Thinking only about the built-up and excluding natural surroundings, what do you think is the most beautiful big city in the US?

34 comments

1. I’d say Chicago for obvious reasons

2. Biased but Boston. I can literally trick myself into thinking I’m in europe when it’s summer in the north end

3. [deleted]

4. Even without the natural surroundings, and even considering the very rough spots, I think SF still has a lot to recommend it as one of the most beautiful big cities.

5. Chicago if I had to pick one, but I haven’t been to many of them and don’t have great taste in architecture.

6. Seattle

7. San Fran, Boston (especially now after the big dig), and honestly NYC is pretty cool.

8. I like Seattle, or maybe DC in the spring with the cherry blooms, but honestly I’ve never been to one of our cities and been like, “wow, now this is a gorgeous city.” I’ve only really gotten that with Vancouver. I’m sure they exist, I just haven’t been to one yet. It’s a big country.

9. I’d have to say Boston as a whole, or central Philly.

10. Chicago, no question.

    Second choice is Charlotte, NC. Beautiful skyline.

11. San Francisco

12. Chicago or Boston

13. Excluding natural surroundings, I’d say either Chicago or Boston.

    With natural surroundings included, I’d add Seattle and San Francisco.

14. DC in parts is pretty nice, though once you’re south of 695 the sketch increases pretty quickly.

15. Charleston, SC is pretty nice

16. Big and Beautiful: San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Washington DC.

    Big and Ugly (or uninteresting): Houston, Tampa, Orlando, San Jose, Dallas. Epitome of monotonous strip malls and suburbia.

17. Chicago. I have lived in 8 different cities and Chicago is the only city that I miss like a good friend you may never see again

18. I’ll second Boston. I’ll also say old New Orleans. A lot of the older East coast cities still have the old colonial neighborhoods like that, but Boston probably takes the prize for that.

19. San Diego or Portland

20. Savannah, Charleston, Chicago, Boston are probably my favorites.

21. Boston or New Orleans. Philadelphia would be but it’s not very clean. San Francisco too. It really comes down to what is beautiful to you though.

22. Las Vegas. There’s alot of cool vantage points to see those lights from Vegas.

23. Chicago is the most famous American city for architecture.

24. Chicago

25. San Francisco or New York

26. If I’m being serious, New Orleans. It’s a truly beautiful city.

    That said, I will always feel some 100% biased campanilismo for certain everyday aspects of New York, like all the different color fire escapes on the Lower East Side, graffiti on the grates in front of stores, and the way that steam pours out of the manholes in certain weather.

27. It has to be Chicago which is a beautiful built city basically built on a flat marsh

    I can’t understand how people are mentioning San Francisco which is all about the setting IMO

28. Chicago for sure.

29. Dallas

30. No city can beat the architecture of Chicago.

31. San Francisco by far being surrounded by a water and having many natural hills.

32. Savanna, Georgia.

33. Chicago

34. In my opinion San Francisco has a very beautiful downtown skyline