Skylines and views

If there is something that Budapest hasn't got it is an impressive skyline. Tall buildings are banned from the city center and there isn't a single skyscraper in the whole city. In return, the church towers and the ancient spires creates an ancient skyline together with the Buda Castle with the backdrop of the hills on the Buda side. The more flat Pest side is totally dominated by St Stephen's Basilica and The Hungaraina Parliament Building, the 2 tallest buildings in Budapest (both 96m to the top of the spire).

In the outskirts there are a lot of oldfashioned grey and white residential highrises from the commie times. There are many modern office buildings in Budapest, but most of them aren't very tall. The tallest highrise in Budapest is the 23-storey Semmelweiss Medical University from 1976 at a height of 89m.

Views of Buda from Pest:e and September 2003

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Bergamo

Population:
117 000


Regione: Lombardia

Year visited: 2008

Bergamo is much more than just a city where the airport for lowfare airlines, Orio al Serio, is. Even if the airport is considered to be in Milan on the

ticket, Bergamo lies one hour by train from Milan and is definately a city of its own. It has a spectacular historical part that lies on a hill while the

newer part is the city center, that lies in the flat lower part of Bergamo. So we decided to spend some hours in this cultural and historical city before

catching the plane to Gothenburg (one evening and one morning). The city is beautiful and looks very wealthy, but I also got a feeling that the new


part of it is very segregated with many homeless people and beggars and the streets, at least in the evening. Some streets were considered very

dangerous, according to the staff on our hotel, something that feels very strange since it is not very big, is not a harbour town and it is located in

the rich regione Lombardia.

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The skylines and views of Milano

Milano has a few skyscrapers that have been popping up around the famous Pirelli Tower, that is considered to be the first modern skyscraper in Europe, and is located close to the central station. Most of them were built in the 1950s, but in this area, a new generation of taller skyscrapers are under construction, four of them will beat Pirelli's 127m. And even taller ones are planned, that could be up to 310m tall! For example, Regione Lombardia will be 163m tall and Torre Varesine 1, the new tallest, will be 175m tall, when completed in 2009. So from 2009, Milan can start to compete with Naples about the best skyline of Italy. The rest of Milano hasn't many tall buildings though, except for the Gothic Cathedral and the famous Torre Velasca in the city center. Milano also have 4 high TV and observation towers, from which one of them I have taken pictures of the skyline.

The skyline from Torre Branca:

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The skylines and views of Genova

The combination of the mountain backdrop, medieval towers, modern highrises in the harbour and "skyscrapers" from the 1930s make the skyline of Genova a by European standards, an interesting skyline. The highrises are not very tall ( just a bit above 100m) and most of them are located in the harbour, but some taller "real" skyscrapers are planned.

The skyline of the new harbour (Porto Vecchio) seen from the old harbour (Porto Antico):

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San Remo is a very beautiful city situated in a beautiful setting between the Maritime Alps and the Mediterranean coast. Sanremo (another spelling) is also probably the most popular on the Italian Riviera, considering the large number of tourists on the streets. A famous music festival is just one of many events that take place every year. Many famous people have lived in San Remo. In 2002 everything was closed when I arrived because of the siesta (that is hard to get used to). In 2008 me and my girlfriend went to San Remo for one day on the way to Genova and Milano after having visited some friends in Nice.

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Menton

Menton is a small city very close to the borders of both Italy and Monaco, just east of Cap Martin. The architecture reminds of its both neighbour countries and you can find beautiful buildings everywhere. Menton is very popular among Englishmen. As we had just about 2 hours to spend in this very beautiful city on our way from Monaco to San Remo, we didn't see the old town and the harbour, but also the newer part is very nice and it has a beach. Menton is more relaxed than most other towns on the Riviera and is famous for its many beautiful gardens and for its lemon festival.

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Skylines of Monaco

It is hard to choose what pictures should be included in the skyline section, because their are skyline views of highrises and mountains almost everywhere in Monaco. Monaco doesn't have any really tall skyscrapers, but highrises tall enough (20-40 floors) to make a skyline, so it is definately the most impressive skyline on the Riviera. Because the city is built on mountains and rocks, the stunning nature makes the skyline look really good, even if the highrise's architecture themselves are mostly ugly. Monaco is one of the few cities that are built vertically. That means that stairs, elevators and escalators are as common as pavements and crosswalks to get between to roads. And becaue or that
it also has many tall highrises/small skyscrapers for its size. There are
11 buildings with 25 floors or more, of those 6 have with between 30 and 37 floors.

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Grasse

Grasse is the perfume capital of the world, since it has been famous for its prospering perfume industry since the 18th century. Everywhere you go you can in this charmy and beautiful mountain city you can find perfume stores and museums. It is a small town situated in the mountains of Côte d'Azur's Alps. From the entrance to the medieval city center, there are views towards the sea. It isn't that small, however, the medieval core is only one of many districts that form the city of Grasse. The famous movie "The Perfume-story of a murderer" was partly filmed in Grasse, but the square doesn't exist in the city in reality.

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Skylines of Marseille

Most French people don´t like highrises, especially in southern France since they claim that tall buildings would block their views of the beautiful nature. But in Marseille, there are huge amount of residential highrise for poor people and people with middle incomes in the suburbs. In the outskirts of central Marseille, there are also office highrises in a boxy modernist style. The first multi apartment complex in the world, Le Corbusier's famous Unité d'Habitation, that also was the first building in the world with a Brutalist architecture, is situated in the outskirts of Marseille. And now the city is constructing its first skyscraper, Tour CGA CGM, in the modern part of the harbour, not far from the city center. Some tall churches also help up the skyline a bit. The surrounding mountains make the skyline look interesting anyway.

Nôtre-Dame de la Garde and its views




There is a tourist train that drove us up the 162 m high limestone outcrop ( just above the historical city center) where the fascinating basilica Nôtre-Dame de la Garde stands. The train sometimes felt like a rollercoaster, since it was driving in a high speed down some hills, just next to the steep slopes!

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Cannes

Cannes is just the 3rd largest city on the Riviera, but feels much larger than its 67 000 inhabitants and it also has 109 000 inh. together with its twin town Le-Cannet. Cannes is famous for its film festival, expensive brande stores, the beach and its luxorious hotels. However, young people are complaining that there is nothing to do in the city and that it is pretty dead in the winter. While all the glamour is at the beach promenade La Croisette, the historical and artistic part is the old town, that is situated on the hills above.

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Skylines of Nice

Most French people don´t like highrises, especially in southern France since they claim that tall buildings would block their views of the beautiful nature. Thus there are just a few highrises in Nice, and they are not very tall and are located in the outskirts. And because Nice doesn´t
have any tall cathedral or TV tower, the skyline looks pretty week. But in return,
the nature that surrounds the city is amazing. Nice is situated between
the Mediterranean sea and the Alps, and there is even a high rock in the city.

Colline du Chateau and its views




In the eastern part of central Nice, there is a high rock, Colline du Chateau, that you can climb from the Old Town. On the top of the rock there are observation points, a park and a beautful cemetery on the way up. There is also aa huge war memorial facing the bay on the east side of the rock, called Aux Morts. Despite the name there is no castle on the rock, but there are ruins of an old church. These are the views from the rock:

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Kristianstad is the residence city of Scania (Skåne) and the landscape's 4th largest city. The city has about 34 000 inhabitants (76 000 in the metro). It is located in the northeast part of Scania. Sweden's lowest point is situated in the city. The city was founded in 1614 by King Christian IV of Denmark, as a symbol of himself and to guard the then Danish province Scania from Sweden. It is still an important military seat. Kristianstad is sometimes called "Lilla Paris" because the main streets are called "boulevards". Kristianstad is also said to be the city with most bats in Sweden and there are many artists in the city.





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BÜRGPARK DISTRICT IN NORTH DARMSTADT – THE AREA AROUND HUNDERTWASSER’S WALDSPIRALE:



In the north part of Darmstadt, not so far from the city center, the famous U-shaped Waldspirale by Hundertwasser, a surreal jugend residential building in many colours is located. This area is very nice with a mix of top modern apartments buildings, alleys and old jugend buildings.





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Offenbach is a city that is bordering Frankfurt to the east and could be considered a suburb of Frankfurt am Main. The city is a bit grey and stiff and the

city has many problems with crime and segregation. The nicest parts are the areas with private residences in the outskirts. Offenbach used to be the center

of leather industry, but it has declined recently. I visited Offenbach as part of my Frankfurt visit, I didn't know anything about the city and just wanted to


see how it looked like after a day of sighseeing in its big brother Frankfurt. Since much of the city has been bombed during WW2, there are very few

beautiful old buildings left, but Offenbach has a collection of 4 highrises taller then 60m, right in the city center. That is unusual in German cities of that size.



Population: 118 000 (part of metro Frankfurt-Rhine/Main)

Year: 2010 (April)

State: Hesse

Tallest building: City Tower (120m)








The city border between Frankfurt and Offenbach.

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MAINZ ALTSTADT - THE OLD TOWN



The Old Town has many nice historic buildings in different styles, but unfortunately some ugly grey 60s modernist buildings have been built on too many

places. The heart of Altstadt is very cozy with its square, cathedral and alleys though. The city center is partly hilly.




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Altstadt (Old Town):



Heidelberg's old town is among the most well preserved ones in Heidelberg. Here you can find the university, Heiliggeist kirche, old lanes and a nice

pedestrian street, Hauptstrasse, with historic buildings and elegant shops. The nice Marktplatz is also here. Next to Alstadt, the beautiful river Neckar

flows with its famous old bridge and above it is the green mountain where the Heidelberg castle lies.




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Start at Professorsgatan:




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Wiesbaden Altstadt - the Old Town



Altstadt is the heart of the city center of Wiesbaden. It is very beautful with hilly pedestrian streets, squares and boulevards. Schlossplatz, Marktplatz and Mauritisplatz are 3 squares very close to each other. With its church and beautiful palaces this area is the very heart.




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ALTSTADT - THE OLD TOWN AND CITY CENTER





Steinstrasse towards St Jacobi and St Petri churches.


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Toledo - outside the gates to the Old Town



Rio Tagus, the railway station and views of the Old Town from afar could be found on my walk from the train to the Old Town.




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Terminal 4, arrivals:


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Stortorget with Ängelholms kyrka. The main square of Ängelholm.


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Køge is a small city about 40min by S-train south of Copenhagen, situated at Køge Bay. It has only 35 000 inhabitants (about 57 000 in the kommune), but it has a wellkept city center with large collection of historic halftimbered houses. Many of the houses are so old so they are leaning, so even if you are sober when getting there everything wont look normal. 

A funny thing is that many stores and places have the name “Køge” in it. There are no large roads in the city center.




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