It started with 50…it is now down to 10.
Quick update before I head off to do some drinking and barbecuing with friends and family. The results of round two are in and to be honest they kind of shocked me. Heavy favorites last week, Prague’s Old Town Square and Krakow’s Rynek Glowny, both barely hung on this week. So that means Brussels’ Grand Place now sits alone on top of the best town square voting with a number one position to itself.
Some squares that got the boot that I felt could have won it all include the beautiful Placa d’Espanya in Barcelona, City Hall Square in Copenhagen and Saint Mark’s Square in Venice. Also while I love Philly, I honestly can not believe the out pour of support for Rittenhouse Square.
Now to some goodies for you loyal readers of TheBrooklynNomad.com. Lonely Planet, which is without a doubt the most popular travel guidebook company in the world, has been cool enough to offer up a free guidebook as part of the best town square poll. So how do you win one of these great books?
Very simple. Voting for this final round is currently underway and will continue until Saturday May 30. Each weekday from June 1-5 I will reveal two of the top 10 best town squares in order of the most votes that they received. So for example on June 1 #10 and #9, June 2 #8 and #7, and so on. Then on June 5 I will reveal the best town square in the world…according to the people on this site of course.
All you have to do is leave a comment below on what town square you feel will win it all on June 5. Just make sure you fill in the email part when leaving a comment so that I may contact you if you are the winner. I will announce the new owner of an LP guidebook that same day via email. I will then pass along their mailing information and what book they request to the great people at Lonely Planet in Australia. Before you know it there will be a fresh, crisp and delicious guidebook in your mailbox (please refrain from eating the delicious guidebook).
So here are the top 10…vote…leave a comment…win a free Lonely Planet guidebook…and may the best town square (and reader) win. Good luck!
- Brussels, Belgium: Grand Place
- Seville, Spain: Plaza de Espana
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Museumplein
- London, England: Piccadilly Circus
- San Francisco, California: Union Square
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Rittenhouse Square
- Prague, Czech Republic: Old Town Square
- Moscow, Russia: Red Square
- Rome, Italy: Piazza del Popolo
- Krakow, Poland: Rynek Glowny
.
Here are the other 40 town squares that have been eliminated:
- Beijing, China: Tien’anmen Square
- Shanghai, China: People’s Square
- Hanoi, Vietnam: Ba Dinh Square
- Pyongyang, North Korea: Kim II-sung Square
- Berlin, Germany: JFK-Platz
- Kharkov, Ukraine: Freedom Square
- Lisbon, Portugal: Praca do Imperio
- Warsaw, Poland: Parade Square
- Vienna, Austria: The Heldenplatz
- Copenhagen, Denmark: The City Hall Square
- Budapest, Hungary: Heroes’ Square
- Vatican City: Saint Peter’s Square
- Venice, Italy: Saint Mark’s Square
- Florence, Italy: Piazza della Repubblica
- Milan, Italy: Piazza del Duomo
- Bologna, Italy: Piazza Maggiore
- Madrid, Spain: Plaza Mayor
- Barcelona, Spain: Placa d’Espanya
- London, England: Lincoln’s Inn Fields
- Galway, Ireland: Eyre Square
- Lyon, France: The Place Bellecour
- Paris, France: Place des Vosges
- Paris, France: Place de laetrile (Star Square)
- Monterrey, Mexico: Macroplaza or La Gran Plaza
- Montreal, Canada: Place Jacques-Cartier
- Toronto, Canada: Yonge-Dundas Square
- Boston, Massachusetts: Copley Square
- New York, New York: Times Square
- New York, New York: Union Square
- New York, New York: Columbus Circle
- Washington, DC: National Mall
- Lima, Peru: Plaza Mayor
- Buenos Aires, Argentina: Plaza de Mayo
- Montevideo, Uruguay: Plaza Independencia
- Marrakech, Morocco: Djemaa el Fna
- Melbourne, Australia: Federation Square
- Christchurch, New Zealand: Cathedral Square
- Belgrade, Serbia: Republic Square
- Havana, Cuba: Plaza de Armas
- Dubrovnik, Croatia: Old Town Square
