Five Oh-So-Pretty Cities to Visit in the UK

When it comes to beautiful cities, Europe easily beats all the other continents hands-down, thanks to elegant architectural styles and a certain old-world charm that is at the same time both obvious yet understated. While no city in the UK can rival the likes of Paris or Rome when it comes to jaw-dropping architecture, that doesn’t mean that British cities don’t have their own charm. Here are my favorite cities in England that will likely make you swoon.

Belfast

The capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast was one of the notorious ‘Four Bs’ in the 1990s, the other three being Bosnia, Beirut and Baghdad - a list of places to avoid at all costs. However the fighting stopped a long time ago now, and Belfast has bounced back better than ever. Check out the City Hall, stroll around Queen’s University, and stop for a bite to eat in the leafy and lovely neighborhood of Lisburn. My recommendation would be a gourmet burger at Rocket & Relish. Chow down on it and admire the scenery.

Image source: Flickr - Mick_Gallagher_1959

Newcastle

Grey Street, in the city center, was once voted as the most beautiful street in the UK, and it’s not hard to see why if you walk down the gentle sloping road. Once at the bottom, you’ll be at Newcastle’s Quayside, where you can talk a walk along the River Tyne, and marvel at the space age Sage, a music venue across the river in Gateshead. Hop on the Metro, the city’s underground system, and head to West Jesmond for a coffee or to pick up a bargain in one of the neighborhood’s many vintage stores.

Edinburgh

The Scottish capital is awe-inspiring, from the dramatic Edinburgh Castle to the beautiful Prince’s Gardens and the many green parks dotted throughout the city. Edinburgh has a certain old-world feel to it, and a stroll through some streets will have you thinking you’ve stepped back in time, until you see a shop hawking Scottish shortbread peeping out of a grey stone building.

Hereford

Hereford’s size and population may not qualify it as a city in the eyes of most people, it’s cathedral certainly does - any town in the UK with a cathedral is automatically deemed a city. Hereford has a quaint, charming city center, and it’s cathedral is one of the best in the UK. Plus it’s home to the Mappus Mundi, an ancient medieval map and the only one of its kind left in Britain.

Oxford

Movie fans will recognize parts of Oxford from a certain series of movies about a famous boy wizard, but there’s much more to the city than that. The colleges that make up Oxford’s world-class university are destinations in their own right, with Christ Church probably being the most well renowned. A walk through Oxford’s city center is like taking a walk through history, and nature lovers can ramble on over to Port Meadow, a beautiful green area in the city popular with joggers and cyclists.

Which of these amazing cities do you want to visit first?

Note: Available plans and coverages may have changed since this blog was published.