What Are the Best Downtowns Across the U.S.? (compare, Los Angeles, people)

[wpmeads]

In Texas, I'd say Austin followed by San Antonio. Houston and Dallas have nice skylines but there dead for the most part after about 7. Fort Worth has a nice downtown but I wouldn't put it on the same level as Austin or San Antonio. I like the Austin skyline and downtown vibe better than San Antonio so I'd take downtown Austin over San Antonio. As for other cities, I really like New Orleans.

[choosing78]

Boulder

[DeaconJ]

Large Cities:
Washington D.C.
Philadelphia
Atlanta
San Diego
Baltimore
Nashville

Smaller Cities:
Asheville
Savannah
Wilmington
Chattanooga

[tmac9wr]

Of the cities I've been to, I'd say Philadelphia and Washington DC take the cake, easily...and for smaller cities, Charleston, SC.

[matt345]

Here's how I would rank the remaining large cities:

1.) Washington, DC - one could argue that DC should also be included in the OP's "excluded" list as well. Tons of pedestrian activity, excellent public transportation, lots of public parks/squares, museums, and monuments.

2.) Philadelphia - Center City Philly is really underrated and has a lot of awesome neighborhoods within walking distance of one another.

3.) Seattle - feels like a smaller version of San Francisco (and I mean that in a good way )

4.) New Orleans - if you count the French Quarter as being a part of Downtown New Orleans, how could the city not be included on this list?

Smaller cities/towns (in no particular order):

Charleston
Annapolis
Santa Barbara
Savannah

[Dncr]

Originally Posted by Rockford101

Raleigh?? For real??

Even a place like Cleveland has 10 times the downtown vibrancy of a Raleigh.

And Durham is a small town. There's barely anything downtown. It's a strange mix of inner-city and college town.

But it's just our subjective opinions, and I guess we all perceive cities differently.

This post is irrelevant. If someone enjoys Durham, why criticize it.




P.S

Chicago

[ARaider08]

From where I've been:
ATL- Live it and love
D.C- Vibrant. Full of diversity and life
Philly- Hits the explorer's sweet tooth
San Antonio- Very colorful. Diverse... Very diverse. Not many other big A cities have truly Hispanic strip malls
Dallas- Pretty
Asheville- Kinda like a smaller San Fran
And I honestly love Myrtle Beach

[SweethomeSanAntonio]

Originally Posted by wpmeads

In Texas, I'd say Austin followed by San Antonio. Houston and Dallas have nice skylines but there dead for the most part after about 7. Fort Worth has a nice downtown but I wouldn't put it on the same level as Austin or San Antonio. I like the Austin skyline and downtown vibe better than San Antonio so I'd take downtown Austin over San Antonio. As for other cities, I really like New Orleans.

Downtown San Antonio has more pedesrtian friendly places, more cultural offerings, more of a vibrant downtown. Austin has a better club scene, but, thats about it. San Antonio's is at another level. Austin's has the new talls, but, San Antonio's infill blows Austin's away.

[timeofseasons]

Originally Posted by Rwarky

Excluding the following cities (Chicago, Boston, NYC and San Francisco), what cities and towns have the best Downtowns in the U.S.? Tell us why you believe they are great. Also, if links of a city's or town's central area are available, please include them.


As a side note: I have purposely excluded the four cities above, because these are some of the top urban areas in the country for extreme vibrancy. Plus, it's always good to see what other cities and towns this nation has to offer. So, enjoy!

Few are:
District of Columbia
Seattle
San Diego
Portland

[SweethomeSanAntonio]

NYC
San Fran
Boston
Chicago
Seattle
San Diego
Baltimore
Atlanta
San Antonio
New Orleans
Philly
Portland
Denver
L.A.
Austin
Milwaukee
Charlotte
Cincinatti