Most scenic urban city in US

[Chase Unperson]

I would have to say San Francisco is the most scenic urban city in the US. Los Angeles is a distant second.

This hills of San Francisco with the water, bridges, islands and MSA mountains are what sets it a part.


Los Angeles has the water and hills and mountains but it doesn't have the "shock and awe " beauty of San Francisco.

Anyone beg to differ?

[Centropolis]

new york can be scenic in a special way that rivals los angeles. if you can feel the sea, palisades, and rivers

seattle in early september is pretty spectacular

[dubu]

I've been to sf, very nice except for the drug dealers on the streets and homeless. I'd go there again. I need to see other cities though. Like Chicago.

[pdxtex]

Originally Posted by Chase Unperson

I would have to say San Francisco is the most scenic urban city in the US. Los Angeles is a distant second.

This hills of San Francisco with the water, bridges, islands and MSA mountains are what sets it a part.


Los Angeles has the water and hills and mountains but it doesn't have the "shock and awe " beauty of San Francisco.

Anyone beg to differ?

yes, i disagree. san francisco has beautiful urban form, and its on a nice body of water with some hills, but that in itself doesn't make it that special. seattle urban and topographical context is similar, but its also plopped down in a pine forest ringed by volcanoes! this conversation is moot without including canada. vancouver is hands down, the most scenic city in north america. seattle is the only thing thats comes close but vancouvers proximity to a towering mountain backdrop is hard to beat. if were just going for a city on water theme, well there are lots that are very pretty and SF is not the leader of that pack.

[AviationGuy]

The west side of Austin is quite scenic, with it's hills, valleys, rivers all within the city limits. Most of the rest of the city is not particularly scenic, with the exception of the riverfront downtown and a few hilly areas on the south side of the river. But west Austin is gorgeous, and is usually a big surprise to visitors who didn't know about it ahead of time.

Most scenic? San Francisco, absolutely. To me, Seattle would be the runner up.

[The North One]

I thought the privileged to host these kind of pointless and subjective topics was reserved for city-data (the 4chan of the internet urban forums)...

[the urban politician]

SF is the most scenic.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by The North One

I thought the privileged to host these kind of pointless and subjective topics was reserved for city data (the 4chan of the internet urban forums)...

Good point, although the level of intelligence here at SSP is several orders of magnitude higher than that for the regulars at city-data. At least usually.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by Chase Unperson

I would have to say San Francisco is the most scenic urban city in the US. Los Angeles is a distant second.

This hills of San Francisco with the water, bridges, islands and MSA mountains are what sets it a part.

I give Seattle with Mt. Rainier in the background points. But you left out San Francisco's fog. It is the interplay of the fog with the tall buildings, bridges, hills that is really unique.








https://www.google.com/search?q=SF+f...1ut98PHYGj0AM:

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

yes, i disagree. san francisco has beautiful urban form, and its on a nice body of water with some hills, but that in itself doesn't make it that special. seattle urban and topographical context is similar, but its also plopped down in a pine forest ringed by volcanoes! this conversation is moot without including canada. vancouver is hands down, the most scenic city in north america. seattle is the only thing thats comes close but vancouvers proximity to a towering mountain backdrop is hard to beat. if were just going for a city on water theme, well there are lots that are very pretty and SF is not the leader of that pack.

It may surprise you but I would agree if the thread title didn't read "Most scenic . . . in US"

Vancouver, unless you mean Vancouver, Washington, is not in the running.

[Steely Dan]

Gonna have to go with Indianapolis.

Pretty obvious........

[BnaBreaker]

Pretty hard to argue against a West Coast city on this one. Seattle and SF really sort of have it all. Eastern cities like Pittsburgh and Nashville are green and hilly with rivers running through them, but that simply doesn't compare in my opinion... then when it comes to cities like Miami and Denver... they check one of the boxes in a major way but offer little to nothing in the way of the other boxes.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

The west side of Austin is quite scenic, with it's hills, valleys, rivers all within the city limits. Most of the rest of the city is not particularly scenic, with the exception of the riverfront downtown and a few hilly areas on the south side of the river. But west Austin is gorgeous, and is usually a big surprise to visitors who didn't know about it ahead of time.

Most scenic? San Francisco, absolutely. To me, Seattle would be the runner up.

We've been running a few errands in West Austin the last few days, and it really is funny how you can take a random street west of Mopac with all the urban banality you can take and then BAM-- green hills. Capital of Texas Highway is a gem, and I would assume a total surprise for anyone who is visiting Austin for the first time. Our metro has a dual personality. A few rolling hills, but mostly flat on the east and big hills that are several hundred feet tall that create "mini-canyons" on the west side.

[Pedestrian]

^^I've never been to Austin. Maybe that's why my Texas nomination would be San Antonio. Not only is the River Walk terribly scenic but the Hill Country in general is.

[initiald]

For a small city, I've always loved the beauty of Asheville.


Source: http://www.reserveatlakekeowee.com/area/asheville-nc/


Source: https://www.exploreasheville.com/sto...-in-asheville/

[ThePhun1]

Honolulu? Anyways, I like places that look good with or without skyscrapers. Indeed, San Francisco would top the list because of its unique setting but let's not forget places with excellent desert settings such as Tucson and Albuquerque. I love nothing more than a desert sunset.

[MonkeyRonin]

Most scenic setting? Yeah, probably San Francisco. Maybe Honolulu. Most scenic city though - Boston and New York by a long shot.

[ThePhun1]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Most scenic setting? Yeah, probably San Francisco. Maybe Honolulu. Most scenic city though - Boston and New York by a long shot.

If you're a skyscraper buff. I don't get what's so scenic about New York unless you're on the observation deck of the new World Trade Center or Empire State Building. Maybe standing in the center of Central Park is scenic, I liked it.

[JManc]

I'm assuming natural setting? If so...never been to SF, SLC or Seattle...I've seen pictures. Definitely scenic. Also the LA area, Anchorage, Pittsburgh, Phoenix/ Tucson and Nashville. Denver is deceiving. It's flat as Topeka because the mountains are several miles to the west.

Forgot Cincy...very underrated,,,probably why I forgot it.

[Crawford]

Natural setting, right? I would have to go with SF, though Seattle and Portland are up there. Pittsburgh, Nashville and Cincy have nice settings too.

And LA and NYC are both underrated. The mountains are just so proximate to LA, and the NYC area is, for the most part, very hilly and rocky. I love going up in the mountains and through the canyons in the LA basin, and I love the greenery and rock outcroppings in the NYC area. Boston and DC are underrated too. DC area is super green and rolling hills; Boston area similar but with the ocean.

SF has the most scenic views overall, though. The only thing I don't particularly like about the Bay Area is the dryness; the semi-desert look much of the year. But the views are the best.