funny how things evolve. interesting actually

Riften - human waste, stagnant water, rotting fish
Markarth - smoke, human waste
Windhelm - horse, not much else since the snow would freeze everything. Indoors probably of human sweat though
Winterhold - might be a whiff of strange chemicals coming from the College
Solitude - a sickly mix of too many people wearing clashing perfume who may not have taken a bath recently
Morthal - rotting things, typical swamp smells
Falkreath - human sweat, freshly cut wood
Dawnstar - smoke, fish, salt water, but the cold wouldn't make those smells strong
Riverwood - cut wood, human sweat. Actually comes across as one of the cleaner places.

Crypts - rot and stagnant water
Caves - of whatever last died/lived in them
Great Outdoors - varied

Nah disease is easily cured through alchemy, or even divine blessing.

Until the Imperials lift the great soap embargo I am going with Nord funk

The Danes who settled in England were known for their "excessive" cleanliness because they bathed regularly. Maybe not as often as people who have showers and piped hot water do but they certainly weren't particularly unclean. In nost medeval towns human waste was a resource used on crops, in fires, or in the tanning process.

It would smell like a smelly smell that smells smelly.

Lets say it smells like, Beggers with a mix of sweet rolls and the pure air of the mountain

Let's hope they don't make this game into a 4D game :3

Boring answer...

You wouldn`t notice as you`d probably smell worse than everyone else.

Think about it, you travel for miles on each day out. You spend hours in stinking tombs and deep dank dungeons fighting all kinds of foul smelling things. the only wash you ever get is IF you bother to take a dive in the river.

And you think a peasant in a field would be smelly?

There should be another saying that guards say when a Dragonborne enters a city..

"GODS YOU STINK!"

The school of restoration is definitely missing some spell tomes : clean teeth on self, circle of stench protection, and an area affect deodorise armpits.

After I've finished visiting an area, burnt corpses and sulphur.

Skyrim would smell like fresh cut spring flowers strewn across a babbling brook with a hint of lemon.

I'm imagining..

The drab towns would smell of freshly cut wood, pollen, sulfuric smoke, rotten hide and a drab amount of what could be described as cow turd.
Big cities should be noticeable for more flavours, including scents like that of newly bloomed flowers, exotic wonders of the markets and grilled fish.
Perhaps with a woff of an unwashed beggar every now and again. But much of the city would be deeply concocted in the smell of smoke and burnt materials.

I can't imagine the conditions our ancestors lived in. Bad hygiene, rampant disease, parasites, general filth. Its no wonder they only lived to about 30 0r 40.

With the amount of dead things in my game. I'm guessing a butchers shop.

I would get out of my Dragonscale armor this instant! I bet it stinks like hell.

Edit:
Now after reading my own comment...What I meant was that it should stink, because it is made of the skin of a dead dragon. However, since I am wearing it 24/7 is it questionable if one can still smell the dead dragon or just me.

... in Europe and Northern America. In the Middle East or Southern Asia to find cultures where physical and mental cleanliness were considered equivalent.

I know riften and markarth stink of corruption!

Yeah, but those cultures are kind of irrelevant, considering the European basis for Skyrim's design and culture.

Skyrim would actually be a far healthier place to live. The air might smell perhaps to our 21st century noses, but our lungs would probably feel drunk to the healthier air free from the polution of our world today.

In Skyrim people would have pink lungs, here we have grey lungs.

True, but I'd rather have gray lungs and not have the imminent danger of dragons, saber cats, trolls, and bandits lol.

Edit: Also, actual toilets.

Err... Old Vicky was an absolute prude. No way she would've gone that long without cleaning herself.

Sure. There`s always the threat of constant death in that world. But some would say it`s the same in our world too (nukes anyone?)

Funny how it all balances out.

It also depends on your personal take on the scale of the place. If you think there are only 10 people in a village because there's only 10 NPCs present, you'll have a different response than if you think there's 100s, but they are only symbolized by the 10 you can interact with. Is Solitude a thriving commercial hub, or is it a town of some dozen buildings and 20 some people?

Piney, watery (if that makes sense.. just really "fresh", I guess. At least, when draugr aren't around).

I like to think the Restore Health effect restores hygiene too.