Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I know. But sometimes I can’t help but get riled up about silly travel lists.
For example, there’s this that I found today on a website called mentalfloss.com. The story says a group called Online Mortgage Advisor looked at something called the Golden Ratio (yeah, I’ve never heard of it, either), which measures shapes and building sizes that are pleasing to the eye, and then ranked world cities based on that. It’s interesting, and there are some worthy candidates on the list. But simply focusing on pleasing architectural shapes warps things so badly that it makes this list quite silly.
I mean, Dubai? Miami? Both in the top 23 in the world? I don’t think so. I like Miami fine, but aside from the Art Deco buildings and the beach, there’s not a lot to write home about. Dubai? The old city is lovely, but the rest is like Las Vegas without the shows or the gambling.
How do you compile a list of the most beautiful cities in the world and divorce yourself entirely from the physical setting? How do you put the focus on the shape of the building rather than the design or colour or material? Surely if they had done that (admittedly a rather objective process), they would’ve had Paris much higher on the list. The list also would’ve included Vancouver, Sydney, Cape Town (maybe the top physical setting of any city on the planet) and San Francisco. Not to mention Kyoto, Japan, Charleston, South Carolina, and St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Maybe online mortgage advisors should rate the most beautiful lending agreements in the world, rather than the nicest cities. That said, I have to agree that Venice is pleasing to the eye, as well as Barcelona, Prague, Vienna, Bordeaux, Chicago and many others on the list. Here’s the full 23, along with the Golden Ratio score.
Venice is definitely deserving of a top spot on a list of the world’s most beautiful cities. Henrique Ferreira/Unsplash Photo
1. Venice, Italy // 83.3 percent
2. Rome, Italy // 82 percent
3. Barcelona, Spain // 81.9 percent
4. Prague, Czech Republic // 78.7 percent
5. New York City, United States // 77.7 percent
6. Athens, Greece // 77.5 percent
7. Budapest, Hungary // 75.9 percent
8. Vienna, Austria // 75.8 percent
9. Bordeaux, France // 75.3 percent
10. Milan, Italy // 75.1 percent
11. Stockholm, Sweden // 74.8 percent
12. Paris, France // 74.7 percent
13. Florence, Italy // 73.6 percent
13. Tel Aviv, Israel // 73.6 percent
14. Copenhagen, Denmark // 73.2 percent
15. Marrakech, Morocco // 72.7 percent
16. Chicago, United States // 71.7 percent
16. Amsterdam, Netherlands // 71.7 percent
17. Berlin, Germany // 71.3 percent
18. Istanbul, Turkey // 70.2 percent
19. St. Petersburg, Russia // 69.2 percent
20. Strasbourg, France // 69.1 percent
21. Dubai, United Arab Emirates // 67.6 percent
22. Miami, United States // 63 percent
23. Beijing, China // 55.6 percent
I guess if you’re a math nerd, this list makes a bit of sense. For the average person? Fuhgeddaboudit.
