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Friday, June 9, 2006
What’s your favorite city to visit?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In Sunday’s Travel section, I did a brief review of Lonely Planet’s new coffee table book, “The Cities Book, a Journey Through the Best Cities in the World,” which ranks the top 200 cities in order. Atlanta didn’t make the list. Do you think it should have? What’s your favorite city to visit and why?
A few Southeast cities did make the cut, including New Orleans (No. 39), Memphis (No. 98), Savannah (No. 164) and Miami (No. 194). Frankly, my dears, having lived in Memphis and Atlanta, I would rank Atlanta much higher.
Lonely Planet ranked Paris as No. 1, and you have to admit even if you’re not a fan of French politics, that it’s one beautiful city with unparalleled attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and fabulous museums. No. 2 on the list was New York City; No. 3 is Sydney, Australia; No. 4 is Barcelona, Spain; and No. 5 is London, followed by Rome, Italy; San Francisco; Bangkok, Thailand; Cape Town, South Africa, and Istanbul, Turkey.
You have to admire Lonely Planet for taking on this project, though. For me, having to pick a favorite would be like choosing a favorite sibling or child, just impossible — you love them all for their unique qualities.
By the way, here’s the review, which newspaper readers won’t see until Sunday: It’s hard to resist perusing “The Cities Book: A Journey Through the Best Cities in the World,â€? a $50 coffee-table book from Lonely Planet. As it sat on my desk, staffers would thumb through it and comment on the cities selected.
I can’t argue with some of the picks for the top 200 cities, but it’s easy to find fault with the rankings. How could Seattle (one of my favorites) be a lowly 55?
The book is beautifully photographed and includes each city’s strengths and weaknesses. Seattle gets marked down for rain, traffic, racial segregation, climbing house prices and struggling public transport, some of the same issues Atlanta — which didn’t make the top 200 — struggles with.
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