Perhaps a slightly over done topic. Whatever, this game is new to me and I like to hear about peoples experiences and joys in this game.
It seems you've all had different fascinating experiences within this game and it's really interesting to view other peoples oppions of certain aspects of the game.

On a domestic level and not related to quests at all, what is your favorite city or town, and why?
Is it the homes, or the people? Or is it the stunning views or the gorgeous architecture?
Is it simply a place you go to store stuff or do you take your role playing to another level and reallly treat a certain city as 'home' ?

I'm placing this thread in 'spoilers' as people then wont be censored as to the detail and depth of the cities they like or how they got there etc.


Does anyone make lists about the pro's and cons of each city?
Ie,
Whiterun: Most crabby old people.
Markarth: Best architecture.
Solitude: Best mead.
And so on?

Overall Falkreath is my absolute favourite city. I love dark pine forests and the town seems very ominous and creepy, but quaint and peaceful at the same time.

Markarth is only beautiful because of where it is geographically (Built into the side of a mountain with streams and rivers)
Solitude gives me a dark Victorian era feel at first sight
Whiterun is kind of average and can shift between interesting and boring often
Windhelm is the kind of city you really only want to see at night
Morthal is interesting and feels spooky also, like Falkreath. You get the feeling of Vampires and bog monsters in Morthal as opposed to Werewolves in Falkreath.
Dawnstar is pretty average, but has a kind of emo/gothic feel somehow. (Mostly in the people/quests that take place there)
Winterhold feels foreign and harsh
Riften is a close tie for favourite. It's rested in a beautiful fall-feeling landscape and feels sinister while looking gorgeous. I like Riften because of the diversity in race among people who live there.

Markarth so far, though I have yet to visit the cities on the north coast.
I arrived at Markarth via the Sanguine quest and was just stunned by it visually.
The creators of this game sure have one hell of an imagination.

I was also impressed with Dragonsreach in whiterun, though not with Whiterun the city.

I like a few all equally. Riften for buying and selling stuff and taking a walk outside the walls as it's a bit more interesting to me than snow snow snow.

Markarth is awesome for its looks and the ability to get tonnes of dwarven metal so close to a smelter and a forge, very good for making some quick cash. Although the lack of decent traders and stuff kinda svcks, it looks the richest it should have loads of traders.

I usually 'live' i.e. stash my junk, at the college of Winterhold as it's a good cheap base with lots of useful goodies.

All in all I would have to pick Windhelm. Riften is a close second.

Probably would say Solitude, just the idea that such a large city is on a rock bow, that's pretty cool.
Also I like the architecture in Solitude as the rich people you can loot.

Riften is closely second.

Markarth is very beautiful but easy to get lost in.

Solitude is rather large, but functional.

Whiterun is my Balmora. It just seems right to live there and it’s pretty much in the middle of the country.

Winterhold really has nothing. They really need a quest to rebuild those broken down houses.

Riften is set up nice, but I really hate the people there. I wish there was a way to clean out the Thieves Guild completely (like the DB) and make it a better town.

Winterhold is my favorite. It's so isolated and cozy. The constant blizzard there is awesome. I just wish there were more to it... there's like what, three buildings there including the college? Well, at least one of them is a tavern.

Riften, Windhelm, Falkreath.

Whiterun, Windhelm, and Riften.

RIften and Throat of the World

Whiterun looks totally like Edoras in The Two Towers. I love that. I also like that this is the most central town; traveling to there from any corner of Skyrim is relatively quickly done. Other advantages are that there are two shops open 24/7 (Drunken Huntsman and Honningbrew Meadery fence).

Visually most pleasant are Markath and Solitude for me. Markath is just stunning, and Solitude has the awesome Castle, and all these medieval houses and corners. But I think that the playerhouses are suited most unfavourably far from any fast traveling points. Also, the towns are in far off corners of Skyrim, which makes journey from the eastern parts of the country to a longish journey.

Most practical is definitely Riften. You can enter the town by your own house's backdoor and save yourself the hassle with the guards (if you should have a problem with them at the time). Also, there are a LOT of merchants after a bit of Thieves Guilding, all offering their services 24/7. Disadvantage, again, is that Riften is in a very far off corner of Skyrim.

I fail to see anything positive in Windhelm at all, but maybe I haven't looked hard enough.

Of the unwalled cities and towns, I have a weak spot for Riverwood and for Morthal. In Riverwood, almost everyone seems to like my character, and the shop is run by a Creeper (after investing in his shop, I mean). Morthal just has something awesome. Maybe I just like the look of the swamps in the moonlight, or something.

In Falkreath, I always get lost on the search for the alchemist shop, and Dawnstar doesn't even have a general store. Winterhold is just pathetic, the college aside.

Whiterun feels the most like home to me. It's in a nice part of Skyrim - flowers, streams, waterfalls - and the weather is generally good. It has everything in terms of shops and the home, whilst small, is cosy.

Solitude is my next favourite - build on that amazing arch of rock, it has lovely views and a pleasant atmosphere (well, aside from that execution when you first arrive, of course). The house is arguably the nicest in the game, too.

Windhelm, I hate. I hate snow and cold in real life, and I hate it here. The Grey Quarter is miserable, the people racist, the minorities treated like dirt. The architecture is also dingy, and the place is prone to dragon attacks (in my last game it killed both the smith and his apprentice, so I had to go to other towns to sell my stuff, most of the time). In addition, I found it one of the least friendly. You're not even offered the role of thane unless you are a significant way through the Stormcloaks quest, whereas in Solitude, you can get a house and thaneship without going near the Legion. And the house itself - very big but bare and not at all cosy. Well, it is a murder house, I suppose.

Marketh is spectacular in its own way but I also find the dwarvern architecture somewhat oppressive. The home is cosy but rather dark - no windows - and as others have said, it's easy to get disorientated trying to find certain shops and buildings.

Riften would be nice if it wasn't a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but then that is also part of its charm, depending on the type of character you play. I'd put it third, below Solitude but above Marketh.

Winterhold is another that is too cold and bleak. I get shivery just walking across the central courtyard of the mage academy.

Of the smaller places, Dawnstar is too cold and doesn't have enough shops, and there's an air of forboding about the place. Falkreath is supposed to be gloomy but I found it rather lovely. Morthal seemed reasonably pleasant as well. I prefer Riverwood to both of them, however - it's in a pretty part of the country and as others have said, the folks are friendly.

As a vampire (in stage 4 so everyone attacks you on sight) I go for Riften because of the backdoor possibility. Even though I don't really need it.
It has good access to many shops, especially with the thieves guild nearby and the weather is fairly nice as well. The races also seem quite well represented in Riften, always nice to see some friendly Argonians imo.

I tend to avoid the cities with a blizzard climate. Absolutely hate it. Might even consider some kind of "sunshine mod" for cities or something if/when such a thing comes out.

Markarth is the most beautiful.

Solitude is the easiest to navigate and is pretty enough.

Falkreath has Narra.

F-ing hate Windhelm.

Spoiler:

I think there's a shout for that.

Not a city but I love riverwood. It just feels so calm and homely - until a dragon rains fire from the skies.

Aye I know, but I've never tried it yet. Now might be a good time to advance a little further into the High Hrothgar quest line
Any idea on how long it lasts though? I know the cooldown is short but I don't want to keep shouting just to enjoy the weather... ^^

That's not the first time I've read that and it always confuses me since you can fast travel from right outside your house door in most cases.

I think Bethesda had the same problem with Whiterun here as they did with Balmora in Morrowind: It's the first town people come to and has everything you could really need. This makes it most likely to stick in people's minds when thinking of "best town," so as much as I want to get away from there it's kind of hard not to stick around or at least be familiar with it. Plus having the smith right next door, and a container ON the alchemy table, makes this an easy choice for convenience and utility. The enchanting table is kinda far but I'd rather have containers next to my tables if I'm gonna have tables. Plus, most of the other houses seem to have rooms that you can't do anything with anyway.

Of the other towns, I think Solitude is really cool looking and the house has some of the best views of any player house, but some things aren't designed well. The older and richer my character gets, the more I just want an awesome view of the world.

Solitude. I love the idea of a city build on top of a natural stone arch.

Either Riften, Whiterun or Markarth. I've spent most time in Whiterun and grew fond to the people there, plus it is located in a nice central place in Skyrim, good for exploration. Markarth is the most visually pleasing, though I'm not a fan of those corrupt guards. Riften is kind of my second home after Whiterun, since the Thieves' Guild is there, and Riften Hold and Eastmarch slightly to the north are, in my opinion, the most beautiful places in Skyrim. Sunset over Eastmarch is amazing.

Aside from the essentials... my Dunmer Vampire Mage/Assassin has turned Falkreath into a Necropolis...



So Falkreath is my favorite right now.

I haven't finished the game, so this is my opinion with the default rulers.

I like Solitude and Whiterun the most. They actually look like people bother trying to keep them clean and they have nice people. Not saying they are perfect, but they're better than anything else I've seen in Skyrim. Love the Jarl of Whiterun and the wife of the deceased High King. I really like how they show Solutide's leadership dealing with the complexities of loyalty, friendship, the death of their King, and dealing with the severe inexperience of the queen.

Winterhold is half the corpse of a city, if that. I like the people there, though my wizard who became Archmage would have liked a chance to help rebuild the city and change the Jarl's mind regarding the College (the Jarl seems like a good guy overall). It definitely has a major cultural schism with the College and that doesn't help.

Riften is a hive of scum and villainy and manages to evoke the feeling of a cess pool in the town center -- the watery lower area manages to just seem absolutely filthy. The Jarl's totally corrupt (as is most of the city), though I'm fond of the ridiculously absent-minded Court Wizard and the Lioness.

Somehow Windhelm manages to feel even worse to me. Partly because of the heavy racism throughout it, and partly because the whole city manages to look filthy. It has a fair bit of corruption going on too, though it has nothing on Riften naturally, but it isn't that great.

Falkreath is alrright, but it is pretty forgettable -- and I don't care much for the quests I got there. I kind of laugh at the "huge" cemetary. It's about as big as the "farms" and so it just comes across as a bit silly to me. Oh and the Jarl is a worthless creep (though I guess I have to rate him favorable to Riften's Jarl who is swimming in corruption).

I liked the people of Morthal overall, especially the Jarl who seemed pretty wise. They had a mage problem too, but it looked like they were going to get over it in time (assuming the Jarl is Seeing clearly). That said, there's not much to the city...it's really more of a small town at best, so I can't count it among my favorite CITIES. I mean, it's about the same size as towns. Love me some vampire killing though.

Haven't been to Markarth yet.

Functionally, Whiterun takes it at a walk. 4 vendors which buy weapons, three which sell ore, and the whole place is very compact. The only quibble I have is that the enchanting station is a huge hike up to Dragonsreach. Aesthetically, I like Solitude. It's just huge, yawning and cosmopolitan. It's the only settlement in Skyrim which actually feels like a city, instead of just a walled (or in some cases, not walled) town.

When you fast travel time still goes by based on the distance (which means less dragon spawns for example), so having a central location is helpful. Especially for those who don't like to use the fast travel option.


I think the biggest factor is that the starting town is very 'normal' and familiar looking. A little bit vanilla, nothing extreme there. In many ways that does make it a "best town". For roleplaying I usually go for another town though. But if the starting area would be Winterhold I'm sure your theory of people mainly liking the starting area it doesn't apply.

Easily Markarth, I love the dwarven architecture. Riften comes in second quickly with an eery feeling it has because of the dark underground in the city. I love the fall forest outside of it but Markarth wins because it has my favourite house.