Most of the people who write have never experienced what they write about; In almost everything I’ve written, I experienced it first, in one form or another. Here are the ten most unique cities in the world. When someone writes about something, he must know where it comes from, because the writer is always prejudiced. CNN did a review on the best places in the world to live a year or so ago, and I went through it and did my own. Because? Because the person(s) conducting the review had limited experience in conducting an adequate review. Why do I say that, because they chose Geneva as the best place to live in their world? Their criteria were whatever they were, but Europe is no safer to live in today than the United States or New York City was in 2001. Geneva is as prone to terrorist attacks as New York City or any city was. have a United Nations headquarters. in it, or some form of world government.
Another thing is that it is very expensive to live there, I have been to Switzerland and it is not cheap. Also, the weather is not that hot or that good, the Mantaro Valley of Peru is much better, compared to Arizona, safer and cheaper to live in, with a good hospital near Huancayo. I could go on, but my point is that their selection was false to me, just a way to advertise Geneva so people would go there. So to be honest about what you write about, you have to experience it. I have traveled for 38 years, over 700,000 air miles, to 60 countries and 46 states. I’ve been to seven of the so-called eight continents (the eighth being the South Pacific islands, I’ve yet to go to Antarctica, so I’ll have been to all of them.
Listen to my list of cities:
1–Paris (France), yes, I am also biased, although that is my prerogative. Paris is my city, not necessarily its people, if in fact I could put Londoners in Paris and kick Parisians out, it would become an even bigger city in my eyes. But here is a city, whether it deserves it or not, that has all the monuments, all the great museums, where all the great writers came from, and painters, poets, cultures, and so on, and so on. Victory Hugo lived here he was a senator. Where Gertrude Stein opens her doors to the US military; where Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Picasso and Dalí came to paint and write, to experiment. Notre Dame, perhaps the world’s greatest church, resides here, and the Arc de Triomphe is yet to be seen, for those of us who can feel victory over war. And, of course, the famous Eiffel Tower, which took part in the World’s Fair in 1880. I’ve also been to Paris four times. Surely it is a city of lights, as New Orleans is a city of Night.
2–New York (USA) I have been to New York four times, it is for me, the city in bulk, it took my breath away when I saw it for the first time. And Battery Park, overlooking the bay, the Statue of Liberty, is very humbling. Walking down 5th Ave and Central Park to Times Square and down to the Empire State Building is a unique experience. Manhattan: surrounds you and catches you. And I found it as safe, if not safer, than Athens, or Rome, or London.
3–Istanbul (Turkey)–is a unique city near the Black Sea, and its streets, and Mosques (especially the Blue Mosque), Cathedral, and its imposing walls that stretch up and down the straight line, are wonderful. Here you can buy in the largest Bazaar (Open Market) in the world, be careful, you can get lost. The food is good in Turkey, and the people are warm and friendly, be careful if you travel outside of Turkey, not all cities are as friendly as Istanbul. I’ve only been here once, but would return a second and third time, life and money permitting. And very few cities I return to.
4–Valetta (Malta) in the heart of the Mediterranean, is unique among all the islands. I have been to many islands in the world, and the only other one that can be compared to this island is Easter Island. The island has its caves and archeological sites, which seem to be in the backyards of residential areas. The city is a large walled city and plays a historical role in the time of the Crusades as well as WWII – it has more churches than Rome I think. Called the Maltese, which has three connecting, I also went to Gozo. But the city is a gem. My wife would love to come back here.
5–San Francisco (USA) is where it all began in the 60s, and I was there for one year, 1968-69. It was the city by the bay. With its Golden Gate Park, and its Golden Gate Bridge, and it was a time of music, and a freedom never duplicated since. It is the most picturesque and unique city on any coast in the world. And, like Paris, it has its landmarks to see. And smaller than New York City, it has a sense of volume. The Ocean almost reaches your hands, and the turn of the 19th century remains a bit in the city. It’s where all the musicians go, leave and stay. I lived here a year.
6–Lisbon (Portugal) has its history, its great Castle on the hill, its iron tower, which I went to half a dozen times, Eiffel, made it, yes, the same one that made the tower in Paris. The city has its parks and its monuments, and it is similar to Malta, since the city is almost on the ocean. It was devastated by an earthquake about a hundred years ago, and was a world trading port at one point. You can see its uniqueness in its architecture, just like Havana, Cuba.
7–Kyoto (Japan) City of Geishas, a city in the middle of Japan, so it seems; and a unique city in that; it has its monuments, in the form of temples, and its historical part called Geon, which I walked through, and was treated very well by the people in the guesthouses. It has an old aqueduct and a large tower also in the city. When I think of Kyoto, I always think of the best city in Japan, not huge, but clean, with all the flavor of Japan in one city.
8–Seville (Spain) this is the city of Hercules, where legend says he was born. And where the legend says, Columbus is buried in his cathedral. This is where there are bullfights, and great nightlife, singing and playing guitars in the biggest clubs. The food is excellent here and the squares are picturesque. It is a peaceful place, with a unique richness and freshness, and it has its canals in the city assimilated to Burges.
9–Burges (Belgium) The largest medieval city in Europe, what else can I say, as my wife used to say when she says it: it looks like a fairytale city. Other than that I am speechless but take a boat ride through its canals (just like Venice).
10–Cusco (Peru) Peru in general is the Egypt of South America, but much friendlier than Cairo, because I have been to Egypt and Cairo, and I would never go back. When I was in Egypt and Cairo, I always felt watched, or needed to be watched, in Peru, people love you there, and I never really felt the need to be overwatched. I was 9 times in Peru, once in Cusco, four times in the Mantaro Valley, nine times in Lima. I’m not sure where to start, to get the glory out of my travels. It is the land of the Incas, and in the Mantaro Valley, the land of the Great Warriors, the Wanka. They have the coast, or ocean for Lima, and Cusco, they have the Andes, and Machu Picchu, and world monument. But wherever you go in Peru, they are monuments. To the north of Lima, there is the famous and deadly Amazon, which I have been going down. So you have a city in the mountains, called Cusco, surrounded by a world called Peru, a unique place, like Cusco.
Second place:
Venice, Italy (City on Water)
Havana, Cuba (City of Architecture)
Glastonbury, England (Tor City)
Stockbridge, Massachusetts (Norman Rockwell Town)
Rome, Italy (Royal City of the World)
Athens, Greece (City of Teso)
New Orleans, USA (The City of Night)
Augsburg, Germany (Old Roman enclosure)
Beijing, China (City of the Forbidden City)
Buenos Aires (The city of Eva Perón)
Jaipur, India (the pink city)