Oh, you won't catch me slagging New York, as fond of Chicago as I am.

rick derris wrote:

QUOTE:
ok

my top 5

dublin
singapore
moscow
istanbul
charleston SC

sad to miss barcelona, dallas TX, London, helsinki, corsica, sienna and KL

Er, I may have to give you some abuse over this.

London
New York
Havana
Liverpool
Bath
Budapest
Mustique
New Quay (Wales) harbour
Bilbao
A waterfall in the mountains in West Wales that I would love to track down again
Turin (When I was 13)
St Tropez (similar age)
Dorsington (as of this weekend)

QUOTE:
Herefordshire/Powys borders. Has Hay-On-Wye and an incredible road that Furtho told me about that opens up on the Black Mountains.

Is that the "Head of the Valleys" road? That is great, almost as good as some in the Lake District

Would add Istanbul to my list - a city that straddles to much history plus had a GREAT week there in May 2005.

Planning to add to my "best" places next spring - Buenos Aires (everyone I've spoken to loves it), Southern Chile, Tierre Del Fuego and (hopefully) Easter Island.

In no particular order:

London
Oviedo, Spain
Mérida, Spain
Hvar, Croatia
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Bruges, Belgium
The Black Forest, Germany
Krakow, Poland
Torun, Poland
The Kyles of Bute, Scotland
The North and South Downs, England
Clermont-Ferrand, France

1. Iceland (in general, more than Reykjavik itself) - simply the most magical, otherworldly terrain I have ever encountered.

2. San Francisco - a bit of Old Europe lost in America. Not just because it looks like Europe (numerous neighbourhoods could be lifted directly from Spain), but because it thinks like Europe. (The taxi driver from the airport engaged us in conversation about French literature and left-wing politics, which I took as a good omen, and it proved correct.) It's a chicken-and-egg question, but the whole gay scene is arguably a symptom of, rather than the driver behind, the all-round bohemian liberal atmosphere (but even if it isn't, it's a mutually-beneficial feedback loop). And, you know, the obvious stuff: City Lights books, the sealions, the Chinese quarter, the steep winding road, the trams, and the general feeling that you've walked into an episode of Starsky & Hutch.

3. Barcelona - completely lived up to expectations. If I won the lottery, one of the first things I'd do would be to buy an apartment in Barcelona so I could visit whenever I felt like it. Great clubs and bars, shops and markets, astonishing architecture, vibrant atmosphere. The one let-down was the food (Catalan cuisine doesn't match up to proper Spanish, not if you're a vegetarian anyway).

4. Havana - decaying Spanish colonial architecture, classic American cars held together by elastic bands, crazy voodoo ceremonies, salsa in the streets, cheap rum, communist chic, Spanish spoken, what's not to love?

5. Brighton

Other places I liked a lot: Prague, Los Angeles, Madrid, Rome, Paris, Las Vegas, Brussels, Toledo, Valencia, London

San Siro

QUOTE:
A waterfall in the mountains in West Wales that I would love to track down again

Waterfalls are pretty much the best thing in the world, apart from polar bears.

TonTon, if you ever get the chance, visit Plitvice lakes in Croatia

http://www.superstock.com/stock-photography/Plitvice/Lakes/National/Park

Wildish:

Grand Canyon
The national parks in Utah - esp Monument, Zion, Bryce and Arches
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Petra
Stanage Edge
Fontainebleau

Urban:

New York
London
Jerusalem
Hong Kong
Vienna
Oxford

If it wasn't for weather and midges you can't beat many parts of Scotland.

Further afield I will join in the chorus for San Francisco, Valencia and Barcelona and would nominate southern France between Nice & Grenoble. If any of you are bikers - or own a sports car - you have got to drive that road.

steveeeeeeeee wrote:

QUOTE:
When did you go to Viana do Castelo bewaldeth? Beautiful, beautiful place, I've alreay made a pact with Senhora steveeeeeeeee that I'll buy a house there and retire once I earn my first million.

Spent about 10 days there during Euro 2004. It's very rare that I pitch up somewhere that just immediately feels right. Having a nice hotel undoubtedly helped, but it was just such a lovely little town that I plan to go back many times before I shuffle off this mortal coil - the countryside around it is decent enough, too.

Despite their many charms, I've always found San Francisco and New York to be a bit too pleased with themselves. It's offputting. so I left them off of my list.

Bored Of Discipline wrote:

QUOTE:

QUOTE:
Herefordshire/Powys borders. Has Hay-On-Wye and an incredible road that Furtho told me about that opens up on the Black Mountains.

Is that the "Head of the Valleys" road? That is great, almost as good as some in the Lake District

No idea what it might be called, but turn off the A465 at Llanfihangel-Crucorney heading in a north-westerly direction. Stop off at Llanthony Priory and then later at the tiny chapel at Capel-Y-Ffin before going on to Hay-on-Wye. It's fantastic.