Cities are where you most visibly see the best and worst humanity has to offer. You’ll find it all here: culture, the lack of it, energy, creativity, destructiveness, great architecture, ghetto slums, extreme wealth and poverty, good and bad governance. But all this is what makes urban travel fascinating.

We asked some serious travellers to name their favourite big cities, and rate them out of 10 in the following categories: culture, entertainment, aesthetics, food and greenery. Here's part two of the series...
  1. Barcelona
    The citizens of Barcelona have figured out the secret to a happy life. And it goes like this.

    One: create a city of great beauty. Start with urban planning that prioritises open space above all else, then get local eccentric genius Antonio Gaudi to create buildings that are more art than architecture. Finally, as a nod to modernity, top it all off with some of the most stylish modern architecture in Europe.

    Two: mark time until the sun goes down… and then eat, drink and party until you develop a permanent lisp. You see, Barthelonans aren’t morning people. Hell, they’re barely afternoon people. Nothing’s open before 10am and just as you get into the swing of things, it all closes down again for the afternoon siesta.

    Basically everyone’s waiting for night to come when the myriad restaurants, bars and clubs open their doors. It starts later than you’re used to — 10pm is regarded as a civilised time for supper, which is then washed down at one of the many cerveza (beer) or vino (wine) bars along the legendary Las Ramblas boulevard.

    Culture (9), Entertainment (9), Aesthetics (10), Food (10), Greenery (9)

  2. London
    No city ticks all the boxes quite the way that London does. Culture? Tick. For a start it probably has more museums per km² than any city in the world, plus there are historical buildings galore and many a famous art gallery (you have to go to the Tate Modern).

    Public transport? Don’t listen to the Londoners — the tube is a wonder. So again, tick, and tick the greenery box while you’re at it too. London has the biggies, such as Hyde, Green, and St James’s parks, but you’ll also find many a smaller one tucked away among the grey stone monoliths and white Georgian walls.

    And obviously any great city worth it’s zip codes must have great shopping — we’re talking everything from the legendary 'Arrods superstore to the fashionista temples of Oxford Street and Covent Garden.

    Finally, if there’s still any doubt of London’s superior metropolitan credentials, the entertainment box puts it to rest. Every taste is catered for, from the traditional English pub to the very latest Michelin-starred cuisine, and a nightlife that’ll have you waving your hands in the air until the early hours.

    Culture (10), Entertainment (10), Aesthetics (9), Food (9), Greenness (9)

  3. New York
    Sinatra made a big mistake with that toupée, but he was dead right about New York. This is the greatest city on the planet. It may not be a refined citadel of culture, but it is the ultimate expression of homo urbanus.

    NYC has a special relationship with time — everything is faster here and, even as a tourist, you have to slot into one of its arteries and hold on. Manhattan has had a big-money facelift in the last two decades and the city’s beauty has emerged from its gritty functionality.

    A grey high-rise ribcage of Deco-Gothic masterpieces and glass-clad homages to the mighty dollar surround the city’s great green lung of Central Park… and tucked in between, reflecting its multi-cultural heritage, are some of the finest restaurants and delis in the world.

    Once the sun goes down your options are wide and varied: the trendmeisters head to the Meat Packing District, those more left of centre to the East Village, and the sophisticates to Broadway and 42nd Street.

    Culture (8), Entertainment (10), Aesthetics (9), Food (9), Greenness (8)

  4. Berlin
    It’s impossible to walk through Berlin without sensing the enormous social and political upheavals that have dogged the city’s last century. Every surface is a palimpsest offering glimpses of this great place’s fortunes and misfortunes.

    Luckily the trials have resulted in an enormously accommodating atmosphere, and a diversity in design and style that is second to none. With more canals and rivers than Amsterdam, and an abundance of green belts and parks, Berlin is way more airy than it’s European counterparts. It’s a vast city.

    To get your bearings, visit the TV Tower’s (Fernsehenturm) revolving restaurant. West is the Brandenburg Gate and the enormous Tiergarten Park, and east the gargantuan Karl-Marx-Allee and the Russian Memorial with its determined Communist reliefs — all worth visiting. Due to Berlin’s former divisions, most cultural institutions appear in duplicate or triplicate.

    Museums and national galleries abound and are mainly situated on the Museumsinsel (Museum Island), which is a short walk from the suburb of Mitte, the trendiest part of the former East, where the sharpest glasses come to drink Weissbeer.

    Transport is easy: either by bike or on the super-punctual public transport system. From the bike lane it is possible to divine for oneself the secrets of a city, the town-planning and zeitgeist of which alter perpetually.

    Culture (9), Entertainment (10), Aesthetics (9), Food (7), Greenery (8)

  5. Rome
    St Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum and the Spanish Steps are just some of the highlights of a city that is one of the world’s richest in terms of history, monuments and works of art. Rome is also full of lesser-known architectural treasures — galleries, museums and churches — brimming with beautiful frescoes, sculptures or paintings. It is a city that reveals itself in surprising vignettes.

    Built on a series of hills, every view has a remarkable focal point, whether it be a palace, church, marble fountain or statue. There are many parks spread over the city, such as the very central Villa Borghese gardens, which are exquisitely designed and punctuated with fountains, statues and elegant pavilions. The city is also full of pine groves, which reverberate with the piercing tune of cicadas in summer.

    One is easily entertained in Rome. The cultural scene is rich, the shopping scene obscenely satisfying, if rather pricey, and for hedonists there’s 24-hour wining, dining and clubbing. It’s best, though, to find an 'in' with the locals. This is a city full of tourists, and the Romans like to keep the true treasures to themselves. The city centre is packed and often over-priced, and many of the best restaurants tend to be out in the suburbs.

    Culture (9), Entertainment (8), Aesthetics (10), Food (8), Greenery (9)

Article courtesy of Horizons, BA/Comair's in-flight magazine published by Touchline Media
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