# DISCUSS: Best City Square



## latennisguy

California Plaza in Los Angeles is cool. The waterfall is awesome! and they have amazing free concerts during the summer! (right now!!) And the best part? B.Y.O.B.!! woo hoooo


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## dynamoultraclean

Federation Square, Melbourne.


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## WillesdenGreen

Parisian squares look nice but always seem to be the centre of a massive roundabout - Getting to the Place de Concorde usually requires dodging traffic for 15 minutes


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## Rhoy

*Piazza de Ferrari - GENOVA (GENOA)*


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## LuckyLuke

No doubt, Grand Place in Brussels and the market square in Krakow are definitely the most beautiful in the world! 

Another beautiful square is the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin



Römer square in Frankfurt


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## serendib

*Independence Square - Sri Lanka - Colombo










































































































 *


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## Manila-X

Hong Kong has Chater Garden/Statue Square which is located in the Central District. Here's some of the reasons why it's one of the best city squares.










The square is surrounded by some of the world's tallest buildings with the finest post contemporary architectures. You have skysrapers such as the Bank Of China, HSBC Center, Cheung Kong Center and more surrounding the square. Some of the the city's most expensive and luxurious hotels like the Mandarin Oriental surrounds the square. Also some of the city's elegant boutiques and shopping centers like The Princess Building surrounds the square.

The Legislative Council, one of HK's governing body has it's building is located in the Square. The buildings also has a classical architecture. Hong Kong's Cityhall is nearby across the highway. 









The Legislative Council









The square during Christmas. Hong Kong's tallest building, the 2IFC is in the background. Some of the city's festivals like Chinese New Year or The Lantern Festival have some activities in the square.









Chater Garden's greens provides some tranquility in Hong Kong's Central District. It's a nice place to relax and walk through as a relief to the fast-paced working environment.









Aerial view of Chater Garden. The park has some nice fountains. Alot of the city's residents practice Tai Chi on the open ground every morning.









The square serve as a crossroad for Hong Kong. It is very accessible either by Trams, MTR or public bus. The square also has an underpass that leads to The Star Ferry which provide daily trip to Kowloon.









On Sundays, the square become little Philippines where alot of Filipinos living in HK would gather and chat. Also, alot of Philippine themed events happen in the square every Sunday!


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## Cariad

Would you believe that Sydney does not have a town/city square (
They are purchasing a very expensive block in the CBD in front of the city hall to create a square, but I think we have a good few years for this to become a reality *sigh*


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## Sideshow_Bob

/\ Is it true? Poor you..


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## Manila-X

Hong Kong's Statue Square during Christmas


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## juanico

in no particular order:

Plaza de España - Sevilla
La Grand' Place - Bruxelles
Old Town Square - Prague
Old Town Square - Krakow
Piazza San Marco - Venice 
are all :drool: and I don't remember cars spoiling them, like it is the case in some others cities (e. g. Paris).


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## Lanier

Red Square no doubt


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## FROM LOS ANGELES

If Times Square is considered a square, then it is the best.


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## Lagunero

Most tradicional square of Mexico: Zocalo

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/4346/zocalo57mb.jpg

[IMG]http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8439/zocalo19dn.jpg


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## Metropolitan

Squares and circus are a European speciality. Actually, European cities are organized according to them with most main avenues joining one to the other. As a consequence, you have loads of magnificent squares in Europe. There are way too many of them to make a list.

In Paris alone, there are tons of noticeable squares or circus. I would distinguish them in two categories, those serving as traffic hub and the pedestrian ones.

In the traffic hub category, the most beautiful would be :
- Place de l'Etoile
- Place de la Concorde
- Place de la Bastille
- Place de l'Opéra
- Saint-Germain des Prés
- Montparnasse
- Place Saint-Michel
- Carrefour de l'Odéon
- Place du Châtelet


In the Pedestrian category, the most beautiful would be :
- Place Vendôme
- Place des Vosges
- Place de l'Hotel de Ville
- Beaubourg
- Trocadero
- Esplanade de la Défense
- Place du Palais Royal
- Place de la Fontaine des Innocents

Well, that list is far to be complete, but sincerly there are so many of them that I can't remember all the most beautiful of them right now.

In any European cities, you always find at least one beautiful square or circus. While in North America all towns have a main street, in Europe, all towns have a main square. As I've already said, European cities are always organized according to their main squares or circus.


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## Manila-X

In terms of city square Hong Kong and Singapore are among the best looking ones for Asia, CBD wise


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## hkskyline

Place Vendôme is quite a stunning square.


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## Manila-X

hkskyline, you sure travel alot


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## JoSin

WANCH said:


> In terms of city square Hong Kong and Singapore are among the best looking ones for Asia, CBD wise


Singapore has a city square? Is it the Raffles Place? Its so small. I prefer the Padang Area to be city square, with all the old and colonial buildings. It just need some life there.


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## Manila-X

JoSin said:


> Singapore has a city square? Is it the Raffles Place? Its so small. I prefer the Padang Area to be city square, with all the old and colonial buildings. It just need some life there.


It's small but it looks really nice.


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## SE9

The Independence Square in Kyiv looks very nice!

Crowds at Trafalgar Sq:


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## Manila-X

What's the event on the bottom pic?


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## SE9

It was after the July 7th bombings in London. The flag reads "We are not afraid"


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## JoSin

City Square...or Padang in Singapore.


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## Manila-X

SE9 said:


> It was after the July 7th bombings in London. The flag reads "We are not afraid"


Thanks for the info


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## hkskyline

It's funny how *Times Square* is not really a square.


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## Manila-X

But it's still one of the most vibrant places in NY 

I look at Madison Square as NY's city square


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## hkskyline

There are a couple other squares in the area, such as *Union Square* and *Washington Square* :



















I like Washington Square Park a lot more since it is in the heart of NYU - a very lively neighborhood.


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## Manila-X

Washington Square looks really nice and relaxing. NY's got several but hard to tell which is the main square.


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## hkskyline

WANCH said:


> Washington Square looks really nice and relaxing. NY's got several but hard to tell which is the main square.


There is no main square like the city centre ones in Europe. There are several neighborhood squares, such as Washington Square. The urban planning style is a little different in New York vs. the other cities that revolve around the town square.


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## Manila-X

hkskyline said:


> There is no main square like the city centre ones in Europe. There are several neighborhood squares, such as Washington Square. The urban planning style is a little different in New York vs. the other cities that revolve around the town square.


A little off topic but it's kinda like how Central in HK is planned since most of the skyscrapers around the area revolved around Statue Square.


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## JoSin

Singapore's city hall and supreme court, which i think it is the city square.


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## hkskyline

WANCH said:


> A little off topic but it's kinda like how Central in HK is planned since most of the skyscrapers around the area revolved around Statue Square.


Not totally true. Jardine House, then known as Connaught Centre, was HK's first skyscraper and it never bordered the square. Subsequently, buildings popped up in Admiralty, and Exchange Square was built in the 1980s away from Statue Square. HSBC was the only major new building fronting the square. All the other skyscrapers were around the rest of the district.


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## hoangduong

Ba Dinh ( Vietnamese: Ba Di`nh ) Square, not far from the center of Hanoi city.


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## Manila-X

That's Ho Chi Minh's masoleum right?


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## JDRS

I really like that square in Hong Kong surrounded by skyscrapers. Could sit there all day 

I like Trafalgur Square alot but wouldn't rate it in first place. It's great in summer and I like the fact that the traffic circulates it but it's pedestrianised. In London, I prefer the smaller quieter squares. Piccadily Circus has a great central buzz but it can get too busy and stressful and it's very touristy.


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## Davee

Cathedral Square, Christchruch, New Zealand.


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## Manila-X

JDRS said:


> I really like that square in Hong Kong surrounded by skyscrapers. Could sit there all day
> 
> I like Trafalgur Square alot but wouldn't rate it in first place. It's great in summer and I like the fact that the traffic circulates it but it's pedestrianised. In London, I prefer the smaller quieter squares. Piccadily Circus has a great central buzz but it can get too busy and stressful and it's very touristy.


I can't imagine sitting there all day! But I can hang out there for several hours on a Sunday


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## argory

*Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur*

It used to be called the Padang (field) in colonial times and was mainly used for cricket and parades. The Padang was a common feature in British Malaya and Singapore. It's remains one of the main focal points in KL even as the skyscrapers continue to be built around it. The new name is given as Dataran Merdeka which means 'Independence Square'.

from trekearth.com









taken about a month ago


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## hkskyline

argory said:


> It used to be called the Padang (field) in colonial times and was mainly used for cricket and parades. The Padang was a common feature in British Malaya and Singapore. It's remains one of the main focal points in KL even as the skyscrapers continue to be built around it. The new name is given as Dataran Merdeka which means 'Independence Square'.
> 
> from trekearth.com
> 
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> 
> taken about a month ago


A few more pictures from my collection :


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## staff

The Dundas Sq. in Toronto is a joke compared to the city squares of Europe I think.

I nominate Grand Place (Bruxelles), Kongens Nytorv (CPH) and Tiananmen Sq. (Beijing).


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## Stefan88

I think Market Square in Nottingham could be a contender for a city of a smaller size compared to other large cities such as Beijing and toronto. Im not saying it is as good or as bad as the others but I think for a medium size city such as Nottingham is it pretty gd. It does have the largest market square in Europe. There isnt a market there anymore but it's still fairly important. After the renovation of it it should hopefully look amazing with the Italian granite and water fountains. The trams will especiallly add character to the square. Unfortuantely I havent posted any photos and I don't no how to yet as im fairly new to SSC compared to most.


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## Jack Rabbit Slim

Trafalger Square:














































Piccadilly Circus:




























Independance Square in Kyiv looks very impressive, and as for Prague....kicks ass all over the place!!! 

City 'Squares' like all these are one of the things that European cities excell at, and of which North American and 
Asian cities distinctly tend to lack...not to say they don't have them, but they don't seem to be of the same quality...

:cheers:


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## Marcanadian

staff said:


> The Dundas Sq. in Toronto is a joke compared to the city squares of Europe I think.
> 
> I nominate Grand Place (Bruxelles), Kongens Nytorv (CPH) and Tiananmen Sq. (Beijing).


You can't compare Dundas Square to any square in Europe. They are totally different styles of architecture and space. Toronto's Dundas Square is only comparable with something within North America, like Times Square, but even than it isn't as good. Dundas Square has gone a long way compared to what it used to look like and it still is a public space under construction. 

Another square in Toronto would be Nathan Phillips Square. A more traditional public space without ads. 




























by sjgardiner of Flickr


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## urbane

Red Square, Moscow, the Zocalo, Mexico City, and Grand Place, Brussels are my favorites.

Tiennamen is also impressive, but the Mao-soleum in the middle of it ruins its grandiosity by cutting it in 2 parts i.m.o.


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## paw25694

Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur is great also.. especially the famous building near it *i don't know the name*


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## alsen

paw25694 said:


> Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur is great also.. especially the famous building near it *i don't know the name*


the name of tht building is Sultan Abdul Samad Building ^^


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## alsen

history-rich,the Red Square is one of my favourite


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## Mr Bricks

Tianmen Square, Red Square and even Place de la Concorde seem too open and wind-swept. They are too big and therefore a little unfriendly. I´ve never been to any of these squares and I bet they´re impressive but still not my cup of tea.


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## Boeing!

*Piazza di Trevi,Rome*


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## Boeing!

*Saint Peter's square,Rome*


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## Boeing!

*Piazza Venezia,Rome*


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## Boeing!

*The Capitol - Piazza del Campidoglio(by Michelengelo),Rome*


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## Boeing!

*piazza Navona,Rome*


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## Erebus555

The Pottsdamer Platz in Berlin is amazing. The architecture surrounding it is beautiful and it is so clean. I think there was the place I really fell in love with architecture.


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## Brad

The Cathedral Square in Moscow Kremlin is considered to be the oldest in Moscow. The Ivan Terrible bell tower was the biggest building in Moscow for centuries.

The Cathedral Square is blue. The Red Square is at the opposite side of the Kremlin wall to the North-East. 









The coronation ceremony of the tzar Mikhail Fyodorovich. The pic was painted in 1672.









19th century









The Cathedral Square is behind this cathedral









The entrance to the square









The side of the square that is opposite to the Ivan the Terrible bell tower.


















The Cathedral Square is behind the Ivan the Terrible bell tower.


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## Gioven

*PADUA: Prato della Valle*

One of the biggest European squares is PRATO DELLA VALLE, in PADUA(Veneto region, Italy).
The following pics aren't mine; I've found them on the net to show you this wonderful and big square.


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## Gioven

*PADUA: Prato della Valle*

One of the biggest European squares is PRATO DELLA VALLE, in PADUA(Veneto region, Italy).
The following pics aren't mine; I've found them on the net to show you this wonderful and big square.


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## alsen

Naghsh-i Jahan Square is also one of the best too...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Esfahan-shah-sq.jpg
http://www.babyloniangal.com/files/tours/isfahan_imam_square.jpg
http://www.bestirantravel.com/images/sights/isfahan/khomeiniSq.jpg


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## KoolKeatz

Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin


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