What's the most beautiful city in the UK?

[StarryBelle]

Why? Any photos?

I'd say Durham. I really don't like Edinburgh at all.

I like bath. And York.

I personally didn't think Edinburgh was very nice. It's very cold and damp, and every building is grey. With more shades of grey

Yeah I really didn't like Edinburgh either!

A cold, grey feeling about the place.

I live fairly near York so slightly biased. It is beautiful, although I hate the naff Harry Potter takeover of a lot of shops.
DS and DIL had a small private ceremony in York a couple of weeks before their 'wedding' day. There were only eight of us in attendance. After the service we walked from the registry office (a beautiful building) to the restaurant. The backdrop of the photos as they wandered along are stunning. Not only that, complete strangers shouted congratulations, burst into rounds of applause at the minster and drivers pipped. I've never seen anything like it. York made the day just that bit extra special.

York city was a lot smaller than I expected!

It's small but very pretty.

A vote here for Wells in Somerset, England's smallest city. It is ancient and stunning. The cathedral and Bishop's Palace are breathtaking (look out for the swans ringing the bell to be fed). Lots of independent shops, restaurants, cobbled streets etc. It is surrounded by gorgeous countryside too, from the Mendip Hills to the Somerset levels. From Wells you can easily visit lots of other lovely places in the area like Bath, Glastonbury and Cheddar too.

Glasgow definitely deserves a shoutout. The architecture is so interesting, a real mixture of the old and new. Some parts feel very Victorian, almost gothic, then another area feels like I’m in New York. I enjoy walking around Glasgow the most, I think.
Also, London (not at the weekend though, too crowded)

Edinburgh is very beautiful - especially in the autumn, but I agree with a few other posters, there’s something slightly gloomy and imposing about it.

York is pretty.

Edinburgh. It raises my spirits every day with the incredible architecture, the castle, Arthur’s seat, Salisbury crags, Scottish Parliament building. In Spring, hundreds of cherry trees, wonderful colours in Autumn. Then Portobello beach, the Pentlands, Botanical Gardens. So lucky to see cityscapes from every direction.

I've a friend in Edinburgh and I usually visit her once a year.

I don't know why, but I've always had a bad time when I visit Edinburgh.

Maybe actually living there is better.

Edinburgh, York and Durham for me too. Also bits of Newcastle (especially Grey Street) Leeds (Kirkgate Market, the Parkinson Building at Leeds University, the old, arts and crafts style buildings along Chapeltown Road, Harehills and in Oakwood. And Roundhay Park - truly gorgeous.) Plus a vote for Manchester, simply on account of that Town Hall of theirs. How fabulous is that?

Whats a good place to go in January when the weathers shit, please? I think Bath is best seen in sunlight.

How do you guys decide where to live. There are so many cities I'd like to live in in the UK, it's hard to choose!

I don't have any close family so I have no family ties to draw me to one city.

I'd love to live in Glasgow for a year, York for a year, Ipswich for a year.

There are too many great cities to choose from!

So true that it's in the eye of the beholder. I can see that Edinburgh is visually attractive, but I don't really like the feel. Salisbury is stunning but it's too congested. Glasgow has a grittiness which is appealing (to me). Bits of Aberdeen are gorgeous (Old Aberdeen, the granite against the blue (freezing) sky, the massive amount of brutalist architecture - not everyone's cup of tea but it suits the city). Belfast - the sheer growth in what it is. The best way I could describe Belfast in the early 1990s was 'gappy' - huge swathes of the city that had been factories and rope works and not redeveloped (for obvious reasons), gaps in every street where buildings had been bombed and it felt like there was no point in rebuilding. Compared to today - it's incredible.

I like all of Suffolk. It's so pretty.

Edinburgh for me - I live here, and imo Edinburgh on a dreich day is still more beautiful than other places on a good day! As Alexander McCall Smith wrote: "This is a city of shifting light, of changing skies, of sudden vistas. A city so beautiful it breaks the heart again and again."

Totally agree on Edinburgh.

It's a bit grey and grim though.

Worcester and Oxford.

Durham

don't know why, but I've always had a bad time when I visit Edinburgh.

Yes, me too. I know it is beautiful but it feels sad, grey and dark.

I’m a Cheshire girl so I might be biased… but the rows, walls and groves of Chester get my vote!

I was thinking of visiting Chester in Jan or Feb. I have a friend there. I am keen on ruins and history.

York is nice but the main town is overcrowded peak times.
Knaresborough is beautiful in terms of scenery.

This is so lovely!
I am lucky enough to live in York, (so completely biased too!) when I’m picking DD up from school, we pass the registry office while we’re usually stuck in traffic on Bootham. We love to see the brides and the bridal parties walking into the centre. 💕

Yes, Johnson and Khan between them have ruined the London skyline.