Best UK cities to visit/live in

which do you think are the best...i love visiting new cities...enjoy the history - cathedrals and little shops...one of my faves has been rye there are so many little shops and i love the cobblestone roads...

london is cool to visit every now and then...i prefer the country though with the views of the downs and sea...eastbourne is great it has both

I love Rye!  What an absolutely lovely place.  I've been there several times and always look forward to going back.  

I went to Brighton for the first time in April and enjoyed it.

The next place I look forward to going to is Cornwall.  FH and several others have told me it's quite nice there. [smiley=sunny.gif]

Edinburgh.

No question.

Edinburgh. ..... No question.

Unless you don't the cold, and the wind!

At the moment we're living very closely to London, we're about 15 minutes away on the train. We still haven't seen everything that there is to see in London and around.  But there are definately other places that are on our list of places to explore/visit, or even live; northumberland national park (where Hadrian's wall is), Liverpool (to see the famous beatles spots),  Avebury, Glastonbury and Tintagel to name a few.....

London is my favorite city in the world.
I was mightily impressed with Manchester.
Bath is very charming.
Bristol is really starting to make a mark.
I keep having miserable times in Oxford, but that has nothing to do with the city...just clouds my vision.
Oban's gorgeous, and we'll be there again next month.
Sheffield's somewhat depressing, but it has a great dry ski slope.

Could go on, but these are just my random thoughts and experiences. But to answer your "living" question more specifically...if I were 30 years younger, I'd for sure start out my adult life living/working/breathing the city centre of London. Then I might move on to Manchester where I'd spend my 30s...just seems really great for culture and raising kids.

But in the end, I'm happy right here. Not a great place to visit, nothing special in terms of living conditions. It's the people. I've never been made more welcome in a community.

York is gorgeous. There's so much history in that little city. York Minster was better than Notre Dame.

I really fell in love with that city.

Glasgow definitely.
I live 15 miles from Edinburgh, and 35 miles from Glasgow, and i will still choose Glasgow for going out/socialising, shopping, etc.  Glasgow's miles better.  

Lincoln is a great all around town for shopping and doing the tourist thing.  It has a great vibe and, but as happens with all the best tourist cities is packed out during the summer, so we tend to avoid it during the high season unless we go bright and early.  Oh, and bring your mountain climbing gear to go up steep hill.  

That said, while I don't think I'd ever live there again the shopping in Glasgow CAN NOT be beat.  We go up every couple of months to visit the relatives and I always come home with something.  There is very little to do on the touristy side, but you are a short train ride to Edinburgh which is packed with history.  

IMO, stay away from Hull & Leeds....armpits compared to the rest of the UK.  Let the flaming begin!

Lincoln is a beautiful cathedral city well worth a visit, but be warned--it's a steep climb to the cathedral if you walk through the town and up Steepe Hill (yes it really is called that!) The oldest house in Britain is on that hill, dating back to the 12th Century, called 'The Jew's House.' It's now a restaurant.

WINCHESTER!
The cathedral is the most impressive in England, but I am biased (I volunteer there).

We have also enjoyed visiting:
Weymouth
Beer (in Devon...great for walking, cute town)
Edinburgh
Betws-y-Coed in North Wales (again, great for walking)
Bath
or pretty much anywhere in Western Scotland (around Glen Affric...truly amazing!)

Anyway...just my two cents!

I love London, I can do Covent Garden with my eyes closed and I like Brighton with its Lanes.

London rocks! I've lived here almost 20 years and still haven't seem all there is to see!

IMO, stay away from Hull & Leeds....armpits compared to the rest of the UK.  Let the flaming begin!

Leeds is fine. Quit being a punk.