U City Guides THE ULTIMATE URBAN TRAVEL PLANNING GUIDES
What You Need to Know Before You Go



HOME
HOTELS
HOSTELS
TOURS
TOP 10 BEST
GAY & LESBIAN
Travel Guide EUROPE
AMSTERDAM
ATHENS
BARCELONA
BERLIN
BRUSSELS
BUDAPEST
COPENHAGEN
DUBLIN

FLORENCE
ISTANBUL
LISBON
LONDON
MADRID
MILAN
NAPLES
PARIS

PRAGUE
ROME
SEVILLE
VENICE
VIENNA
ZURICH
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST
CAIRO
MARRAKECH
TEL AVIV

LATIN AMERICA
BUENOS AIRES
RIO DE JANEIRO
SÃO PAULO
UNITED STATES
LAS VEGAS
LOS ANGELES
MIAMI
NEW YORK
SAN FRANCISCO
WASHINGTON D.C.

ISLANDS
MYKONOS + SANTORINI

UCityGuides.com Home > TOP 10 > UGLIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD

Top 10

UGLIEST CITIES in the World


We've made the list of the world's 10 most beautiful cities, now we present the ten ugliest. There may be countless ugly small and medium-sized cities around the world, but these are the ten least attractive of the world's capitals and major cities. If you live in any of these places, you'll surely disagree, but here is our unbiased list:
Amman, Jordan

AMMAN, JORDAN

1 | GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA

This fumes-and-crime-filled city is the capital of an otherwise beautiful country. It looks more like a slum than a capital city, with most buildings appearing on the verge of collapse.

2 | MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

It's currently known as one of the world's most dangerous cities, but even if it was a safe haven, it still would not be a very inviting city. It's one of the world's most polluted and there isn't much to look at.

Mexico City, Mexico
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO


3 | AMMAN, JORDAN

The capital of the country with one of the world's most fascinating historical sites (magical Petra) should simply be an arrival and departure point on your travel itinerary. Unless you enjoy dirty, chaotic streets and ugly buildings looking like they're crumbling on top of each other.

4 | CARACAS, VENEZUELA

Venezuela is known for its extraordinary success at international beauty pageants and Venezuelan women are famous for their plastic surgery-enhanced bodies, but the country's capital sure is no beauty. Not only is it surrounded by shantytowns, its most central districts seem devoid of planning and style.

Caracas, Venezuela
CARACAS, VENEZUELA


5 | LUANDA, ANGOLA

It's undergoing a spectacular boom as the capital of Africa's recent economic success story, but let's hope the new development creates something more attractive than what we see now: ugly apartment buildings dotting the skyline of what incredibly is the world's most expensive city.

Luanda, Angola
LUANDA, ANGOLA


6 | CHISINAU, MOLDOVA

Moldova's capital is an eyesore. It's an industrial city mostly made up of very ugly Soviet-style apartment buildings, most of them decaying (and not very clean either). There are many unattractive Soviet-era cities in Eastern Europe, but we expect more from a capital.

7 | HOUSTON, USA

Houston, we have a problem: You're ugly. This is the United States' fourth largest city when it comes to population, but the attraction sure isn't scenery. There are many other ugly American cities (let's face it -- American metropolises aren't exactly beauties: Atlanta, Cleveland...), but this one should win the title of ugliest of them all, with a large impoverished and homeless population (close to one in five families live below the poverty line) and a cityscape with no formal zoning regulations.

8 | DETROIT, USA

Here's the ugly truth: Detroit is ugly. Not just aesthetically but also in quality of life, which explains why it lost a quarter of its population in a decade. One of the highest crime rates in the country may have contributed to that, but this is also a dirty, rundown city mostly made up of brick, concrete and glass. Not pretty.

9 | SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

Nature seems to have concentrated all of its efforts on Rio and completely forgotten Brazil's other big metropolis. São Paulo may be one of the world's most exciting cities when it comes to dining and shopping, but there's no question that it's one big ugly concrete jungle.

Sao Paulo, Brazil
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL


10 | LOS ANGELES, USA

A city known for its congested highways is enough to make it unattractive, but then there isn't much to look at walking down the street either (if anyone actually walks -- this is one of the world's least pedestrian-friendly cities). Despite the allure of Hollywood and the beaches nearby, Los Angeles is simply not the prettiest place on Earth. As one of the world's most famous cities there is no excuse for lack of beautification year after year.


MoreThere's More

-Top 10 Must-See MUSEUMS of the World

-Top 10 UGLIEST CITIES in the World

-Top 10 Greatest BOULEVARDS of the World

-Top 10 Best SHOPPING STREETS in the World

-10 Most BEAUTIFUL CITIES in the World

-Top 10 Most BEAUTIFUL CAFÉS in the World

-10 CITY BREAKS for the Next Decade

-10 Most ROMANTIC CITIES in the World

-10 Haunting and Famous CEMETERIES

-10 MUST-SEE CITIES for the Cosmopolitan Traveler

-World's 7 Best URBAN BEACHES

-7 URBAN WONDERS of the World


ToursTours


Car Rental Rent a Car

FIND THE BEST CAR RENTAL RATES »