I was just reading an interesting article in the March 2002 issue of Travel magazine (a magazine I'd never heard of before) entitled "Amazing cities you still haven't seen, but should." <BR><BR>The seven cities are: Valencia, Spain; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Antwerp, Belgium; Hamburg, Germany; Turin, Italy, Marseille, France; and Bergen, Norway. <BR><BR>I haven't been to any of these seven but three of them -- Valencia, Turin, and Marseille -- have always intrigued me. <BR><BR>There are some photos of Santiago Calatrava's City of Arts & Sciences in Valencia which looks fascinating. (The article says that this complex of soaring, white, spaceship-like structures surrounded by reflecting pools the length and width of football fields is supposed to put Valencia on the map.) <BR><BR>So Fodorites, I'm curious...if you've been to any of these seven cities, what has your impression of them been? Thanks!

Hi Capo,<BR><BR>Have been to:<BR><BR>Valencia, Spain (loved it).<BR>Belfast, Northern Ireland (surrounding area is some of the best in the world - but Belfast itself is not for me)<BR>Antwerp, Belgium (better than Amsterdam)<BR><BR>

I did visit Marseille on my last trip to France. I was a little apprehensive given things that I'd read about the city, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. My hotel room looked out over the old port area, which I thought had a certain charm to it. I did quite a bit of walking and never felt unsafe in the downtown area. I could picture all sorts of intrigue going on in this city. The food was also very good here. While I wouldn't go out of my way to visit, I think its worth a stop if you're traveling in this area.

Nice thread, Capo:<BR>I have "plugged" Antwerp a few times on his board, but I didn't want to overdo it. Glad someone else does for a change. It is such an easy stop for the thousands who go from France to Holland or vice versa, without noticing.<BR>Plenty of things to see, do, and eat all within a 15 min walking radius. <BR>Brussels may be international, Antwerp is cosmopolitan, probably because it one of the top 3 ports in Europe.<BR>By the way, most port cities have a special flair and attraction: no wonder that Valencia, Belfast, Hamburg, Marseille and Bergen are on the list. That's 6 out of 7.

This is probably just semantics but can you really call a city "amazing" if you haven't seen it?<BR><BR>What is amazing to one person could be less than thrilling for another. Branson, Missouri, for instance.

Bert, it looks like the title of the article has the word "amazing" in it. The author, presumably, has seen those cities.

And more so, what's so "amazing" about them is that the average tourist has never heard of them.

Thanks for the replies so far. <BR><BR>Bert, F is right. The "amazing" in the article's title is, presumably, from the author's perspective. I haven't visited any of these places so I can't say whether I think they're amazing or horrible or somewhere in between. Anyway, you're absolutely right about one thing: what's amazing to one person could be less than thrilling for another. For example, I think Rome is an amazing city and yet my girlfriend & I met two young women on the train from Genoa to Nice, one of whom didn't care for it at all. Vive la difference. <BR><BR>Marseille really began to interest me ever since I read in a travel magazine a few years ago that, in a poll of young French people, it was their first choice of a city in which to live. And I became intrigued by Turin the first time I visited Nice when I read that Nice's Place Massena is modeled after a similar square in Turin. <BR><BR>

Spent time in Turino on our way to the Piedmont and found it a delightful city.(Despite the fact that the Shroud site.. which we were not interested in anyway... was closed.)

Been to 5 of 7. "Amazing" isn't something I would use about almost any city. Bergen I liked quite abit and might be highest on my list and closer to amazing than any of the others I've been to. The rest I consider OK, with Hamburg probably not quite getting that, let alone "amazing" unless if you consider the Rieferbahn and that's "amazing" for a totally different set of reasons. ;-)

Grand, if the "average tourist" hasn't heard of these cities, then they just fell off the apple cart. The only one I might let someone off the hook for is Bergen, but none of the others out to be "that's the first time I've heard of that city". IMHO.

I didn't visit any of these cities, except Marseilles, where I went many times. Honestly, I see no way Marseilles could be described as "amazing" from a tourist point of view. Quite often, comments about this city are along the "love it or hate it" line.<BR><BR>There are some interesting sites, there's a peculiar athmosphere, but I wouldn't advise people to go out of their way to visit it.

Well I'll let you know about Antwerp at the end of June

I think travel magazines are always looking for a new "angle" on things. I've only been to two of these, unless you count driving to and from the Marseille airport " visiting" it, and though I thought Hamburg was an interesting enough place and extremely pretty in parts, I wouldn't deem it" amazing" Antwerp was a very, very pleasant surprise, but again, not "amazing." <BR>Maybe we should start our own list of places that did actually "amaze" us.

Interesting how we use, and perceive, words in different ways. Perhaps because I've been known to use hyperbole myself, I didn't take "amazing" quite so literally (but I can understand others who might, since that's the word the author chose to use.) Anyway, I took "amazing" to be more along the lines of "underappreciated" or "amazing that more people don't choose to visit these cities" and was really more curious to know what peoples' impressions of them have been, favorable or unfavorable.<BR><BR>Thanks again to those who have responded with their impressions so far.

I have been to Valencia many times for business,just stayed in Antwerp one week last month, been to Bergen couple times in last 3 years. All the three cities have many important cultural,commercial and historic functions than mainly for tourisms,and make them much more interesting.