10 cities to visit before you die

[RichardCranium]

It never stops amazing me the level of stupidity that you can find on the web.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former" Albert Einstein.

Another theory states that the sum of all human intelligence has long since peaked. Sadly the population is still growing...

[Zippy]

Genuine question: why should we visit Coventry? All I know of the place is that the Luftwaffe nearly flattened it.

I used to live there and thanks to the Luftwaffe the city centre is awful. Give it a miss.

[Durbs]

All UK ones, i was hoping to get some handy tips on where to take Mrs Durbs on a weekend break for our anniversary but think i'll give Liverpool and Cardiff a miss as she isn't into thievery or fighting outside kebab shops.

Just tried booking Venice but no joy on dates/sensible price. Anyone tried Bruges? Done Rome and Amsterdam so they are out.

[TykeMerc]

Just tried booking Venice but no joy on dates/sensible price. Anyone tried Bruges? Done Rome and Amsterdam so they are out.

Try Florence, rather lovely place with loads to see, nice walks and great museums. I'd say it's got a romantic atmosphere as well as being worth seeing.

[RichardCranium]

Everything You Need to Know About Coventry

How Coventry doesn't make it onto that list I'll never know.

That was sarcasm, wasn't it?

Results of my own research:

History
Coventry was founded by the husband of Lady Godiva (who rode naked through Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants). Not a good start from the slag and slapper perspective.

For 400 years it was a county. Then a borough. Then a district. It is now a city. It had 4 MPs. Now it has 3. (It is projected to become a town during our lifetime. And that's only because of the immigrant population keeping the place going.)

Other Stuff
Coventry is further from the seaside than any other city in Britain.

The "English Core Cities Group" are cities which work in partnership to enhance their economic performances, and to secure positive identities as places to live, work, visit and do business. But Coventry isn't one of them.

The folk of Coventry were so inspired by the horrific consequences of the Siege of Stalingrad that they chose to twin their city with the remnants of the place. Subsequently, they saw similarities when Dresden was destroyed and repeated the act.

Coventry motor companies have contributed significantly to the British motor industry; which of course no longer exists. The French Peugot was the last to leave, so the residents blame them.

The expression "sent to Coventry" comes from the rudeness exhibited by the residents upon Royalist prisoners during the Civil War.

It had a cloth trade, which has since gone. It had a watch and clock trade, which has since gone. Rinse and repeat for bicycles, motorcycles, cars, machine tools and aircraft.

The Luftwaffe gave the locals a serious hint, which they did not take notice of. However, what the Nazis failed to destroy, the council flattened instead.

Despite its central location and tradition for industry, it has managed to be amongst the highest unemployed areas in the UK.

It has a ruin of a cathedral.

It has a big swimming pool.

It has a car museum (just no car industry).

Some old aircraft have been dumped on the grass at the edge of Coventry airport; they call this "Coventry Air Museum".

It has a Police museum - but it is not open to the public.

It had a City Farm, once.

It had the country's biggest sewer pipes, once.

But there's always the nightclub.

And the big waste incinerator.

Claims To Fame
Mo Mowlem was educated in Coventry.

Girls Aloud played there, once.

Lots of art-related people came from Coventry, where 'came from' = 'chose to leave'.

The Future

IKEA are going to open a shop.

[Durbs]

Try Florence, rather lovely place with loads to see, nice walks and great museums. I'd say it's got a romantic atmosphere as well as being worth seeing.

Good call, hadn't considered Florence.

[TimberWolf]

10 cities to visit before you die

Are they that dangerous?

[Troll]

Swindon obviously missing purely as it is a town and not a city.

HTH

ahem...I knew that...

For the others here is a list of all the 'cities' that make up the UK ranked in size together with their populations

1. London 7.2 Million
2. Birmingham 992000
3. Leeds 720000
4. Glasgow 560000
5. Sheffield 512000
6. Bradford 467000
7. Edinburgh 450000
8. Liverpool 440000
9. Manchester 420000
10. Bristol 380000
11. Wakefield 316000
12. Cardiff 310000
13. Coventry 305000
14. Nottingham 285000
15. Leicester 280000
16. Sunderland 280000
17. Belfast 280000
18. Newcastle upon Tyne 259000
19. Brighton 248000
20. Hull 240000
21. Plymouth 240000
22. Stoke-on-Trent 239000
23. Wolverhampton 239000
24. Derby 230000
25. Swansea 225000
26. Southampton 220000
27. Salford 215000
28. Aberdeen 215000
29. Westminster 190000
30. Portsmouth 186000
31. York 182000
32. Peterborough 157000
33. Dundee 145000
34. Lancaster 135000
35. Oxford 135000
36. Newport 135000
37. Preston 130000
38. St Albans 130000
39. Norwich 125000
40. Chester 118000
41. Cambridge 115000
42. Salisbury 115000
43. Exeter 111000
44. Gloucester 110000
45. Lisburn 110000
46. Chichester 108000
47. Winchester 108000
48. Londonderry105000
49. Carlisle 101000
50. Worcester 93000
51. Bath 90000
52. Durham 87000
53. Lincoln 86000
54. Hereford 55000
55. Armagh 55000
56. Inverness 51000
57. Stirling 45000
58. Canterbury 42500
59. Lichfield 30000
60. Newry 30000
61. Ripon 24500
62. Bangor 20000
63. Truro 19000
64. Ely 14000
65. Wells 10000
66. St Davids 2000

[bekarovka]

In my opinion, Wells is the nicest place on that list with Leicester not far behind

[NickFitz]

Genuine question: why should we visit Coventry? All I know of the place is that the Luftwaffe nearly flattened it.

To experience Coventry Ring Road of course