendants of immigrants from other parts of Poland (who immigrated there after border shift after WW2), therefore it doesn't have that many specific local traditions. It is a fast-developing and quite rich city.
4. Łódź - also over 600 thousand inhabitants. Situated in the centre, in the Łódź voivodeship.
-> It is known for its industrial past. It used to be a major hub for the textile industry. Its main attractions are therefore the remnants of that past (old factory buildings or old worker homes), alongside a very famous Piotrkowska street (surrounded by some more old architecture). The city is also somewhat known for its street art. But generally due to its very short history (the city started developing in the 19th Century) it doesn't really have many historic buildings. Therefore it is not popular among tourists. It is also depopulating quickly and often is the target of jokes in Poland (due to the fact that many buildings inside of it are run-down).
5. Poznań - over 500 thousand inhabitants. Situated in the west, in the Greater Poland voivodeship on the Warta river.
-> it is also quite known for its old architecture (though not to the same extent as Kraków or Wrocław). It is generally rich and well-developed and also quite liberal for Polish standards. Poznań is also known (together with the entire Greater Poland region) for its unique culture and cuisine. One of the city's symbols are also the famous "Poznań Goats" - mechanical figurines of goats, placed on the City Hall's tower that butt heads every day at noon.
1. Budapest – the capital, its population is as large as that of the next 17 largest cities together, so obviously can't be compared to any other city within the country. [Pretty similar to other important European cities.](https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/9mcrsp/a_map_of_every_european_city/) It's the best known Hungarian city, I guess I don't have to introduce it.
2. Debrecen – an important industrial and university town, also centre of the Protestant church in Hungary, hence its nickname "Calvinist Rome". It has the largest Calvinist church building in Hungary. Debrecen lies on the Great Plain, which is the largest and flattest region of the country (kind of a boring landscape IMO but part of it is a UNESCO World Heritage site). The city has some delusions of being the second capital of Hungary, and while this claim has some basis (second largest population, second most important airport), the idea also seems to be encouraged by the ruling party because the city is its largest stronghold.
3. Szeged – the other important city on the Great Plain, more beautiful and better planned than Debrecen, mainly due to a flood in 1879 which basically acted as a giant "reset" button in its history. This means that its buildings are comparatively new, even its cathedral is from the 20th century, but since most of the city was rebuilt during a time when Hungary prospered, it has an atmosphere of grandeur reminiscent of much larger cities. Of all the county seats Szeged is the most similar to Budapest, albeit on a smaller scale. Szeged has the most hours of sunshine in in the country, earning it the nickname "City of Sunshine". It is an important cultural centre and university town.
4. Miskolc – although the city has a long history, when compared to similar-sized county seats it seems somewhat of an upstart, because the historical centre is noticeably smaller than that of the others (though, unlike Debrecen and Szeged, Miskolc has a small medieval castle, but not in the downtown). It lies where the mountains of Northern Hungary meet the Great Plain. Developed into a centre of heavy industry in the mid-20th century, the city fell on hard times after 1990 but managed to reinvent itself as a tourist destination, which was helped by the exquisite natural landscape around it (including a thermal spa in a natural cave). It is not widely thought of as a cultural centre, despite having the oldest theatre within the country's current borders, hosting one of the most important film festivals and being the home of the largest Hungarian opera festival for 20 years.
5. Pécs – with a history dating back to Roman times, the city is exceptionally rich in culture. You can still see remnants of its past as an early Christian town, as a medieval episcopal see and as a thriving city of the Ottoman Empire, but it also has a charming 19th century downtown like most Hungarian cities. When writing about the previous cities I've mentioned a castle, a cathedral, an airport, a thermal spa, a World Heritage site and mountains; other than Budapest, Pécs is the first on this list which has all of these. Like all the others on this list, it is an university town, but even its university is older than all the others in the country.
5 words* for each
London - cosmopolitan, impressive, fast-paced, large, lonely
Birmingham - fun, friendly, industrial, modern, parks
Manchester - busy, good transport, building site, modern, large
Glasgow - rough, industrial, happy, unintelligible, deep fried (love you, Glasgow :))
Liverpool - humour, crime, cultural, socialist, independent
* Except where I need more to explain the concept
Cardiff is one of my favourite cities in the UK. Good for shops. Great beer. Almost feels more of a 'European' city than a British one to me. Except for the very British/Welsh drinking culture! :)
Swansea. Wouldn't be fair of me to comment as I've never visited Swansea itself, but some of the towns in the surrounding area are ... you'd not necessarily choose to visit them. Just say the Gower peninsula, nearby, is absolutely gorgeous. One of the nicest parts of the UK to visit.
Newport. I have visited there, but never for very long. It feels like it's not that interesting a place to visit as a tourist, I usually just pass through on my way to Cardiff or Bristol tbh.
Wrexham - small city, very industrial, was overlooked by most of the country until half of Hollywood decided they liked the football club. Don't have to go too far out of the centre for it to become *very* Welsh.
Bangor - mad place. More like a small town than a city. University buildings are impressive from what I've seen, but it was a little run down when I went. Shame really, looks like it was really nice at one point
The city centre has been massively redeveloped over the past 20 - 30 years.
If you drive past it on the motorway you only see the post-industrial bits on the outskirts.
I can only assume people think that the centre’s similar.
Dublin (~2 million metro): stabby, extremely high cost of living, nice city park, plenty to see and do,just on another level in terms of population and size coloared to the other 'cities' world famous Trinity college
Cork (~400,000 metro) growing too quickly, modern, many islands, good marine biology university
Limerick (~160,000 metro): average small city, sports university is very famous in ireland, built on the estuary of the largest river in ireland (Shannon river)
Galway (~90,000 metro): very artsy, closest city to the largest Gaeltacht (Gaelic Irish speaking region), high cost of living, one of the worst cities in Europe for traffic compared to its size and population
Waterford (80,000 metro): clean, fairly modern, safe, second closest port to mainland Europe so it gets a fair bit of commerce
Remember ireland has a very low population due to.. history. Many of the cities in ireland wouldn't be called cities outside of it, or would at least be called very small cities.
Belfast (c.650,000 metro): full of history in particular recent history. Beautiful park around Stormont. Home place of the Titanic.
Derry (c.230,000 metro): like Belfast in that is full of recent history. Beautiful medieval walls amongst the most impressive in Europe. Traditionally been very underinvested in by the various Unionist Governments and Westminster. It’s a city known for its murals. Home place of Derry Girls!
1-İstanbul: It's unimaginably crowded, expensive and, large. One probably has access to anything in their mind. It's also the most historically important city in the country, being our former capital. It also has the best schools in Turkey. 15.5 Million
2-Ankara: City of high-ranking bureaucrats, not incredibly significant historically except the Battle of Ankara against Timur; and the Ahi Order. Was the National Movement's capital during the War of Independence. Some areas of the city have grid planing which is rare for Turkish cities. Ankara also has very good schools but it's more higher education oriented. 5.6 Million
3-İzmir: A port city on the Aegean Sea, the people are known for voting CHP every election. It existed before as a crusader bastion but it grew larger in the 19th century surpassing many of the inland cities in the Aegean region. İzmirites are known to be nice and easygoing, they have their own words for some common things not found outside of the city. 4.3 Million
4-Bursa: The second capital of the Ottomans after Söğüt. Today it's an industrial city and most employment is in industry and service. It grew during the Early Republic unlike the other cities here. Attracts little tourism. It has a lot of monuments from the early Ottomans in it's center. The province of Bursa also has the city of Nicea in it which was where the council was held. I didn't really like how the city was kept. The historical center is in a bad condition and the way housing was handled is very poor. The city sadly has a lot of slums in it's periphery(like most cities on this list). 3 Million
5-Antalya: Developed a lot in the 90's when Turkey was opening up to tourism. Antalya is a city in the hands of the service sector. The resorts have the best parts of the shore. Resort owners are also said to have a lot of sway on local politics.
The city of Antalya itself is a fairly nice city. It has a lot of history dating to the Romans. North of it's municipality houses the Taurus Mountains where Yörüks live. 2.4 Million
They are just two cities fairly close to eachother. Western Anatolia is very populated so there are a lot of densely populated areas next to another one.
Bursa and İstanbul have direct ferries and railways connecting eachother though if you're asking about that sort of connection.
İstanbul's expansion did mean it ate up a lot of cities around it. Originally the city didn't really exist outside the area around the Golden Horn and the Theodosian Walls. It expanded a lot after industrialisation. Which is the reason a lot of İstanbul's municipalities retaining their name sounds funny because they are basically districts in a larger city now and they are called things like "Green Village" or "Albanian Village".
I haven't heard of anyone who commutes from Bursa to İstanbul or vice versa, they aren't that close. Bursa has a large car and textiles industry in which the employees generally stay in Bursa to commute to work. Commuting to work in İstanbul while in the city is already very stress inducing and quite difficult, i can't imagine having to wake up every morning to commute to your work from Bursa. You'd hardly get any sleep!
İstanbul gets commuters from some surrounding provinces like Kocaeli and Tekirdağ. There is a district in Kocaeli called Gebze which was basically swallowed whole by İstanbul and it's a place where people who commute make up a good portion of the population.
Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples and Palermo. They are extremely different cities, you'll never believe they belong to the same country.
Rome: very chaotic and spread out, this is the city with the largest number of monuments in the world.
Milan: a true world class cosmopolitan city, it's lively, modern, gray, expensive and polluted
Turin: former industrial heart of Italy in decline, this criminally underrated city has grandiose and elegant buildings and boulevards, parks and plazas and costs way less than Milan
Naples: a large, dirty, chaotic and lively city with a great historic centre, the city where pizza was allegedly invented and that has no doubt the best pizza in Italy.
Palermo: a magnificent and elegant city with a unique Arab-Norman style, great monuments and the best street food in Italy. It's also dirty outside the centre and has a lot of unemployment
Madrid: lots of bureaucracy, museums and incredibly gentrified. Literally the centre of the country and they think Spain revolves around them.
Barcelona: they think they are way more European than Madrid, lots of modernist buildings and very touristic.
Valencia: it gets often overlooked, but it is very monumental and beautiful, they love fireworks, they think they make the most singular rice, although paella is pretty similar to several dishes all over the Silk Road.
Sevilla: pretty and she knows it, they host the worst feria in Andalucía and still the most famous, perfect trap for tourists.
Bilbao: it used to be considered ugly, not a lot of monuments, but pintxos are the best. Everybody loves basque people and their food.
In Poland the thing is that the difference between Warsaw and all other "big" cities is so enormous that others don't compare to it. Warsaw has more than twice the citizens than the 2nd - Kraków.
So while Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław and Poznań feel similar when it comes to the "speed" of living, Warsaw is just on another level. And only Warsaw has metro hehe.
I'm from Warsaw and all the other Polish cities just felt small to me. It's not the same caliber. I'm not saying that I don't like them, I loove Wrocław it's so beautiful ❤️ but they're not in the same category as Wawa.
Same for Bucharest vs the other big cities. Bucharest has 4 times the population of Cluj Napoca and comparing them is fairly common but futile in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, Cluj is extremely beautiful, same for Timișoara, Iași and Constanța (the 5 largest cities in Romania), but it doesn't take 2 hours to travel by car from one side of the city to the other. Bucharest is also the only one with a metro system (altough a metro line is being built in Cluj, but it will probably not be finished in my lifetime at the pace they are going right now). Bucharest is a city, a metropolis in its proper sense, while the others can arguably fall in the category of "town". As for how life is like....well, typical traffic jams, people walking really fast, lots of tall buildings, small buildings, malls and corner shops, food from various parts of the world, some multiculturalism, but not at the same level as London for example and that's kinda it. In Bucharest we struggle with hot water in some areas
We have an even larger difference: Budapest has a bit above 8 times the population of the second largest city, Debrecen. It's almost like the whole country is just the agglomeration of Budapest.
You know what's weird for me.
We have a lot of people in Bucharest. And by far. But if I count the people I met online, only a few of them are from Bucharest.
That doesn't mean anything statistically, it just puts it into perspective how many of us are actually there (in general, not just Bucharest or Romania).
> In Poland the thing is that the difference between Warsaw and all other "big" cities is so enormous that others don't compare to it. Warsaw has more than twice the citizens than the 2nd - Kraków.
If you think that's a huge difference, come to Austria. Vienna has 6,5 times the population of the second biggest city Graz.
Both Marseille and Lyon are smaller than Australia’s 3rd largest city (Brisbane). Marseille even the metro Marseille is about the same size as Auckland (New Zealand).
Edinburgh: Castle. Tourists. Civil Servants.
Glasgow: 'Friendliest city in the world', until they chib you.
Aberdeen: Fur coat and nae knickers. Granite and oil.
Dundee: Teen pregnancy and drugs capital.
Paisley: Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Scotland looks beautiful from the pictures I’ve seen at least. I’d like to see a castle in person some day. Not likely anytime soon, funds are tight and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. Sadly. Might skip Paisley though, I’ve seen enough sketchy places in the US, once you have seen a few you’re not wanting to see more
Copenhagen: Capital with capital vibe, everything important in the country from politics to historical to businesses to culture to the royals. Castles and other fancy buildings. Many high-rises, hundreds of thousands of bikes. It is the only real city we have. 1,4M inh.
Århus: Large town which just about borders city. Nice place, many students, cultural hub. Likes to can itself"The smallest big city in the world." 367K inh.
Odense: Large town. Very cosy, the vibe of an overgrown village. Tourism department is obsessed with their former inhabitant Hans Christian Andersen. Very much a student town. 210K inh.
Aalborg: Large town in the northern rural region. Quite a lot of cultural events and museums. Known for being the place young people in that area go to to get drunk. 145K inh.
Esbjerg/Randers/Horsens/Kolding/Vejle. All between 60K to 70K. I think Esbjerg is the largest of them right now. They each have their unique flavour. Esbjerg is traditionally a fishing, seafaring, and industrial town. Not much anymore.
I never quite understood the whole HCA / Odense obsession and pilgrimage. Especially since HCA moved to Copenhagen at age 14 where he remained to his death (except for some long foreign journeys).
Odense is a really dejlig by and I loved living there.
But, HCA and his stories are known throughout the world so it attracts people. It is pretty cool that you can go into his childhood home and the room he was born in. Without it, I don’t think too many people would visit compared to now.
I actually thought that he moved back to Odense later again, but Odense was of course just a small town back then and København was probably a more exciting place to live.
But yeah, it feels like everything revolves around him!
All the others are absolutely classified as cities as well, not just towns.
You say it yourself, Århus being the smallest "big city". These places are nowhere near town-status.
Towns and cities have many different definitions, and as such, people will never fully agree what a town is and what a city is.
When I use city in English, I mean "storby". I only consider Copenhagen and Århus to be that. Mayyybe Odense and Aalborg on a good day.
1. Prague: it's its own thing, fast-paced, very international and touristy, but also full of Czech history. All of the important politics happen here. Actually, everything important in Czechia happens here, at least according to the people who live here
2. Brno: overall more chill than Prague, very much a student town. Lots of Slovaks. Basically just feels like a giant village. At any given point, huge parts of its infrastructure are under construction, which is probably true for any city, but Brno tends to be uniquely paralyzed by it
3. Ostrava: very industrial, oddly spread out, not much to see, but they have the best people in the country, who have a unique talent of expressing complex thoughts using solely swear words
4. Plzeň: never been, but its name is at this point synonymous with beer
5. Liberec: bigger town, nothing much seems to happen here. Lots of historical ties to Germany and formerly part of Sudetenland, so there's a lot of these pretty old German-style houses interspersed between ugly modern shopping centers. Tends to be around 5 °C colder than the rest of the country
Belgrade (1.6M): The biggest city in Serbia and quite honestly the only important one. Everything that happens in Serbia in the cultural, political, entertainment aspect is happening here. It's also by far the richest part of Serbia and housing and living costs are unimaginable for an average Belgradian, let alone an average Serbian. Very cosmopolitan.
Novi Sad (369k): The only other city where something is happening. It can also feel cosmopolitan and has some cool open minded people. Not as conservative because Vojvodina as a region is generally more progressive. Very nice looking city. Exit festival.
Niš (250k): I've been in Niš so many times and I don't know how to describe it. You can feel provincial mindset, but it is still a large city. Not much goes on here. When people from the south need to go to some specialist doctor or want to buy something rarer they come to Niš. It almost became the first city to vote out ruling SNS party, but alas, they always somehow win.
Kragujevac (171k): The least important "big" city. Really nothing comes out of here. Many are suprised to learn that it is the fourth largest city in Serbia.
Subotica (124k): One of the most beautiful cities in our country. It has a unique style, a central-european vibe and it is super diverse. You can find Serbs, Hungarians, Croats, Jews... living there and their presence is shown through its architectural style. Very close to the Hungarian border.
You obviously have no idea about life in cities outside Belgrade, saying nothing is going on anywhere outside Belgrade. Just for example i'm from Gornji Milanovac, small town of 24,000 in central Serbia. And there is a lot of things going on even here, we have the worlds biggest biennial of miniature arts, several music festivals (just last week of classical music, before that World music festival with foreign musicians) and next week the biggest reggae festival in Serbia (Natural Mystic) on the hill overlooking the city. And that is just a small bit of life here, you have strong industry (factories of Swedish Tetra Pak, Japanese Kansai Helios, local Metalac, Swisslion Takovo and many others companies), good sports infrastructure, and city lead in Serbia in every aspect of green energy implementation (biomass heating plant, selection of waste for recycling, modern landfill, waste water treatment plant, most of that is nonexistent in over 80% of Serbia, Belgrade just throw all feces into rivers without treatment). Just one small glimpse, and there is more to each of those cities.
That’s really interesting to hear. Being from the Netherlands there really is nothing happening in most smaller towns and cities so if it wasn’t dor your comment I’d just have believed the other one in a heartbeat.
My town is about the same size as yours, and besides the summer market we really don’t have any interesting cultural activities. I mean, we don’t even have any bars or whatever left. About ten closed down over the last decade leaving us with two, all mainly for the elderly since a lot of young people have left the region as well.
Here most of cities have many similar activities during the year. For example nearby city of Čačak (around 70,000) today and tomorrow have big [Wine festival](https://youtu.be/P5PIaQxEvDQ?si=O5J8Lkie8TCvCHWi) (this is a video from last year's edition) and Kragujevac (mentioned above) had big music rock festival (Arsenal fest) two weeks ago, you basically every week can find similar activity around Serbia.
I am from a small town from the south. From Pirot (~50k people) to be exact and when I tell you that nothing is going on here, I really mean it. Like yes, we do have one of the biggest Michelin factories in the world, but I wouldn't call people going to work everyday something that is interesting here. We have a few bars and there are the same parties every now and then, but other than that it's dead. We get one decent artist performing here once or twice a year and a fair for peglana kobasica and that's it.
But in Belgrade, you can find many different kinds of entertainements and hobbies for deifferent tastes. Most of the actors, actresses, movies and shows come from there etc. There are just more options for those who do not fit into classical Serbian person.
We also have sports infrastructure and it's actually quite good, but then again, nothing special.
And of course it's gonna be easier to manage sewage for 24k than for 1.6M. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way defending Belgrade. It is terribly managed, but that's the case with most towns here.
I'm probably explainig this very badly as I am tired, but you can't deny that bigger city provides much more opportunities that are just non existant in smaller towns. And this is especially true in this highly centralised country.
I'm not even saying that bigger cities are not better, i was responding to a comment where he was presenting other cities as some boring dead places. Actually you have diverse activities outside of Belgrade, and i don't know for Pirot but my city have very good organized cultural center so you have [modern cinema](https://www.kcgm.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/17.jpg) that play all latest movies (and the ticket is dirt cheap-2 euros), they organize different concerts or theater plays weekly.
My town have drastically smaller budget and still built water treatment plant 30 years ago, it's not about the size since even this system is very expensive and it cost 3-4x of total budget of our municipality so it is actually harder to build it in small communities. Belgrade on the other hand have big budget but still is not even trying to build that plant.
I was talking more about people and social life. And in my opinion, other than Belgrade, places feel monotonous and same. Infrastructure is crumbling all across Serbia, with some exceptions, so that's kind if a given. I may have wrongly assessed situation in other cities, sorry to smaller cities.
Bucharest: Romania's capital, party hub, very high income
Cluj-Napoca: Hip Transylvanian town, student buzz.
Timisoara: architecture, culture
Iasi: cultural gem, university
Constanta: Coastal getaway, sun and sea vibes
Worth a mention:
Sibiu, Brasov, Oradea, Craiova, all cool places
Hmm, agreed yeah. The median salary is like double for Bucharest compared to the rest of the country. It’s like it’s another country .
However since I’m a programmer in an IT bubble, for us Cluj is kinda better at most things even when it comes to remote jobs.
But a lot of IT people remain in Bucharest because there’s way more jobs and job security due to less startups and way bigger companies on average
The thing is, in Bucharest even social relations are better. You can have a girlfriend working in another sector and it wont be such a difference in income.
People say money dont matter but they do longterm. And they poison social and even couple relationships.
As for another country, also yes. Bucharest is above EU average and also EU median (I guess).
1. Rome: very chaotic, with bad drivers. The political and cultural centre of Italy, a terrible city for its inhabitants, and quite rundown. A lost gem. People there have a distinct accent, which some find funny, some obnoxious. Tourists now own the city centre, a story like Barcelona.
2. Milan: the capital city of the North, our own New York. The economic heart of Italy. People aren't very friendly compared to other cities, the mentality is very business oriented. Italian salaries but swiss prices; it's impossible to rent an apartment close to the centre.
3. Neaples: the capital city of the South. Many areas are no-go zones, it's filled with criminality, but Neapolitans love their identity. Many jokes throughout Italy are about Neaples or neapolitans. A city filled with passion but with extremely big problems
4. Turin: the former main industrial city of Italy, it's basically our rust belt. All the factories that were there shaped the city, but they collapsed or ran away during the years. It still remains a beautiful city which is very underrated by the tourists, and Italians too.
5. Palermo: all the populations that went through this city left their mark, so you can find greek, Roman, Arabic and Germanic style buildings, which make it beautiful. Like Neaples, it's poverty ridden, and here too there are some no-go zones. It is the heart of Sicily, and it is very sad that some parts of the city are very much left behind.
I think Italy has a big problem in adapting to the future. This is a trend in every aspect of Italian life, our society seems stuck in the '90s. We went from being one of the world leaders in innovation to dreaming about how good we were in the past, crying that everything is shitty and not doing anything about it. It seems like at some point everyone said "okay, our life is good as it is, let's not do anything anymore". And that is fully reflected in our major cities. Tourists don't see this, and clearly, why would they care. But Italians feel it.
Obviously this is my personal opinion, and I say this from the statistics I've read, from the other countries I've been to and from what I've seen from my birth to this day in this country.
1. Moscow – capital of the country, by far the richest and populous city with lots of tall buildings and developed public transport (lots of metro stations, electrobuses, 4 airports and 9 railway stations).
2. Saint-Petersburg – "cultural capital" with lots of monuments, rainy weather, narrow streets, old and low houses in the centre and the most "extraordinary population" consuming extreme amounts of "salt" 😉.
3. Novosibirsk – "capital of Siberia" – relatively new city (like 130 years) known as scientific city due to its Academgorodok.
4. Yekaterinburg – "gates to Asia" city located in Urals and I'd call it "liberal capital of Russia". It's known due to Yeltsin and his center and Roizman (former liberal mayor that left the country and author of countless memetic quotes in X)
5. Nizhniy Novgorod – the richest city after Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, known as industrial city producing transport, electronics and other stuff
Kyiv - the capital and by far the most important city, good with techno music
Kharkiv - science hub and former capital, pretty big in IT, good with local blue-collar hip-hop music
Odesa - imagine 1M Florida people within French architecture slightly damaged by the USSR. The top 3 biggest ports are there, so it is an import and export hub, good with a "50 greatest Jewish song covers" CD compilation bought at a local bazaar
Dnipro - our Manchester, center of metallurgy. Good with heavy metal music.
Lviv - our cultural centre (Odesa people think otherwise), tasty food and growing IT cluster. Good with Centre European classical music.
Vienna: Used to be the heart of Europe and it somewhat still is. Beautiful architecture and amazing history.
Graz: A UNESCO World heritage-city with a beautiful city-centre.
Linz: Linz has always been a city of industry and labour. A city that provides more jobs than it has inhabitants and therefore a city that is the driving force for an entire region. Nowhere near cities like Salzburg, Graz and Vienna when it comes to being a beautiful city but it‘s still completely fine.
Salzburg: There’s basically no need to say something. One of the most beautiful cities in all of europe.
Innsbruck: Basically the same as in Salzburg. Being surrounded by those big mountains is absolutely amazing.
for Finland:
1. Helsinki(including espoo/vantaa) 1.3 million people, it's the undisputed capital and where most young people want to live, has most of the usual big city stuff and is the most "international" city. Some people claim espoo and vantaa are cities too, those people are wrong.
2.Tampere 340.000 people, former industrial city(linen), now a rather nice place to live, big lakes and lot of nature nearby while still having the convenience of a bigger city.
3. Turku, 277.000 people, former capital and biggest "swedish speaking"town, more historic buildings, bigger harbour, not as pupular any more nowadays.
4. Oulu 205.000, most northern bigger city, mostly university town nowadays, super boring center.
5. Jyvaskylä 119.000 people, university town, never been there since unless you are born there or studying you really don't go there.
> Turku, 277.000 people, former capital and biggest "swedish speaking"town
What do you mean by this? Even Helsinki has a higher share of Swedish speakers, which is not that much.
Bratislava - biggest city, as cosmopolitan as it can get with little less than 500k people. home to most government entities and most valuable Slovak companies and international companies’ regional offices.
Kosice - second biggest city. what’s not in Bratislava is in Kosice.
Presov - third biggest city, but since everything is in Bratislava or Kosice, there’s nothing interesting in Presov. Is regional capital to the poorest region in Slovakia.
Zilina - fourth biggest city. is actually kinda nice compared to Presov, but it’s a regional capital to a region famous for inbred hillbillies in Kysuce, ultrareligious people in Orava and lots of nationalistic people all around…
Nitra - fifth biggest city, was important historically, one of the centers of Great Moravia, nowadays is known as the only regional capital without a proper railroad.
Slovenia:
Ljubljana (around 300k): economic center of the country, very touristy, lots of events, is very expensive to live
Maribor (94k): used to be industrial city, then faced economic downfall, now is slowly getting better. A lot of renovation going on in the center. Known for its football team.
Celje (37k): known for its history and castle.
Kranj (37k): beautiful nature around, good economy
Koper (25k): it has only commercial port, it used to be an island
London - the whole world is there, and everything you could ever hope to find in a city. Samuel Johnson's line about "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" is still to the point . Although the place itself can be pretty tiring too...
Birmingham - underrated, but also underdeveloped since the industry slimmed down. Not beautiful and damaged by highways (some of the 1960s civic vandalism has at least been undone) but still an interesting and appealing place.
Manchester - full of attitude, too much of it (maybe not quite as bad as Liverpool in this regard but it's a close-run thing), effectively the second cultural city of England and the third of the UK. Not pretty and really could do with a river (same applies to Brum).
Glasgow - intensely energetic and creative and cultural with a kind of good-natured aggression prevailing. Probably the best parks of any British city (let's say joint equal with London). The culinary culture is a bit tragic and life-shortening unfortunately, and as for some of the pubs ..
Leeds - I barely know the place but regret how its proximity has sucked the life out of Bradford, which despite a terrible reputation has some of the finest architecture of any British city as well as much else of interest
I'm gonna apply music genre's to each city, for no reason.
**Stockholm**: Capital and about double the size in population as the second city. Highlife, fashion and techy.
Pop music.
**Göteborg**: My hometown! Home of Volvo and industrial shipyards, busiest port in the Nordic. Humor and alternative music is high here, so I'd say it's a bit artsy?
Rock music.
**Malmö**: Most diverse city in Sweden. The Öresund brigde and proximity to Copenhagen gives them connection to Denmark and continental Europe.
Rap music.
**Uppsala**: Major student city and the oldest of these five. Academics on their high horse.
Disco music.
**Helsingborg**: I don't know to much about this city, although I'd figure they have a little brother-complex with Malmö, considering they're both in the southern county of Skåne.
Reggie music.
Moscow - a separate country St.
Petersburg - a center of salt production and culture
Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk - ordinary cities, I don't know what special can be highlighted.
Kazan - fairly developed, many osquitoes , if there are news about new real production, then it is definitely news from Kazan, I want the leadership of Tatarstan to rule all of Russia.
Zurich, Basel and Geneva are very cosmopolitan, Lausanne I don't know and Bern so-so; more than smaller cities, but not really a melting pot. These five all have very pretty historic centres.
Zurich is not as loud and fast and spectacular than it thinks it is. Zurich is trying very hard. I always feel a bit overwhelmed, underdressed and not cool enough, though. But in fact, it is very conformist because you can't make bucks if you can't advertise yourself.
Basel is culturally very rich, lots of museums and theaters, always something goin' on. It is absolutely as spectacular as it thinks it is. Which is not *that* much, because Basel knows when to shut up. Very artsy vibes, a bit excentric.
Bern is a very, very big village. Seems to have more stereotypical tourists than the other places. Many students, very progressive.
Geneva, I haven't been there often enough to really give an impression. It feels like a very generic big city. Probably one of the more cosmopolitan cities here because of all the expats and international organisations.
Lausanne is chill, I guess. Many students. The topography is cool.
Helsinki: capital, biggest city by far. Home of the president and parliament, most of government agencies, lots of jobs, people, 3 universities, biggest and best museums, and so on. Also a big port and the biggest airport.
Tampere: second biggest and growing. Historically an industrial city. The centre is packed between two lakes. Railway hub, university, tech, capital of chicken wings and blood sausage.
Turku: beautiful port city and gateway to a massive archipelago. Historical capital city and the oldest city of Finland. Also a university city. Huge in maritime and biotech industries.
Oulu: biggest in the north. IT hub with a university. Don't know too much about it to be frank.
Jyväskylä: in the lakelands, surrounded by lakes and beautiful nature, even if the city isn't that pretty. Relatively big student hub for its size. Along with the other four, also a university city. Home to Rally of Finland.
Helsinki (664 000) the capital and by far the largest city. Some people consider it to be totally different from the rest of the country, to me it seems like there’s almost everything you can find in other cities, just more of it. It became important only during the Russian rule and has a lot of buildings reminiscent of St. Petersburg. It’s by the sea and has lots of nice islands. Most of the important institutions in the country are there.
Espoo (305 000) part of the Helsinki metropolitan area, also part of the Helsinki metro system somewhat controversially. Consists of several former villages and lacks a city structure. To me as an outsider seems to lack clear identity apart from Helsinki. Rich, tech companies, a good university.
Tampere (249 009) the actual second city of Finland. A former major industrial city, the Manchester of Finland. Seems dynamic and not afraid to try new things. Lovely museums. Nice old industrial buildings converted into cultural spaces, it’s a good idea to do your industrialisation in the 19th century.
Vantaa (243 000) also part of the Helsinki metropolitan area and lacking clear urban structure and identity to outsiders. Poorer than Espoo.
Oulu (212 000) the only city in the northern half of Finland (unless you count Rovaniemi which is small but has huge regional importance) and it isn’t even that northern. Windy, tech companies, used to be dominated by a religion that hates fun, a certain arctic madness that leads people to host air guitar world championships.
As Helsinki, Vantaa and Espoo are sort of the same entity, the next two cities:
Turku (197 900) sort of the old capital from the times when Finland wasn’t independent and the capital was Stockholm but was the biggest city and the most important administrative centre. It hasn’t forgotten the past and is slightly annoyed that everything important was moved to the “fishing village in the east”. Everything new used to come to Finland through Turku, like forks, but is a bit slow these days. Turku and Tampere started planning new tram transport around the same time. Tampere has been riding on the trams for a few years while Turku is thinking about appointing a committee. Two major medieval buildings which is more than any other place in Finland, at least I couldn’t think of any other. A lovely river surrounded by old buildings, very nice in summer. It’s sheltered from the sea by a massive archipelago and has a more moderate climate than much of Southern Finland.
Jyväskylä (146 000) nicknamed the Athens of Finland due to its reputation of education and it’s still an important university city. All of the PE teachers in Finland are trained there, or at least used to be. A big portion of the population are students and it feels young. Has a lake in the middle. Not very interesting for tourists unless you love rally racing or the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
I’ve lived four of the seven largest cities but tried to be slightly impartial.
Zagreb - cosmopolitan city with a lot of different subcultures, political and social currents and visible immigrant communities (mostly Asian); kind of very average as far as larger European cities go, and certainly the only place in Croatia that can pass as a "larger European city" anyway.
Split - incredibly beautiful Mediterranean tourist hotspot in the city centre, absolute concrete jungle outside of it; the locals are crazy and the tourists there (mostly young and eager to party) seem to be getting crazier and crazier each year - take these opinions with a grain of salt though, because I am from Zagreb and the rivarly between the two cities probably skewes my perception.
Rijeka - very odd Central European looking Mediterranean port city, and just weird in general; usually stereotyped as the most liberal place in Croatia, but I don't know if that is an intentional choice of the locals there or just a natural consequence of the fact that weirdos flock to that city like moths to flame.
Osijek - laidback, tidy and very green city out in the far east of Croatia, certainly the least known major city in the country; flies under the radar for international visitors and seems to be a desirable place to live - however, the job market and wages there aren't very competitive compared to the other big cities, and the vast swamps that surround the place turn it into a humid jungle during the summer months.
Zadar - kind of like Split's younger brother (though it might actually be several thousand years older than it); most of the stuff said for Split apply here as well, except that it is smaller, the tourist crowds in the summer are more managable, and (personal opinion) the locals seem more friendly, if a bit more simple and small-town minded as well.
Berlin is vibrant, known for its history, culture, and especially the nightlife. It has a diverse population and numerous parks. However, it can be crowded and some people say it's kinda dirty.
Hamburg is a major port city with beautiful canals and a rich maritime heritage. Its cultural scene is lively, but the weather is often rainy, and it can be expensive to live in. Most millionaires out of these cities.
Munich offers a mix of traditional Bavarian culture and is close to the Alps with lots of lakes around it. It is the safest city in Germany but known for the highest rents out of these cities. It has the highest share of immigrants/people with migrational background (40+%) but a less diverse nightlife compared to Berlin.
Cologne is famous for its cathedral and the carnival. The city (besides the tourist spots) itself is quite ugly though, probably the ugliest out of all of them. The area surrounding it is also quite ugly and often run down. One of the poorest/ugliest cities (Duisburg) is pretty close.
Frankfurt is a global financial hub and the only city with "real" skyscrapers and a skyline, but also has some older/medieval-ish buildings. The central station and airport have good connections. It is diverse but can feel business-oriented and the area around the central station has a huge problem with drug addicts.
Brussels (±1,2M): quite small for a capital city, a lot of bubbles formed by the different nationalities who live there, also a clear divide between richer and poorer neighbourhoods, has some surprisingly beautiful spots if you know where to find them, known for the greenery surrounding the region (Sonian forest for example), obviously also capital of the EU so a lot of European diplomats live there (I grew up in the Brussels region so I may be a bit biased...)
Antwerp (±500k): actually the biggest city in both population and size (Brussels consists of 19 separate municipalities), one of the biggest ports in Europe so a lot of industry, cocaine capital of Europe, the inhabitants are stereotyped to be a bit full of themselves (calling the rest of the country a 'parking lot to Antwerp' for example, but mostly in good jest), nice historical centre with lots of small alleyways to wander, one of the most multicultural cities in Europe (about 200 different nationalities)
Ghent (±250k): one of the cities that attracts a lot of tourists, has some nice medieval buildings (Gravensteen castle for example), is the biggest left wing bastion in Flanders, fairly young and hip, many Flemish pupils go on school trips to Ghent when they're around 15-16 years old
Charleroi (±200k): used to have a lot of industry and coal mining, suffered a lot from economical decline in the 70's but is recovering, usually seen as the ugliest city in Belgium, only city in this list without its own university (but has some campuses from other universities), home to the second largest aeroport in Belgium (after Brussels). I haven't been there yet so can't really say any more
Liège (±200k): also suffered some economical decline like Charleroi but has recovered quite well I think, most important city in Wallonia from an economic perspective, known for Liège waffles and syrup, centre is nice for a walk, but I also haven't spent a lot of time there yet
I have only lived in Brussels and Antwerp from this list, so my knowledge on the other cities is not that expansive. I am also Flemish, so I naturally know more about the Flemish cities on this list since Belgian media are separated by language.
Bulgaria:
1.Sofia-capital and biggest city, political and business centre, all institutions, the most cultural activities
2. Plovdiv-second biggest, amazing architecture and one of the oldest cities in Europe, European capital of culture of 2019, definitely recommend visiting
3.Varna-third largest and biggest port city
4. Burgas-second largest Bulgarian city on the Black Sea Coast, next to many resorts and small historic towns
5.Ruse-biggest city of the Danube in Bulgaria, old architecture of historic centre, dubbed Bulgarian Vienna because of its city centre
Stockholm - 1,6 million. Capital, largest and most important city of Sweden for more than 700 years. Especially nowadays since almost 1/4th of Swedes live in the metropolitan area, so it's the centre of pretty much everything. Big metro for its size. Richest and most expensive.
Göteborg - 605k. Industrial port city and the hometown of Volvo. Young city compared to the other on the list (founded 1621). Largest port in the Nordics. Thanks to it's industry the city has recently been having more economic success than the other cities in this list. Known for its humor and friendly locals, who insist it's nicer than Stockholm.
Malmö - 324k. The most continental city and has some unique growth opportunities for its size thanks to its location close to Copenhagen and the continent. More of a cultural and artsy city. Way nicer than what you usually hear on the internet.
Uppsala - 164k. The most historic of the cities on this list. Has been the religious centre of Sweden for more than a millennia, for both christians and the norse. Also has the oldest university in the Nordics and is the main university town of Sweden (together with Lund). The population is booming and has been doing so for decades.
Västerås - 129k. It's been a long time since it was relevant. Has been voted the ugliest in Sweden. Founded a surprising amount of big companies (ABB, H&M, Ica). During the 60-70s hundreds of thousand of Finns migrated to Sweden and Västerås ended up being one of the main recipient of Finns (including my grandparents). As such there's some Finnish influence in the city.
1. Praha (1,3M) - capital with roots in Middle Age. Very popular among foreign tourists for historical buildings and vibe. Dense traffic so better to use metro (only one in country)
2. Brno (380k) - also quite old city with higher traffic. As in Prague expensive rents.
3. Ostrava (290k) - my city. Former industrial heart of country. Rest of the country slightly despise the city. Not so much historic buildings (city grew just after coal mines were created and some neighborhoods were built after WWII). Surprisingly lot of green places. IMHO younger folk isn’t so different from other cities. Venue of biggest music festival with famous interprets.
4. Plzeň (172k) - never been there, but more historical than Ostrava. Associated with beer.
5. Liberec (104k) - also never been there. Close to mountains and not so nice downtown
6. Olomouc (100k) - university city, with older architecture.
Denmark.. the 6th largest city has 61K inhabitants…
Only Copenhagen and maybe Århus can be considered big by any other countrys standards.
It would take me a few hourrs to show a tourist everything Århus has to offer. Copenhagen is just 5 times larger.
This is strange to me, because I always imagined denmark would have more high population cities than Norway since you have less land. Copenhagen is way bigger than Oslo, so one would Imagine Esbjerg would be bigger than Drammen.
Yep.. that’s probably just because of the slightly lower overall population. I thought more people lived in larger cities, but it seems that a significant portion of the population live in really small communities. There is a certain truth to: if you want to be (left) alone, move to a big city.
Ah, but remember, Denmark is fairly flat. You can build pretty much everywhere. You don't have to limit yourself to the bottom of valleys or along the edge of a fjord.
Bucharest. Like Paris. With shittier public transport. Though, you might feel a lot safer in general compared to the French capital. It's got ugly part, it's got very nice parts, but people generally don't want to spend summers there because the concrete in the city can reach 50+ Celsius
Cluj. Like Bucharest but with shittier public transport because no metro system. And higher rental costs. Might or might not run into separatists on the streets. If you do, mandatory scream TRANSYLVANIA IS ROMANIA!.
Iasi, like Cluj, but with shittier public transport. Not such a big problem with real estate. It starts to become really cosmopolitan, attracting many foreign businesses.
Constanta, like Iasi, but with a beach. Rentals might or might not be a problem depending on how close to the beach you want to live.
Ploiesti. Like Constanta, without a beach and shittier public transport.
Warsaw: Relatively modern, skyscraper city, great nightlife, cool architecture, safe, clean, nice river boulevards, growing non stop. The metropolis of Central Europe. Quite simply home of best place every Plan B.
Krakow: Historic, architecturally beautiful, overtourism but great restaurants, surrounded by wonderful places and only 2 hours to biggest mountains in Poland.
Lodz: Polish manchester, post industrial, but there's beauty in them old mills and brick factories. Real Poland, real people, edgy
Poznan: a bit boring
Gdansk: A beauty on the coast, everything that is cool about Poland
**Athens**: Approximately 3.15 million population. The biggest city in Greece. Full of history with some iconic monuments like the Acropolis. Lots of options for entertainment, and for job opportunities. Most of the people in Greece looking for better job opportunities are moving to Athens. Although it is difficult to find proper housing due to high demand and high prices, it has problems with cleanliness and with traffic.
**Thessaloniki**: Approximately 1.01 million population. It is considered the student city of Greece having the biggest University in Greece (Aristotle University). It has a big student population, very good quality of food, and great nightlife. The biggest problem of the city is the lack of infrastructure in many areas.
**Patras**: Approximately 250,000 population. Also a big student city with one of the biggest carnivals in Europe which every year attracts thousands of people. Also a significant port serving as a gateway to Western Europe. It plays a crucial role in trade and transportation.
**Heraklion**: Approximately 211,370 population. Is the biggest city on the island of Crete. Beautiful Beaches and Natural Scenery: The surrounding region offers beautiful beaches and stunning natural landscapes, making it a popular destination for tourists seeking both cultural and recreational experiences. Heraklion Archaeological Museum: One of the most important museums in Greece, it houses an extensive collection of Minoan artifacts, offering insights into the ancient civilization that flourished in Crete.
**Larissa**: Approximately 174,912 population. It is considered as the coffee city of Greece. It has the most coffee shops in Greece. Economic and Agricultural Hub: Larissa is situated in the fertile Thessalian plain, one of Greece's primary agricultural areas. The city is a major center for agricultural production, particularly known for crops like wheat, cotton, and tobacco.
Amsterdam: Probably the least Dutch city in the entire country. Massively gentrified in recent years and filled with expats who sometimes don’t seem to appreciate the city’s cultural heritage. Locals often refuse to go to some parts of the inner city because they’ve been taken over by tourists. It’s also incredibly diverse, which comes to light in its vibrant local culture. It’s a bit of a bubble but definitely worth a visit.
Rotterdam: Niet lullen maar poetsen (roughly translates to “stop messing around and start working”) is the city’s unofficial motto. It’s effectively Amsterdam’s opposite when it comes to mentality. People sometimes call Rotterdam the only real city in NL because of its modern architecture and massive port. Rotterdam is also very diverse and is the beating heart of the Dutch working class.
Den Haag: Our de facto capital. People here are (seemingly) either very posh, or the complete opposite. It feels a bit more provincial than Amsterdam and Rotterdam but it’s still a very nice city. It’s also right on the beach. DH is one of the more underrated Dutch cities imo. They probably have the most iconic city anthem in the country (O O Den Haag)
Utrecht: What everyone wants Amsterdam to be like. Great city, beautiful architecture, relaxed vibe and not many tourists. I sometimes call it the vanilla city of the Netherlands (in a positive way). It’s very well connected to the rest of the country due to its central location. It’s one of our main student cities and also definitely worth a visit.
Eindhoven: Never really been there, but this is the only city here outside of the Randstad (main metropolitan area). Eindhoven de gekste (Eindhoven the craziest) is a phrase you often hear people say. I heard it has some good nightlife and it’s the only city here that celebrates Carnaval (tropical carnaval in Rotterdam not included). It’s also the main technological hub of the country (sorry Delft).
Expensive as Hell, Busy as Hell, Hell, Shit and has a small version of the tube. That'd be my quick summations of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow.
There's Moscow, in the ligue of it's own. Well developed, thriving, huge, beautiful and ugly, always busy, clean, safe and cruel. The main issue is housing, it's just impossible for an ordinary muscovite to buy an apartment. Nevertheless the city is very special and beautiful. And you have to be as special as Moscow to be really happy here.
Other cities are Saint Petersburg (this city is without a doubt number two), Kazan, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Ufa, Omsk, etc (I know it's more than four, but these cities are more or less comparable). Generally nice, housing is more affordable, there could be some issues in important areas like healthcare or education, but if you're a bit above average are just great places to live.
Jerusalem- huge and mountainous, some parts are pretty modern while other parts look like an average third-world town. Kind of a mess both demographically and administratively. Significantly more conservative than the national average. But has a unique charm.
Tel-Aviv- the economic and cultural center. Very modern, international coastal city, many tall buildings but also old districts. Super progressive. Strong night life scene.
Haifa- the industrial center, the city of tolerance, and the center of the north. super chill, mountainous but also coastal, lots of nature and wildlife around. diverse demographics. Almost no tall buildings(and 0 skyscrapers).
Rishion Letzion- considered one of the best cities in Israel in terms of quality of life, just overall a great city although super boring for tourists. Technically has like 5km of coastline but in actuality it's not coastal. Much younger than the top 3(est. 1882)
Petah Tikva- the joke amongst locals is that it doesn't exist, mainly because despite being the 5th largest city and in a rather central location, there is pretty much nothing notable to say about it except maybe that it has a lot of hospitals.
New York: 8,550,405
Los Angeles: 3,971,883
Chicago: 2,720,546
Houston: 2,296,224
Philadelphia: 1,567,442
New York is nice tbh
Los Angeles I know is hot and crowded
Chicago is okay but crowded
Houston is pretty nice I've heard
Philadelphia is my sworn enemy as a yinzer. They will fall. /j
London: cosmopolitan, ethnically, religiously and culturally diverse. Tolerant and socially liberal outlook. Lots of ambitious people who are proud to be from London. Lots going on in art, fashion, music, theatre. It’s by far the most innovative of British and English cities in my opinion- Londoners have a strong creative and entrepreneurial spirit. A high diversity and number of jobs and high GDP. But also unaffordable for many, hard to find a good place to rent or buy. World-class public transport system and universities. Some heavy inequality; some neighbourhoods are crazy rich and others are really poor. Birmingham: a bit of a basket case considering it’s the second largest city. It has lots of potential that hasn’t been unlocked. It has a large population of over 1 million and has one of the youngest demographics in Europe, nearly 40% of the city is aged under 25. It’s also very diverse with a significant cultural Asian influence - 31% of Birmingham residents are of Asian ancestry. Crime, poor city infrastructure and inequality are problems. Its food scene is pretty good, with iconic curry hotspots such as the Balti Triangle. It doesn’t have much going for it economically as far as I know, at least it’s not as notable as London’s. Manchester: Thriving and quickly growing, many people see Manchester as a viable alternative to London because of its affordability. Locals are friendly. Lots of new developments but still some really deprived areas. It does well across many economic sectors, including finance, tourism, education, media and sports. The public transport is pretty good compared to many other cities of its size- there are trams as well as buses and trains. Manchester is ethnically and culturally diverse. The city is aesthetically unattractive in my opinion. Liverpool: Very underrated city. Easily the friendliest people in England can be found in Liverpool. It has a rich multicultural, multi-faith heritage dating back centuries, with some of Europe’s oldest Chinese and African communities, and one of the most ethnically Irish cities outside Ireland. Welsh heritage is also significant in Liverpool. The city’s architecture is beautiful in the centre and it’s very compact, making it easy to walk around. Quite affordable for a UK city, home to 3 good universities. It is the city with the most museums outside of London and has a rich musical heritage and nightlife. Its tourist infrastructure is accordingly well-developed. Poverty, deprivation, litter and drug abuse are some of Liverpool’s biggest problems at the moment. Leeds: Another thriving northern city with a diverse economy and an attractive place to live for many. It has the second largest legal sector in England after London and 4 universities. Relatively affordable. Some beautiful and grand architecture and walkable areas. Public transport kinda sucks though and the city is heavily car-brained- so many cars and big roads all over, it used to be called the “Motorway City of the 70s”. Feels like a British version of an American city for that reason. Leeds took the big L on public transport. Popular with students, good nightlife. As ever, poverty, deprivation and inequality are a problem. Despite its grandeur and liveliness, it’s not really a touristy city.
I personally like Manchester’s architecture but I think you have done a good job of describing it otherwise
I have contact with Hong Kong culture. Do the recently arrived Hong Kongers in the UK find much culture shock? I imagine the social liberalism (especially on sexual morals) in the UK and amplified 10x in London and these big cities can shock some/many ex-Hong Kongers.
I’ve met quite a few HKers here in Manchester. I think the ones moving here are more inclined to like the culture. I’ve heard people be surprised at how multicultural it is. There are difficulties with work and language for sure.
Not surprised, there was probably 20 years after the 1997 Handover when middle class Hong Kongers had been isolated from social developments in the UK. That generation was more interested in Japanese and Korean popular culture, so before they came to the UK they hadn’t realised the UK was no longer quite the popular depictions of the “white” one dating from the 1980s.
Berlin - capital, grumpy, interesting, techno, lots of recent history, poor but sexy, less cosmopolitan than it pretends to be. Hamburg - port city, people are a bit cold, but also cool. Munich - capital of Bavaria. Cultural antidote to Hamburg. Posh, beer, Oktoberfest, beautiful. Cologne - the fun one in the bunch. Known to be very open minded. Gay capital (even though Berlin wants that title, because Berlin wants all the things). Carnival, beer, party, warm people. Frankfurt - Transportation and finance.
>Frankfurt - Transportation and finance Aaaaand Crack
He already mentioned finance
Aaaaand Skyscrapers🏙
Yeah, he already mentioned finance...
>Cultural antidote to Hamburg. Posh As if Hamburg wasn't posh
Yeah, posh isn't what I would consider the antidote to be. I'm more referring to mentality. However, Munich is much more posh in general or embraces being posh much more.
It's not Munich or the inhabitants though, it's mostly the tourists who think that and visit.
Amsterdam: the capital and cultural heart. overrun by tourists and expats. Rotterdam: the working city. Largest harbor. More blue collar, more modern. The Hague: the court city. Government seat, filled with diplomats and embassies. Utrecht: Railway hub, university city. These four are essentially one large conurbation, the Randstad. Eindhoven: collection of villages that grew together during the industrial revolution, home to industry (Philips and DAF) and the leading technical university. And because the sixth city is my hometown: Groningen, capital of the North, kind of just did their own thing for the longest time. Larger than the 5 nearest Northern cities combined. University city for people who want to escape their parents. Too far away to be important.
>and the leading technical university I'd say Delft is more prestigious
Can confirm. Just wanted to add that Eindhoven and it’s surrounding villages (Veldhoven) are currently also known for being the HQ of ASML.
Where does Maastricht sit amongst the cities in The Netherlands? Is it culturally different?
Maastricht, regional center, bit off the beaten track, kinda like Gronigen. It differs in that it has a catholic tradition, much further south, seemed warmer for it.. but maybe that was just in my head.. more touristic, and with lots of great restaurants.
Maastricht is way smaller than all of those. It wouldn't be considered a city as much by Dutch people but more like a large town. I think Groningen is on the border of city/large town (stad/grote plaats). The town is internationally well known because the university is made up of a majority of foreign students, usually European. It makes sense because the region is squeezed right in between Germany and Belgium. The international connections are amazing because of that. Surrounding towns in the area are known for degrading because they were industry heavy and that has faded, thus less good jobs and more old people, Maastricht is different in that sense because the university provides a lot of young people. It's far away from the rest of the country but there is some beautiful nature and villages. It's also the most unitelligeable dialect for people from other parts of the country, but some people want the dialect to be recognised as its own language. The only mountains of the Netherlands can be found near Maastricht ;)
Rotterdam is on the news in other countries often for the wrong reasons, read things such as drug smuggling rings busted etc.
It's a harbor. Where else would drug smuggling rings be?
Yeah can confirm
Simplified version: Amsterdam: shit Rotterdam: shit The Hague: shit Utrecht: based Eindhoven: exists I guess?
i love them all 🥰👌👍
[Utereg, Utereg, kleinburgelijk moeras De wereld zou veel mooier zijn Als Utreg er nie was ](https://youtu.be/uG5xFtATkJU)
Even though I disagree with Joopie, I do think he touches on some good points about what can be wrong with Utereg
Here's my try. I don't know these cities super well, so let's see what others think. **Zurich**: The business hub of the country with a huge influence, lots of people from all over the country work there. Also has the biggest airport, major cultural events are hosted here and so on. Highest salaries but also the most expensive. A lot of young people move there for university or work. **Geneva**: known for the international organizations, French speaking and lots of French work in Geneva and commute across the border daily. I'm not Swiss French, but I assume Geneva is to them what Zurich is to a Swiss German. **Basel**: big Pharmaceutical industry is here, very close to Germany and they have a famous carnival **Lausanne**: the second largest French speaking city. But I can't tell you a single thing about it without searching the internet. I've only been here to transit to smaller towns along the Lake Geneva, such as Montreux **Bern**: the capital, close to the famous tourist areas (Interlaken etc), lots of federal organizations are here, has chill people
I feel Basel, Bern and Lausanne are quite similar. All of them are clearly centers with a lot of infrastructure and provide most things you could want. Zürich and Geneva though *feel* bigger. Zürich because it really is big and Geneva because it's punching over its weight. Both of them are truly international, while the other three are distinctly Swiss. (even Basel which is situated at French-German-Swiss border). Zürich and Geneva also don't overshadow the other three, as their "clientel" is different. Lausanne and Bern are two of the most important Swiss centers, Basel a trinational one, all of those are the backbones of the local economy. While Zürich also fullfills this role, it and Geneva are more geared towards the international trade/economy and often don't seem to care what happens in the rest of Switzerland
Zurich: real capital (if we like it or not - and we dont like it) Geneva: capital of French speaking part - nobody likes it Basel: the only good thing about it is the airport - and it‘s actually in France Lausanne: int. organisations and shit - or whatever Bern: Fake capital and too harmless to hate on We have to be neutral on the outside so we can at least shit on each other
Als Zürcher macht mich das fast chli emotional. Chönd aber gern sBundeshuus und all Politiker in Bern lah
This one is fun from a Latvian perspective. Riga, some 670k. The capital, both literally and figuratively the center of the country. More than half the country's economic output, this is the only large city with an international feeling, helped by having the country's only airport in regular operation. Beautiful medieval part and early 20th century architecture. Daugavpils, 80k. Second biggest city but far smaller than Riga. A stone's throw away from Lithuania and Belarus, it has an interesting history and has been a major Polish and Lithuanian city at some points in history, and a major center of Jewish life. Currently it's a culturally Russian city, with the Russian language dominant and much of the population more aware of events in Russia than in the rest of Latvia. The historic areas are very pleasant. Liepāja, 70k. On the western coast, it's a windy city with a significant harbor but it's mostly known as a city of music and culture. Young people can go there for music festivals, Liepāja is also very active in sports and hosts international competitions. The north has a very interesting part that started as a 19th century Russian military fortification and later was a major strategic base for Soviet forces. One of the most unusual places you could visit in Latvia. Jelgava, 55k. Historically an important city from the 16th century, Jelgava was pretty much completely destroyed in WW2. Except for a few buildings, it's unfortunately pretty ugly as the modern city was rebuilt by the Soviets from scratch. It has a quite decent university for its size so it somewhat of a student city. A significant amount of people work in Riga as it's close enough to commute by train. Jūrmala, 50k. This has been officially a city since 1959. It's a resort town that runs in a long strip along the coast and directly connects to Riga so for many practical purposes, this is a suburb of Riga. Jūrmala is about beaches, expensive houses and tourism. It was well known as a tourist city in the Soviet Union so quite a few rich Russians have summer houses here, or did before the war at least. The city's mayors usually end up in prison.
Paris (12M): I don't think I need to say much here. One of the most iconic and powerful cities in the world with all the French political institutions and a huge dose of culture and history. 1 french out of 5 lives there. Lyon (2.3M) : The culinary capital of France led by its bouchons (traditional restaurants). Many universities and research institutes. A bit hilly. UNESCO old town. Roman history. Marseille (1.7M) : Mediterranean Greek-founded port city with a bad reputation (crime). Extremely cosmopolitan (especially North Africans). Football is huge there. Huge rap scene that is a rival of the parisian one. Sunny Toulouse (1M) : The pink city often tops that rankings for the best cities to study or live in. Colorful and cozy. People have a good reputation. They like to say they have both the beach and the mountain but they're both 3 hours away by car. Airbus. Rugby culture as big if not bigger than football. Nice (1M) : My city. The capital of the French Riviera (most tourist and bigger airport after Paris). Greek-founded. Very italian-like city due to its particular history (has been french since 1860). Has been a tourist hotspot for centuries. Brings in artists just like celebrity millionaires. Older than average population and a pretty right-wing city. UNESCO site. Serves as entrance to Monaco and Cannes.
Poland was already mentioned but I may add some more things to that: 1. Warsaw - 1,8 million people and the capital city. Situated in the Masovian voivodeship, in the centre-east of the country on the Vistula river. -> It is a large and modern city and also the richest one in Poland. It is clearly and definitely the most important city in the country in vast majority of categories. It has one of the most notable business districts in the EU (and currently the tallest skyscraper of the EU is situated there). You can definitely feel the big city atmosphere there. In terms of architecture - apart from the aforementioned business district - it has an average-sized old town and also a lot of communist-era buildings. It is also known for its dark history during WW2 (it was almost totally destroyed). 2. Kraków (Cracow) - 800 thousand people. Situated in the south in the Lesser Poland voivodeship, also on the Vistula river. -> it is known for its amazing and quite big old town and the old royal castle. Old architecture is what makes it very popular among tourists (both domestic and international). It is known for its high cultural valors (sometimes even considered as the "cultural capital of Poland") and also for the fact that it hosts the oldest univeristy in Poland (Jagiellonian University). In general it used to be known as the city of "intelligentsia" and is still popular among students. It also used to be our capital city (before the title was transferred to Warsaw in 16th Century) 3. Wrocław - over 600 thousand people. Situated in the southwest, in the Lower Silesian voivodeship, on the Oder river. -> it is also known for its old architecture, having a lot of bridges and a number of interesting places. The city has a lot of German influence (it used to be German before WW2), especially when it comes to its architecture and history. Its modern-day population are mostly descendants of immigrants from other parts of Poland (who immigrated there after border shift after WW2), therefore it doesn't have that many specific local traditions. It is a fast-developing and quite rich city. 4. Łódź - also over 600 thousand inhabitants. Situated in the centre, in the Łódź voivodeship. -> It is known for its industrial past. It used to be a major hub for the textile industry. Its main attractions are therefore the remnants of that past (old factory buildings or old worker homes), alongside a very famous Piotrkowska street (surrounded by some more old architecture). The city is also somewhat known for its street art. But generally due to its very short history (the city started developing in the 19th Century) it doesn't really have many historic buildings. Therefore it is not popular among tourists. It is also depopulating quickly and often is the target of jokes in Poland (due to the fact that many buildings inside of it are run-down). 5. Poznań - over 500 thousand inhabitants. Situated in the west, in the Greater Poland voivodeship on the Warta river. -> it is also quite known for its old architecture (though not to the same extent as Kraków or Wrocław). It is generally rich and well-developed and also quite liberal for Polish standards. Poznań is also known (together with the entire Greater Poland region) for its unique culture and cuisine. One of the city's symbols are also the famous "Poznań Goats" - mechanical figurines of goats, placed on the City Hall's tower that butt heads every day at noon.
1. Budapest – the capital, its population is as large as that of the next 17 largest cities together, so obviously can't be compared to any other city within the country. [Pretty similar to other important European cities.](https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/9mcrsp/a_map_of_every_european_city/) It's the best known Hungarian city, I guess I don't have to introduce it. 2. Debrecen – an important industrial and university town, also centre of the Protestant church in Hungary, hence its nickname "Calvinist Rome". It has the largest Calvinist church building in Hungary. Debrecen lies on the Great Plain, which is the largest and flattest region of the country (kind of a boring landscape IMO but part of it is a UNESCO World Heritage site). The city has some delusions of being the second capital of Hungary, and while this claim has some basis (second largest population, second most important airport), the idea also seems to be encouraged by the ruling party because the city is its largest stronghold. 3. Szeged – the other important city on the Great Plain, more beautiful and better planned than Debrecen, mainly due to a flood in 1879 which basically acted as a giant "reset" button in its history. This means that its buildings are comparatively new, even its cathedral is from the 20th century, but since most of the city was rebuilt during a time when Hungary prospered, it has an atmosphere of grandeur reminiscent of much larger cities. Of all the county seats Szeged is the most similar to Budapest, albeit on a smaller scale. Szeged has the most hours of sunshine in in the country, earning it the nickname "City of Sunshine". It is an important cultural centre and university town. 4. Miskolc – although the city has a long history, when compared to similar-sized county seats it seems somewhat of an upstart, because the historical centre is noticeably smaller than that of the others (though, unlike Debrecen and Szeged, Miskolc has a small medieval castle, but not in the downtown). It lies where the mountains of Northern Hungary meet the Great Plain. Developed into a centre of heavy industry in the mid-20th century, the city fell on hard times after 1990 but managed to reinvent itself as a tourist destination, which was helped by the exquisite natural landscape around it (including a thermal spa in a natural cave). It is not widely thought of as a cultural centre, despite having the oldest theatre within the country's current borders, hosting one of the most important film festivals and being the home of the largest Hungarian opera festival for 20 years. 5. Pécs – with a history dating back to Roman times, the city is exceptionally rich in culture. You can still see remnants of its past as an early Christian town, as a medieval episcopal see and as a thriving city of the Ottoman Empire, but it also has a charming 19th century downtown like most Hungarian cities. When writing about the previous cities I've mentioned a castle, a cathedral, an airport, a thermal spa, a World Heritage site and mountains; other than Budapest, Pécs is the first on this list which has all of these. Like all the others on this list, it is an university town, but even its university is older than all the others in the country.
5 words* for each London - cosmopolitan, impressive, fast-paced, large, lonely Birmingham - fun, friendly, industrial, modern, parks Manchester - busy, good transport, building site, modern, large Glasgow - rough, industrial, happy, unintelligible, deep fried (love you, Glasgow :)) Liverpool - humour, crime, cultural, socialist, independent * Except where I need more to explain the concept
How would you describe Cardiff, Swansea and Newport? All I know is that Swansea and Cardiff have this known football rivalry.
Cardiff is one of my favourite cities in the UK. Good for shops. Great beer. Almost feels more of a 'European' city than a British one to me. Except for the very British/Welsh drinking culture! :) Swansea. Wouldn't be fair of me to comment as I've never visited Swansea itself, but some of the towns in the surrounding area are ... you'd not necessarily choose to visit them. Just say the Gower peninsula, nearby, is absolutely gorgeous. One of the nicest parts of the UK to visit. Newport. I have visited there, but never for very long. It feels like it's not that interesting a place to visit as a tourist, I usually just pass through on my way to Cardiff or Bristol tbh. Wrexham - small city, very industrial, was overlooked by most of the country until half of Hollywood decided they liked the football club. Don't have to go too far out of the centre for it to become *very* Welsh. Bangor - mad place. More like a small town than a city. University buildings are impressive from what I've seen, but it was a little run down when I went. Shame really, looks like it was really nice at one point
This is the first time I've seen positive adjectives used to describe Birmingham
The city centre has been massively redeveloped over the past 20 - 30 years. If you drive past it on the motorway you only see the post-industrial bits on the outskirts. I can only assume people think that the centre’s similar.
As someone who lives in Manchester, the pace of change has been crazy, so I’d have to have the word changing in there
Yeah, I work there - it's crazy, there's always like half a dozen buildings in the city centre being either knocked down or rebuilt.
Spot on really (although Leeds is larger than Liverpool)
Why is Manchester large?
Greater Manchester includes other towns and cities: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan
Dublin (~2 million metro): stabby, extremely high cost of living, nice city park, plenty to see and do,just on another level in terms of population and size coloared to the other 'cities' world famous Trinity college Cork (~400,000 metro) growing too quickly, modern, many islands, good marine biology university Limerick (~160,000 metro): average small city, sports university is very famous in ireland, built on the estuary of the largest river in ireland (Shannon river) Galway (~90,000 metro): very artsy, closest city to the largest Gaeltacht (Gaelic Irish speaking region), high cost of living, one of the worst cities in Europe for traffic compared to its size and population Waterford (80,000 metro): clean, fairly modern, safe, second closest port to mainland Europe so it gets a fair bit of commerce Remember ireland has a very low population due to.. history. Many of the cities in ireland wouldn't be called cities outside of it, or would at least be called very small cities.
Belfast (c.650,000 metro): full of history in particular recent history. Beautiful park around Stormont. Home place of the Titanic. Derry (c.230,000 metro): like Belfast in that is full of recent history. Beautiful medieval walls amongst the most impressive in Europe. Traditionally been very underinvested in by the various Unionist Governments and Westminster. It’s a city known for its murals. Home place of Derry Girls!
Belfast was absolutely splendid. I'd love to visit it again! Obviously I didn't include them as they aren't apart of the Republic 🥲
Agree its a lovely city; would recommend Derry if you haven’t been. Good museums especially the Bloody Sunday museum. (Not part of the Republic yet!😉)
Tiocfaidh ar lá
1-İstanbul: It's unimaginably crowded, expensive and, large. One probably has access to anything in their mind. It's also the most historically important city in the country, being our former capital. It also has the best schools in Turkey. 15.5 Million 2-Ankara: City of high-ranking bureaucrats, not incredibly significant historically except the Battle of Ankara against Timur; and the Ahi Order. Was the National Movement's capital during the War of Independence. Some areas of the city have grid planing which is rare for Turkish cities. Ankara also has very good schools but it's more higher education oriented. 5.6 Million 3-İzmir: A port city on the Aegean Sea, the people are known for voting CHP every election. It existed before as a crusader bastion but it grew larger in the 19th century surpassing many of the inland cities in the Aegean region. İzmirites are known to be nice and easygoing, they have their own words for some common things not found outside of the city. 4.3 Million 4-Bursa: The second capital of the Ottomans after Söğüt. Today it's an industrial city and most employment is in industry and service. It grew during the Early Republic unlike the other cities here. Attracts little tourism. It has a lot of monuments from the early Ottomans in it's center. The province of Bursa also has the city of Nicea in it which was where the council was held. I didn't really like how the city was kept. The historical center is in a bad condition and the way housing was handled is very poor. The city sadly has a lot of slums in it's periphery(like most cities on this list). 3 Million 5-Antalya: Developed a lot in the 90's when Turkey was opening up to tourism. Antalya is a city in the hands of the service sector. The resorts have the best parts of the shore. Resort owners are also said to have a lot of sway on local politics. The city of Antalya itself is a fairly nice city. It has a lot of history dating to the Romans. North of it's municipality houses the Taurus Mountains where Yörüks live. 2.4 Million
What’s the relationship between Bursa and Istanbul given they’re so close to each other?
They are just two cities fairly close to eachother. Western Anatolia is very populated so there are a lot of densely populated areas next to another one. Bursa and İstanbul have direct ferries and railways connecting eachother though if you're asking about that sort of connection. İstanbul's expansion did mean it ate up a lot of cities around it. Originally the city didn't really exist outside the area around the Golden Horn and the Theodosian Walls. It expanded a lot after industrialisation. Which is the reason a lot of İstanbul's municipalities retaining their name sounds funny because they are basically districts in a larger city now and they are called things like "Green Village" or "Albanian Village".
I was also thinking about shared economic activity. Like, people commuting between cities, etc.
I haven't heard of anyone who commutes from Bursa to İstanbul or vice versa, they aren't that close. Bursa has a large car and textiles industry in which the employees generally stay in Bursa to commute to work. Commuting to work in İstanbul while in the city is already very stress inducing and quite difficult, i can't imagine having to wake up every morning to commute to your work from Bursa. You'd hardly get any sleep! İstanbul gets commuters from some surrounding provinces like Kocaeli and Tekirdağ. There is a district in Kocaeli called Gebze which was basically swallowed whole by İstanbul and it's a place where people who commute make up a good portion of the population.
Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples and Palermo. They are extremely different cities, you'll never believe they belong to the same country. Rome: very chaotic and spread out, this is the city with the largest number of monuments in the world. Milan: a true world class cosmopolitan city, it's lively, modern, gray, expensive and polluted Turin: former industrial heart of Italy in decline, this criminally underrated city has grandiose and elegant buildings and boulevards, parks and plazas and costs way less than Milan Naples: a large, dirty, chaotic and lively city with a great historic centre, the city where pizza was allegedly invented and that has no doubt the best pizza in Italy. Palermo: a magnificent and elegant city with a unique Arab-Norman style, great monuments and the best street food in Italy. It's also dirty outside the centre and has a lot of unemployment
Madrid: lots of bureaucracy, museums and incredibly gentrified. Literally the centre of the country and they think Spain revolves around them. Barcelona: they think they are way more European than Madrid, lots of modernist buildings and very touristic. Valencia: it gets often overlooked, but it is very monumental and beautiful, they love fireworks, they think they make the most singular rice, although paella is pretty similar to several dishes all over the Silk Road. Sevilla: pretty and she knows it, they host the worst feria in Andalucía and still the most famous, perfect trap for tourists. Bilbao: it used to be considered ugly, not a lot of monuments, but pintxos are the best. Everybody loves basque people and their food.
In Poland the thing is that the difference between Warsaw and all other "big" cities is so enormous that others don't compare to it. Warsaw has more than twice the citizens than the 2nd - Kraków. So while Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław and Poznań feel similar when it comes to the "speed" of living, Warsaw is just on another level. And only Warsaw has metro hehe. I'm from Warsaw and all the other Polish cities just felt small to me. It's not the same caliber. I'm not saying that I don't like them, I loove Wrocław it's so beautiful ❤️ but they're not in the same category as Wawa.
Same for Bucharest vs the other big cities. Bucharest has 4 times the population of Cluj Napoca and comparing them is fairly common but futile in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, Cluj is extremely beautiful, same for Timișoara, Iași and Constanța (the 5 largest cities in Romania), but it doesn't take 2 hours to travel by car from one side of the city to the other. Bucharest is also the only one with a metro system (altough a metro line is being built in Cluj, but it will probably not be finished in my lifetime at the pace they are going right now). Bucharest is a city, a metropolis in its proper sense, while the others can arguably fall in the category of "town". As for how life is like....well, typical traffic jams, people walking really fast, lots of tall buildings, small buildings, malls and corner shops, food from various parts of the world, some multiculturalism, but not at the same level as London for example and that's kinda it. In Bucharest we struggle with hot water in some areas
We have an even larger difference: Budapest has a bit above 8 times the population of the second largest city, Debrecen. It's almost like the whole country is just the agglomeration of Budapest.
Same shit in Serbia. Belgrade is biggest city by far and all of the money goes to BG, everything else feels like wasteland.
You know what's weird for me. We have a lot of people in Bucharest. And by far. But if I count the people I met online, only a few of them are from Bucharest. That doesn't mean anything statistically, it just puts it into perspective how many of us are actually there (in general, not just Bucharest or Romania).
Well, roughly 1 in 10 Romanians is from Bucharest as far as I know
> In Poland the thing is that the difference between Warsaw and all other "big" cities is so enormous that others don't compare to it. Warsaw has more than twice the citizens than the 2nd - Kraków. If you think that's a huge difference, come to Austria. Vienna has 6,5 times the population of the second biggest city Graz.
England, London is 8.5x the size of Birmingham.
And Paris has more than 4 times the population of Marseille or Lyon.
Both Marseille and Lyon are smaller than Australia’s 3rd largest city (Brisbane). Marseille even the metro Marseille is about the same size as Auckland (New Zealand).
> u/rudyzwyboru why would you choose to be ginger?
Wroclaw is my #1 city in Poland. Used to live in Gdańsk, but Wroclaw is just so amazing.
Edinburgh: Castle. Tourists. Civil Servants. Glasgow: 'Friendliest city in the world', until they chib you. Aberdeen: Fur coat and nae knickers. Granite and oil. Dundee: Teen pregnancy and drugs capital. Paisley: Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Scotland looks beautiful from the pictures I’ve seen at least. I’d like to see a castle in person some day. Not likely anytime soon, funds are tight and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. Sadly. Might skip Paisley though, I’ve seen enough sketchy places in the US, once you have seen a few you’re not wanting to see more
>Might skip Paisley though What other town has both a pattern and an observatory, and also starts with a 'P'?
Copenhagen: Capital with capital vibe, everything important in the country from politics to historical to businesses to culture to the royals. Castles and other fancy buildings. Many high-rises, hundreds of thousands of bikes. It is the only real city we have. 1,4M inh. Århus: Large town which just about borders city. Nice place, many students, cultural hub. Likes to can itself"The smallest big city in the world." 367K inh. Odense: Large town. Very cosy, the vibe of an overgrown village. Tourism department is obsessed with their former inhabitant Hans Christian Andersen. Very much a student town. 210K inh. Aalborg: Large town in the northern rural region. Quite a lot of cultural events and museums. Known for being the place young people in that area go to to get drunk. 145K inh. Esbjerg/Randers/Horsens/Kolding/Vejle. All between 60K to 70K. I think Esbjerg is the largest of them right now. They each have their unique flavour. Esbjerg is traditionally a fishing, seafaring, and industrial town. Not much anymore.
Just moved away from Odense. Yes. Obsessed is an understatement!
I never quite understood the whole HCA / Odense obsession and pilgrimage. Especially since HCA moved to Copenhagen at age 14 where he remained to his death (except for some long foreign journeys).
Odense is a really dejlig by and I loved living there. But, HCA and his stories are known throughout the world so it attracts people. It is pretty cool that you can go into his childhood home and the room he was born in. Without it, I don’t think too many people would visit compared to now. I actually thought that he moved back to Odense later again, but Odense was of course just a small town back then and København was probably a more exciting place to live. But yeah, it feels like everything revolves around him!
All the others are absolutely classified as cities as well, not just towns. You say it yourself, Århus being the smallest "big city". These places are nowhere near town-status.
Towns and cities have many different definitions, and as such, people will never fully agree what a town is and what a city is. When I use city in English, I mean "storby". I only consider Copenhagen and Århus to be that. Mayyybe Odense and Aalborg on a good day.
1. Prague: it's its own thing, fast-paced, very international and touristy, but also full of Czech history. All of the important politics happen here. Actually, everything important in Czechia happens here, at least according to the people who live here 2. Brno: overall more chill than Prague, very much a student town. Lots of Slovaks. Basically just feels like a giant village. At any given point, huge parts of its infrastructure are under construction, which is probably true for any city, but Brno tends to be uniquely paralyzed by it 3. Ostrava: very industrial, oddly spread out, not much to see, but they have the best people in the country, who have a unique talent of expressing complex thoughts using solely swear words 4. Plzeň: never been, but its name is at this point synonymous with beer 5. Liberec: bigger town, nothing much seems to happen here. Lots of historical ties to Germany and formerly part of Sudetenland, so there's a lot of these pretty old German-style houses interspersed between ugly modern shopping centers. Tends to be around 5 °C colder than the rest of the country
my favourite czech city isn't in the top 5, it's Olomouc! wonderful place.,
Rome: the country's capital Milan: the money capital Naples: the pizza capital Turin: the fiat and Juventus capital Palermo: the cannoli capital
Belgrade (1.6M): The biggest city in Serbia and quite honestly the only important one. Everything that happens in Serbia in the cultural, political, entertainment aspect is happening here. It's also by far the richest part of Serbia and housing and living costs are unimaginable for an average Belgradian, let alone an average Serbian. Very cosmopolitan. Novi Sad (369k): The only other city where something is happening. It can also feel cosmopolitan and has some cool open minded people. Not as conservative because Vojvodina as a region is generally more progressive. Very nice looking city. Exit festival. Niš (250k): I've been in Niš so many times and I don't know how to describe it. You can feel provincial mindset, but it is still a large city. Not much goes on here. When people from the south need to go to some specialist doctor or want to buy something rarer they come to Niš. It almost became the first city to vote out ruling SNS party, but alas, they always somehow win. Kragujevac (171k): The least important "big" city. Really nothing comes out of here. Many are suprised to learn that it is the fourth largest city in Serbia. Subotica (124k): One of the most beautiful cities in our country. It has a unique style, a central-european vibe and it is super diverse. You can find Serbs, Hungarians, Croats, Jews... living there and their presence is shown through its architectural style. Very close to the Hungarian border.
You obviously have no idea about life in cities outside Belgrade, saying nothing is going on anywhere outside Belgrade. Just for example i'm from Gornji Milanovac, small town of 24,000 in central Serbia. And there is a lot of things going on even here, we have the worlds biggest biennial of miniature arts, several music festivals (just last week of classical music, before that World music festival with foreign musicians) and next week the biggest reggae festival in Serbia (Natural Mystic) on the hill overlooking the city. And that is just a small bit of life here, you have strong industry (factories of Swedish Tetra Pak, Japanese Kansai Helios, local Metalac, Swisslion Takovo and many others companies), good sports infrastructure, and city lead in Serbia in every aspect of green energy implementation (biomass heating plant, selection of waste for recycling, modern landfill, waste water treatment plant, most of that is nonexistent in over 80% of Serbia, Belgrade just throw all feces into rivers without treatment). Just one small glimpse, and there is more to each of those cities.
That’s really interesting to hear. Being from the Netherlands there really is nothing happening in most smaller towns and cities so if it wasn’t dor your comment I’d just have believed the other one in a heartbeat. My town is about the same size as yours, and besides the summer market we really don’t have any interesting cultural activities. I mean, we don’t even have any bars or whatever left. About ten closed down over the last decade leaving us with two, all mainly for the elderly since a lot of young people have left the region as well.
Here most of cities have many similar activities during the year. For example nearby city of Čačak (around 70,000) today and tomorrow have big [Wine festival](https://youtu.be/P5PIaQxEvDQ?si=O5J8Lkie8TCvCHWi) (this is a video from last year's edition) and Kragujevac (mentioned above) had big music rock festival (Arsenal fest) two weeks ago, you basically every week can find similar activity around Serbia.
That’s really cool! Good to see such cultural activity still very much exists in Europe! (:
I am from a small town from the south. From Pirot (~50k people) to be exact and when I tell you that nothing is going on here, I really mean it. Like yes, we do have one of the biggest Michelin factories in the world, but I wouldn't call people going to work everyday something that is interesting here. We have a few bars and there are the same parties every now and then, but other than that it's dead. We get one decent artist performing here once or twice a year and a fair for peglana kobasica and that's it. But in Belgrade, you can find many different kinds of entertainements and hobbies for deifferent tastes. Most of the actors, actresses, movies and shows come from there etc. There are just more options for those who do not fit into classical Serbian person. We also have sports infrastructure and it's actually quite good, but then again, nothing special. And of course it's gonna be easier to manage sewage for 24k than for 1.6M. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way defending Belgrade. It is terribly managed, but that's the case with most towns here. I'm probably explainig this very badly as I am tired, but you can't deny that bigger city provides much more opportunities that are just non existant in smaller towns. And this is especially true in this highly centralised country.
I'm not even saying that bigger cities are not better, i was responding to a comment where he was presenting other cities as some boring dead places. Actually you have diverse activities outside of Belgrade, and i don't know for Pirot but my city have very good organized cultural center so you have [modern cinema](https://www.kcgm.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/17.jpg) that play all latest movies (and the ticket is dirt cheap-2 euros), they organize different concerts or theater plays weekly. My town have drastically smaller budget and still built water treatment plant 30 years ago, it's not about the size since even this system is very expensive and it cost 3-4x of total budget of our municipality so it is actually harder to build it in small communities. Belgrade on the other hand have big budget but still is not even trying to build that plant.
I was talking more about people and social life. And in my opinion, other than Belgrade, places feel monotonous and same. Infrastructure is crumbling all across Serbia, with some exceptions, so that's kind if a given. I may have wrongly assessed situation in other cities, sorry to smaller cities.
Bucharest: Romania's capital, party hub, very high income Cluj-Napoca: Hip Transylvanian town, student buzz. Timisoara: architecture, culture Iasi: cultural gem, university Constanta: Coastal getaway, sun and sea vibes Worth a mention: Sibiu, Brasov, Oradea, Craiova, all cool places
Cluj is magnificent, was there recently, buzzy city. Great nightlife, sensationally beautiful ladies
I’d argue the economy of Cluj is different. Both higher prices and salaries in Cluj. And I’m from Bucharest
Cluj feels like the inequality is higher. High income concentrated in 2 3 industries. Bucharest, at least for me, looks like high income all around
Hmm, agreed yeah. The median salary is like double for Bucharest compared to the rest of the country. It’s like it’s another country . However since I’m a programmer in an IT bubble, for us Cluj is kinda better at most things even when it comes to remote jobs. But a lot of IT people remain in Bucharest because there’s way more jobs and job security due to less startups and way bigger companies on average
The thing is, in Bucharest even social relations are better. You can have a girlfriend working in another sector and it wont be such a difference in income. People say money dont matter but they do longterm. And they poison social and even couple relationships. As for another country, also yes. Bucharest is above EU average and also EU median (I guess).
1. Rome: very chaotic, with bad drivers. The political and cultural centre of Italy, a terrible city for its inhabitants, and quite rundown. A lost gem. People there have a distinct accent, which some find funny, some obnoxious. Tourists now own the city centre, a story like Barcelona. 2. Milan: the capital city of the North, our own New York. The economic heart of Italy. People aren't very friendly compared to other cities, the mentality is very business oriented. Italian salaries but swiss prices; it's impossible to rent an apartment close to the centre. 3. Neaples: the capital city of the South. Many areas are no-go zones, it's filled with criminality, but Neapolitans love their identity. Many jokes throughout Italy are about Neaples or neapolitans. A city filled with passion but with extremely big problems 4. Turin: the former main industrial city of Italy, it's basically our rust belt. All the factories that were there shaped the city, but they collapsed or ran away during the years. It still remains a beautiful city which is very underrated by the tourists, and Italians too. 5. Palermo: all the populations that went through this city left their mark, so you can find greek, Roman, Arabic and Germanic style buildings, which make it beautiful. Like Neaples, it's poverty ridden, and here too there are some no-go zones. It is the heart of Sicily, and it is very sad that some parts of the city are very much left behind.
That all sounds rather negative
I think Italy has a big problem in adapting to the future. This is a trend in every aspect of Italian life, our society seems stuck in the '90s. We went from being one of the world leaders in innovation to dreaming about how good we were in the past, crying that everything is shitty and not doing anything about it. It seems like at some point everyone said "okay, our life is good as it is, let's not do anything anymore". And that is fully reflected in our major cities. Tourists don't see this, and clearly, why would they care. But Italians feel it. Obviously this is my personal opinion, and I say this from the statistics I've read, from the other countries I've been to and from what I've seen from my birth to this day in this country.
1. Moscow – capital of the country, by far the richest and populous city with lots of tall buildings and developed public transport (lots of metro stations, electrobuses, 4 airports and 9 railway stations). 2. Saint-Petersburg – "cultural capital" with lots of monuments, rainy weather, narrow streets, old and low houses in the centre and the most "extraordinary population" consuming extreme amounts of "salt" 😉. 3. Novosibirsk – "capital of Siberia" – relatively new city (like 130 years) known as scientific city due to its Academgorodok. 4. Yekaterinburg – "gates to Asia" city located in Urals and I'd call it "liberal capital of Russia". It's known due to Yeltsin and his center and Roizman (former liberal mayor that left the country and author of countless memetic quotes in X) 5. Nizhniy Novgorod – the richest city after Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, known as industrial city producing transport, electronics and other stuff
By "salt" you mean something like, you know, "snow" or "flour"? Hahahaha
Like coke or Pepsi I’m thinking
Kyiv - the capital and by far the most important city, good with techno music Kharkiv - science hub and former capital, pretty big in IT, good with local blue-collar hip-hop music Odesa - imagine 1M Florida people within French architecture slightly damaged by the USSR. The top 3 biggest ports are there, so it is an import and export hub, good with a "50 greatest Jewish song covers" CD compilation bought at a local bazaar Dnipro - our Manchester, center of metallurgy. Good with heavy metal music. Lviv - our cultural centre (Odesa people think otherwise), tasty food and growing IT cluster. Good with Centre European classical music.
Lviv looks so pretty in pics
amazing everyone has a manchester, ours is Lodz
Vienna: Used to be the heart of Europe and it somewhat still is. Beautiful architecture and amazing history. Graz: A UNESCO World heritage-city with a beautiful city-centre. Linz: Linz has always been a city of industry and labour. A city that provides more jobs than it has inhabitants and therefore a city that is the driving force for an entire region. Nowhere near cities like Salzburg, Graz and Vienna when it comes to being a beautiful city but it‘s still completely fine. Salzburg: There’s basically no need to say something. One of the most beautiful cities in all of europe. Innsbruck: Basically the same as in Salzburg. Being surrounded by those big mountains is absolutely amazing.
for Finland: 1. Helsinki(including espoo/vantaa) 1.3 million people, it's the undisputed capital and where most young people want to live, has most of the usual big city stuff and is the most "international" city. Some people claim espoo and vantaa are cities too, those people are wrong. 2.Tampere 340.000 people, former industrial city(linen), now a rather nice place to live, big lakes and lot of nature nearby while still having the convenience of a bigger city. 3. Turku, 277.000 people, former capital and biggest "swedish speaking"town, more historic buildings, bigger harbour, not as pupular any more nowadays. 4. Oulu 205.000, most northern bigger city, mostly university town nowadays, super boring center. 5. Jyvaskylä 119.000 people, university town, never been there since unless you are born there or studying you really don't go there.
> Turku, 277.000 people, former capital and biggest "swedish speaking"town What do you mean by this? Even Helsinki has a higher share of Swedish speakers, which is not that much.
i was actually surprised it wasn't the biggest swedish speaking town, but i guess from a historic view was, just has changed more than i expected.
Bratislava - biggest city, as cosmopolitan as it can get with little less than 500k people. home to most government entities and most valuable Slovak companies and international companies’ regional offices. Kosice - second biggest city. what’s not in Bratislava is in Kosice. Presov - third biggest city, but since everything is in Bratislava or Kosice, there’s nothing interesting in Presov. Is regional capital to the poorest region in Slovakia. Zilina - fourth biggest city. is actually kinda nice compared to Presov, but it’s a regional capital to a region famous for inbred hillbillies in Kysuce, ultrareligious people in Orava and lots of nationalistic people all around… Nitra - fifth biggest city, was important historically, one of the centers of Great Moravia, nowadays is known as the only regional capital without a proper railroad.
are they even cities haha villages
Slovenia: Ljubljana (around 300k): economic center of the country, very touristy, lots of events, is very expensive to live Maribor (94k): used to be industrial city, then faced economic downfall, now is slowly getting better. A lot of renovation going on in the center. Known for its football team. Celje (37k): known for its history and castle. Kranj (37k): beautiful nature around, good economy Koper (25k): it has only commercial port, it used to be an island
London - the whole world is there, and everything you could ever hope to find in a city. Samuel Johnson's line about "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" is still to the point . Although the place itself can be pretty tiring too... Birmingham - underrated, but also underdeveloped since the industry slimmed down. Not beautiful and damaged by highways (some of the 1960s civic vandalism has at least been undone) but still an interesting and appealing place. Manchester - full of attitude, too much of it (maybe not quite as bad as Liverpool in this regard but it's a close-run thing), effectively the second cultural city of England and the third of the UK. Not pretty and really could do with a river (same applies to Brum). Glasgow - intensely energetic and creative and cultural with a kind of good-natured aggression prevailing. Probably the best parks of any British city (let's say joint equal with London). The culinary culture is a bit tragic and life-shortening unfortunately, and as for some of the pubs .. Leeds - I barely know the place but regret how its proximity has sucked the life out of Bradford, which despite a terrible reputation has some of the finest architecture of any British city as well as much else of interest
I'm gonna apply music genre's to each city, for no reason. **Stockholm**: Capital and about double the size in population as the second city. Highlife, fashion and techy. Pop music. **Göteborg**: My hometown! Home of Volvo and industrial shipyards, busiest port in the Nordic. Humor and alternative music is high here, so I'd say it's a bit artsy? Rock music. **Malmö**: Most diverse city in Sweden. The Öresund brigde and proximity to Copenhagen gives them connection to Denmark and continental Europe. Rap music. **Uppsala**: Major student city and the oldest of these five. Academics on their high horse. Disco music. **Helsingborg**: I don't know to much about this city, although I'd figure they have a little brother-complex with Malmö, considering they're both in the southern county of Skåne. Reggie music.
Helsingborg is 8th though, not 5th. Västerås, Örebro and Linköping are bigger (in that order)
You're probably right here, my bad!
Moscow - a separate country St. Petersburg - a center of salt production and culture Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk - ordinary cities, I don't know what special can be highlighted. Kazan - fairly developed, many osquitoes , if there are news about new real production, then it is definitely news from Kazan, I want the leadership of Tatarstan to rule all of Russia.
TATARSTAN SUPER GOOD Greetings from a dane with tatar roots.. :)
The song about the robot vodyanoi was catchier, though.
Full of Z people
ГОООООООООООООЛ 🐻 !
Zurich, Basel and Geneva are very cosmopolitan, Lausanne I don't know and Bern so-so; more than smaller cities, but not really a melting pot. These five all have very pretty historic centres. Zurich is not as loud and fast and spectacular than it thinks it is. Zurich is trying very hard. I always feel a bit overwhelmed, underdressed and not cool enough, though. But in fact, it is very conformist because you can't make bucks if you can't advertise yourself. Basel is culturally very rich, lots of museums and theaters, always something goin' on. It is absolutely as spectacular as it thinks it is. Which is not *that* much, because Basel knows when to shut up. Very artsy vibes, a bit excentric. Bern is a very, very big village. Seems to have more stereotypical tourists than the other places. Many students, very progressive. Geneva, I haven't been there often enough to really give an impression. It feels like a very generic big city. Probably one of the more cosmopolitan cities here because of all the expats and international organisations. Lausanne is chill, I guess. Many students. The topography is cool.
Helsinki: capital, biggest city by far. Home of the president and parliament, most of government agencies, lots of jobs, people, 3 universities, biggest and best museums, and so on. Also a big port and the biggest airport. Tampere: second biggest and growing. Historically an industrial city. The centre is packed between two lakes. Railway hub, university, tech, capital of chicken wings and blood sausage. Turku: beautiful port city and gateway to a massive archipelago. Historical capital city and the oldest city of Finland. Also a university city. Huge in maritime and biotech industries. Oulu: biggest in the north. IT hub with a university. Don't know too much about it to be frank. Jyväskylä: in the lakelands, surrounded by lakes and beautiful nature, even if the city isn't that pretty. Relatively big student hub for its size. Along with the other four, also a university city. Home to Rally of Finland.
Helsinki (664 000) the capital and by far the largest city. Some people consider it to be totally different from the rest of the country, to me it seems like there’s almost everything you can find in other cities, just more of it. It became important only during the Russian rule and has a lot of buildings reminiscent of St. Petersburg. It’s by the sea and has lots of nice islands. Most of the important institutions in the country are there. Espoo (305 000) part of the Helsinki metropolitan area, also part of the Helsinki metro system somewhat controversially. Consists of several former villages and lacks a city structure. To me as an outsider seems to lack clear identity apart from Helsinki. Rich, tech companies, a good university. Tampere (249 009) the actual second city of Finland. A former major industrial city, the Manchester of Finland. Seems dynamic and not afraid to try new things. Lovely museums. Nice old industrial buildings converted into cultural spaces, it’s a good idea to do your industrialisation in the 19th century. Vantaa (243 000) also part of the Helsinki metropolitan area and lacking clear urban structure and identity to outsiders. Poorer than Espoo. Oulu (212 000) the only city in the northern half of Finland (unless you count Rovaniemi which is small but has huge regional importance) and it isn’t even that northern. Windy, tech companies, used to be dominated by a religion that hates fun, a certain arctic madness that leads people to host air guitar world championships. As Helsinki, Vantaa and Espoo are sort of the same entity, the next two cities: Turku (197 900) sort of the old capital from the times when Finland wasn’t independent and the capital was Stockholm but was the biggest city and the most important administrative centre. It hasn’t forgotten the past and is slightly annoyed that everything important was moved to the “fishing village in the east”. Everything new used to come to Finland through Turku, like forks, but is a bit slow these days. Turku and Tampere started planning new tram transport around the same time. Tampere has been riding on the trams for a few years while Turku is thinking about appointing a committee. Two major medieval buildings which is more than any other place in Finland, at least I couldn’t think of any other. A lovely river surrounded by old buildings, very nice in summer. It’s sheltered from the sea by a massive archipelago and has a more moderate climate than much of Southern Finland. Jyväskylä (146 000) nicknamed the Athens of Finland due to its reputation of education and it’s still an important university city. All of the PE teachers in Finland are trained there, or at least used to be. A big portion of the population are students and it feels young. Has a lake in the middle. Not very interesting for tourists unless you love rally racing or the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. I’ve lived four of the seven largest cities but tried to be slightly impartial.
Zagreb - cosmopolitan city with a lot of different subcultures, political and social currents and visible immigrant communities (mostly Asian); kind of very average as far as larger European cities go, and certainly the only place in Croatia that can pass as a "larger European city" anyway. Split - incredibly beautiful Mediterranean tourist hotspot in the city centre, absolute concrete jungle outside of it; the locals are crazy and the tourists there (mostly young and eager to party) seem to be getting crazier and crazier each year - take these opinions with a grain of salt though, because I am from Zagreb and the rivarly between the two cities probably skewes my perception. Rijeka - very odd Central European looking Mediterranean port city, and just weird in general; usually stereotyped as the most liberal place in Croatia, but I don't know if that is an intentional choice of the locals there or just a natural consequence of the fact that weirdos flock to that city like moths to flame. Osijek - laidback, tidy and very green city out in the far east of Croatia, certainly the least known major city in the country; flies under the radar for international visitors and seems to be a desirable place to live - however, the job market and wages there aren't very competitive compared to the other big cities, and the vast swamps that surround the place turn it into a humid jungle during the summer months. Zadar - kind of like Split's younger brother (though it might actually be several thousand years older than it); most of the stuff said for Split apply here as well, except that it is smaller, the tourist crowds in the summer are more managable, and (personal opinion) the locals seem more friendly, if a bit more simple and small-town minded as well.
Berlin is vibrant, known for its history, culture, and especially the nightlife. It has a diverse population and numerous parks. However, it can be crowded and some people say it's kinda dirty. Hamburg is a major port city with beautiful canals and a rich maritime heritage. Its cultural scene is lively, but the weather is often rainy, and it can be expensive to live in. Most millionaires out of these cities. Munich offers a mix of traditional Bavarian culture and is close to the Alps with lots of lakes around it. It is the safest city in Germany but known for the highest rents out of these cities. It has the highest share of immigrants/people with migrational background (40+%) but a less diverse nightlife compared to Berlin. Cologne is famous for its cathedral and the carnival. The city (besides the tourist spots) itself is quite ugly though, probably the ugliest out of all of them. The area surrounding it is also quite ugly and often run down. One of the poorest/ugliest cities (Duisburg) is pretty close. Frankfurt is a global financial hub and the only city with "real" skyscrapers and a skyline, but also has some older/medieval-ish buildings. The central station and airport have good connections. It is diverse but can feel business-oriented and the area around the central station has a huge problem with drug addicts.
frankfurt, never seen anything like it drugs wise. Mad place
Brussels (±1,2M): quite small for a capital city, a lot of bubbles formed by the different nationalities who live there, also a clear divide between richer and poorer neighbourhoods, has some surprisingly beautiful spots if you know where to find them, known for the greenery surrounding the region (Sonian forest for example), obviously also capital of the EU so a lot of European diplomats live there (I grew up in the Brussels region so I may be a bit biased...) Antwerp (±500k): actually the biggest city in both population and size (Brussels consists of 19 separate municipalities), one of the biggest ports in Europe so a lot of industry, cocaine capital of Europe, the inhabitants are stereotyped to be a bit full of themselves (calling the rest of the country a 'parking lot to Antwerp' for example, but mostly in good jest), nice historical centre with lots of small alleyways to wander, one of the most multicultural cities in Europe (about 200 different nationalities) Ghent (±250k): one of the cities that attracts a lot of tourists, has some nice medieval buildings (Gravensteen castle for example), is the biggest left wing bastion in Flanders, fairly young and hip, many Flemish pupils go on school trips to Ghent when they're around 15-16 years old Charleroi (±200k): used to have a lot of industry and coal mining, suffered a lot from economical decline in the 70's but is recovering, usually seen as the ugliest city in Belgium, only city in this list without its own university (but has some campuses from other universities), home to the second largest aeroport in Belgium (after Brussels). I haven't been there yet so can't really say any more Liège (±200k): also suffered some economical decline like Charleroi but has recovered quite well I think, most important city in Wallonia from an economic perspective, known for Liège waffles and syrup, centre is nice for a walk, but I also haven't spent a lot of time there yet I have only lived in Brussels and Antwerp from this list, so my knowledge on the other cities is not that expansive. I am also Flemish, so I naturally know more about the Flemish cities on this list since Belgian media are separated by language.
Bulgaria: 1.Sofia-capital and biggest city, political and business centre, all institutions, the most cultural activities 2. Plovdiv-second biggest, amazing architecture and one of the oldest cities in Europe, European capital of culture of 2019, definitely recommend visiting 3.Varna-third largest and biggest port city 4. Burgas-second largest Bulgarian city on the Black Sea Coast, next to many resorts and small historic towns 5.Ruse-biggest city of the Danube in Bulgaria, old architecture of historic centre, dubbed Bulgarian Vienna because of its city centre
Stockholm - 1,6 million. Capital, largest and most important city of Sweden for more than 700 years. Especially nowadays since almost 1/4th of Swedes live in the metropolitan area, so it's the centre of pretty much everything. Big metro for its size. Richest and most expensive. Göteborg - 605k. Industrial port city and the hometown of Volvo. Young city compared to the other on the list (founded 1621). Largest port in the Nordics. Thanks to it's industry the city has recently been having more economic success than the other cities in this list. Known for its humor and friendly locals, who insist it's nicer than Stockholm. Malmö - 324k. The most continental city and has some unique growth opportunities for its size thanks to its location close to Copenhagen and the continent. More of a cultural and artsy city. Way nicer than what you usually hear on the internet. Uppsala - 164k. The most historic of the cities on this list. Has been the religious centre of Sweden for more than a millennia, for both christians and the norse. Also has the oldest university in the Nordics and is the main university town of Sweden (together with Lund). The population is booming and has been doing so for decades. Västerås - 129k. It's been a long time since it was relevant. Has been voted the ugliest in Sweden. Founded a surprising amount of big companies (ABB, H&M, Ica). During the 60-70s hundreds of thousand of Finns migrated to Sweden and Västerås ended up being one of the main recipient of Finns (including my grandparents). As such there's some Finnish influence in the city.
I don't know about nicer. It's a bit grittier, less fancy, but at least it's on the front side.
1. Praha (1,3M) - capital with roots in Middle Age. Very popular among foreign tourists for historical buildings and vibe. Dense traffic so better to use metro (only one in country) 2. Brno (380k) - also quite old city with higher traffic. As in Prague expensive rents. 3. Ostrava (290k) - my city. Former industrial heart of country. Rest of the country slightly despise the city. Not so much historic buildings (city grew just after coal mines were created and some neighborhoods were built after WWII). Surprisingly lot of green places. IMHO younger folk isn’t so different from other cities. Venue of biggest music festival with famous interprets. 4. Plzeň (172k) - never been there, but more historical than Ostrava. Associated with beer. 5. Liberec (104k) - also never been there. Close to mountains and not so nice downtown 6. Olomouc (100k) - university city, with older architecture.
Denmark.. the 6th largest city has 61K inhabitants… Only Copenhagen and maybe Århus can be considered big by any other countrys standards. It would take me a few hourrs to show a tourist everything Århus has to offer. Copenhagen is just 5 times larger.
This is strange to me, because I always imagined denmark would have more high population cities than Norway since you have less land. Copenhagen is way bigger than Oslo, so one would Imagine Esbjerg would be bigger than Drammen.
There’s about a million more Danes than Norwegians, but Norway has so much more space. It seems that the average size of cities are about the same :-)
I had imagined we had more cities; perhaps it’s still true but the population drops of significantly quicker than in Danish cities
Yep.. that’s probably just because of the slightly lower overall population. I thought more people lived in larger cities, but it seems that a significant portion of the population live in really small communities. There is a certain truth to: if you want to be (left) alone, move to a big city.
Ah, but remember, Denmark is fairly flat. You can build pretty much everywhere. You don't have to limit yourself to the bottom of valleys or along the edge of a fjord.
Bucharest. Like Paris. With shittier public transport. Though, you might feel a lot safer in general compared to the French capital. It's got ugly part, it's got very nice parts, but people generally don't want to spend summers there because the concrete in the city can reach 50+ Celsius Cluj. Like Bucharest but with shittier public transport because no metro system. And higher rental costs. Might or might not run into separatists on the streets. If you do, mandatory scream TRANSYLVANIA IS ROMANIA!. Iasi, like Cluj, but with shittier public transport. Not such a big problem with real estate. It starts to become really cosmopolitan, attracting many foreign businesses. Constanta, like Iasi, but with a beach. Rentals might or might not be a problem depending on how close to the beach you want to live. Ploiesti. Like Constanta, without a beach and shittier public transport.
Bucharest, amazing nightlife
Depersonalised, ugly as fuck, crowded as fuck, dangerous as fuck. Some even manage not to be postindustrial hellscapes
Warsaw: Relatively modern, skyscraper city, great nightlife, cool architecture, safe, clean, nice river boulevards, growing non stop. The metropolis of Central Europe. Quite simply home of best place every Plan B. Krakow: Historic, architecturally beautiful, overtourism but great restaurants, surrounded by wonderful places and only 2 hours to biggest mountains in Poland. Lodz: Polish manchester, post industrial, but there's beauty in them old mills and brick factories. Real Poland, real people, edgy Poznan: a bit boring Gdansk: A beauty on the coast, everything that is cool about Poland
**Athens**: Approximately 3.15 million population. The biggest city in Greece. Full of history with some iconic monuments like the Acropolis. Lots of options for entertainment, and for job opportunities. Most of the people in Greece looking for better job opportunities are moving to Athens. Although it is difficult to find proper housing due to high demand and high prices, it has problems with cleanliness and with traffic. **Thessaloniki**: Approximately 1.01 million population. It is considered the student city of Greece having the biggest University in Greece (Aristotle University). It has a big student population, very good quality of food, and great nightlife. The biggest problem of the city is the lack of infrastructure in many areas. **Patras**: Approximately 250,000 population. Also a big student city with one of the biggest carnivals in Europe which every year attracts thousands of people. Also a significant port serving as a gateway to Western Europe. It plays a crucial role in trade and transportation. **Heraklion**: Approximately 211,370 population. Is the biggest city on the island of Crete. Beautiful Beaches and Natural Scenery: The surrounding region offers beautiful beaches and stunning natural landscapes, making it a popular destination for tourists seeking both cultural and recreational experiences. Heraklion Archaeological Museum: One of the most important museums in Greece, it houses an extensive collection of Minoan artifacts, offering insights into the ancient civilization that flourished in Crete. **Larissa**: Approximately 174,912 population. It is considered as the coffee city of Greece. It has the most coffee shops in Greece. Economic and Agricultural Hub: Larissa is situated in the fertile Thessalian plain, one of Greece's primary agricultural areas. The city is a major center for agricultural production, particularly known for crops like wheat, cotton, and tobacco.
Amsterdam: Probably the least Dutch city in the entire country. Massively gentrified in recent years and filled with expats who sometimes don’t seem to appreciate the city’s cultural heritage. Locals often refuse to go to some parts of the inner city because they’ve been taken over by tourists. It’s also incredibly diverse, which comes to light in its vibrant local culture. It’s a bit of a bubble but definitely worth a visit. Rotterdam: Niet lullen maar poetsen (roughly translates to “stop messing around and start working”) is the city’s unofficial motto. It’s effectively Amsterdam’s opposite when it comes to mentality. People sometimes call Rotterdam the only real city in NL because of its modern architecture and massive port. Rotterdam is also very diverse and is the beating heart of the Dutch working class. Den Haag: Our de facto capital. People here are (seemingly) either very posh, or the complete opposite. It feels a bit more provincial than Amsterdam and Rotterdam but it’s still a very nice city. It’s also right on the beach. DH is one of the more underrated Dutch cities imo. They probably have the most iconic city anthem in the country (O O Den Haag) Utrecht: What everyone wants Amsterdam to be like. Great city, beautiful architecture, relaxed vibe and not many tourists. I sometimes call it the vanilla city of the Netherlands (in a positive way). It’s very well connected to the rest of the country due to its central location. It’s one of our main student cities and also definitely worth a visit. Eindhoven: Never really been there, but this is the only city here outside of the Randstad (main metropolitan area). Eindhoven de gekste (Eindhoven the craziest) is a phrase you often hear people say. I heard it has some good nightlife and it’s the only city here that celebrates Carnaval (tropical carnaval in Rotterdam not included). It’s also the main technological hub of the country (sorry Delft).
Expensive as Hell, Busy as Hell, Hell, Shit and has a small version of the tube. That'd be my quick summations of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow.
There's Moscow, in the ligue of it's own. Well developed, thriving, huge, beautiful and ugly, always busy, clean, safe and cruel. The main issue is housing, it's just impossible for an ordinary muscovite to buy an apartment. Nevertheless the city is very special and beautiful. And you have to be as special as Moscow to be really happy here. Other cities are Saint Petersburg (this city is without a doubt number two), Kazan, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Ufa, Omsk, etc (I know it's more than four, but these cities are more or less comparable). Generally nice, housing is more affordable, there could be some issues in important areas like healthcare or education, but if you're a bit above average are just great places to live.
Jerusalem- huge and mountainous, some parts are pretty modern while other parts look like an average third-world town. Kind of a mess both demographically and administratively. Significantly more conservative than the national average. But has a unique charm. Tel-Aviv- the economic and cultural center. Very modern, international coastal city, many tall buildings but also old districts. Super progressive. Strong night life scene. Haifa- the industrial center, the city of tolerance, and the center of the north. super chill, mountainous but also coastal, lots of nature and wildlife around. diverse demographics. Almost no tall buildings(and 0 skyscrapers). Rishion Letzion- considered one of the best cities in Israel in terms of quality of life, just overall a great city although super boring for tourists. Technically has like 5km of coastline but in actuality it's not coastal. Much younger than the top 3(est. 1882) Petah Tikva- the joke amongst locals is that it doesn't exist, mainly because despite being the 5th largest city and in a rather central location, there is pretty much nothing notable to say about it except maybe that it has a lot of hospitals.
I love that every country has a nonexistent place. For us Hungarians it's Lake Balaton, for Germans it's Bielefeld, for Italians it's Molise... :D
New York: 8,550,405 Los Angeles: 3,971,883 Chicago: 2,720,546 Houston: 2,296,224 Philadelphia: 1,567,442 New York is nice tbh Los Angeles I know is hot and crowded Chicago is okay but crowded Houston is pretty nice I've heard Philadelphia is my sworn enemy as a yinzer. They will fall. /j
So you actually do wanna be part of the old world after all?
London - overpriced, overcrowded, gentrified, crazy people, poverty, museums, knife crime, gangs, politicians, sex offenders Birmingham - drugs, poor, kebab shops, immigrants, crime, drug crime, greyness Leeds - drugs, rough, blokey, prostitutes, drugs, partying, fighting, fat people, car accidents Manchester - drugs, homeless, smackheads, prostitutes, coke heads, Ed sheeran, scammers, rain Liverpool - drugs, cocaine, gangs, lefties, street hustle, fraudsters, tough women