Do you remember journeying across Cyrodiil? Regions, counties, had differently themed landscapes back then, too. The West Weald around Skingrad, with its red maples and omnipresent wild flowers in the grass looked nothing like the Imperial Reserve and its clusters of pine trees, felt different from the Gold Coast, was not quite the same as the Great Forest, was easy to tell apart from the Jerall Mountains or Blackwood. And yet... everything still felt oddly monotonous somehow. Ultimately, I do not think it was the trees, or the grass color. I just think everything was, in the end, forest or plains on rolling hills, and it became tedious, fast.

And now in Skyrim, each hold also has its own biome, from the broken shores of the Pale through the central tundra and pine woods of Whiterun and Falkreath to the autumn woods of the Rift. And this time things do feel different. Navigating each is its own experience. The salt marshes around Morthal do make you feel soaked and miserable, the jagged rock hills and fog of the Reach do look like a dangerous frontier. If you look at a screenshot, you'll probably instantly know in which area it was taken. This is good. This is miles ahead of what Oblivion could ever muster. I congratulate Skyrim's world artists for everything they've done.

So now I wonder? What are people's favorite regions? I would have to say that I really like the Rift for its colors, but I'm also quite fond of the tundra around Whiterun. There's something about the view distance that I like, while still being able to hide in the bushes and crags. And the volcanic springs south of Windhelm are interesting, just for how alien the whole place looks. What about you?

I'm guessing you didn't play Morrowind since you didn't mention it. It was pretty diverse.

As for Skyrim, my favorite area would probably be the rocky Scottish style hills of the far West, around Markarth. Very moody and realistic looking with just a hint of the alien, and those native forsworn are fun to run into. My favorite city though would be Solitude, which is just epic looking (though all cities suffer from being too small for what they are, just like in Oblivion).

Mine would have to be the Rift, the areas surrounding Dawnstar (I fking love the icy tundra) and the areas around Whiterun.

Falkreath Hold is probably my favourite... especially when it's raining.

Generally, I find that I like all of the regions on the outskirts of Skyrim, but not so much the stuff in the middle. The closer to the centre I get, the more boring the scenery seems to get.

I love The Reach. It's dark, twisted... Reminds me of the areas close to Red Mountain in Morrowind, only, because the graphics are better, a [censored]load more detailed.

mine is a tie between the autumn woodlands around Riften and the rocky hills of Markarth

Hjaalmarch like swamps looking areas

I think Skyrim definitely did a good job with terrain. For whatever reason in Oblivion I felt like it was all one great big 'Thousand Acre Woods' forest, and I didn't find it terribly interesting. Skyrim is just varied enough to give some different impressions, with weather to supplement. Part of what I liked about Morrowind was the loneliness you could achieve in some of the more desolate places of Vvardenfell, where you wouldn't see another soul for miles. I can't tell you how many times I'd zone out and just think about things while I trekked through Morrowind, only to realize I was standing outside the door of wherever I was trying to get to, with no memory of how I got there, haha. Skyrim has some of that in the far North, with the occasional danger of a Sabercat or troll to add spice.

The fall forests near Riften and a little bit of the pine forests near Falkreath.

Whiterun is the city that i mostly go, BUT, its surroundings are so boring, i mean, those Plains with just grass, i don't like it that much.

dont know the exact name for the region but the area looks like a vulcanic active region, Geisers, geothermal pools, steam, it looks absolutely amazing (with High quality occlusion its epic)

Eastmarch is incredible.
It's similar to Falkreath Hold in my opinion, but Falkreath Hold has a pretty generic feel to it.

I also love:
The Rift
Whiterun Hold
The Reach

But the very cold regions not so much.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/595828491716909221/EC0DD5D3CAF91E222208ABF58D4924702261EE2A/

added a link with screenies i took

http://imageshack.us/g/522/screenshot12b.jpg/

Love the geyser area north of Riften and the glacier around Winterhold.

Markarth/Reach for looks and content

Is the Reach the mountainous area in the west?That area reminds me of the Vale of Arryn.I mean the show,not the books. Although,thats pretty much what I had imagined the Vale of Arryn to look when I read the books.Im also surprisingly loving the most northern regions.Also the Rift.This is a very pretty world.

The icy northeast, where it's constantly snowing and the wind blows hard. The unwelcoming, ice-cold waters and the island landscape neighbouring the north-eastern coastline.

The north coast from Dawnstar to Winterhaven is great. I also like the autumn woods around Riften.

Eastmarch lovers unite! :celebration:

The Tundra around Whiterun has too be my favorite especially since im from Alaska and thats all there is up there lol.

yeah i dont know, i just got such a nice feeling when i first saw this place, those hunters just relaxing in the warm water, due to the geothermal vents, i could smell a slight scent of sulfur, yet mixed with fresh sweet air
i could hear the rumbling geysers up ahead, the view of the mountains in the distance. Its breathtaking. I got yellowstone national park flashbacks

and then offcourse, a blood dragon came into the picture .... but we slayed him ...hurrah !!

Blackreach, by far. Easily one of my favorite places in all of gaming history.

havent ventured out to that place, will do that next game session i think, any suggestions for a particular place?

The Rift, Whiterun Hold and the coastal iceberg islands near Windhelm.