D&D General What real life city is Waterdeep most like?

[Bootlebat]

I was thinking New York since it's a really big city next to the ocean that is a major port for the whole continent.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

In what way "like"? It's equivenlent to New York in some ways - a large wealthy cosmopolitan port city. But in terms of appearance (walls) and politics (City State) it's more like the Hansa cities of north west medieval Europe, or the Italian city states, like Venice, or pre-sack Constantinople.

 

[Zardnaar]

It's smaller than places like Venice, London, Constantinople, Alexandria.

Maybe Lubeck or Hamburg during the Hanseatic league or one of the Spanish ports.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

New Orleans, but with walls instead of levees.

 

[Derren]

Some hanseatic city sounds about right. The location does not seem to allow for more trading. You have access to to Icewind Dale (Furs?) and the Moonshae Island and thats about it. Waterdeep has the additional advantage of sitting at an estuary which allows easy access to Mithril Hall and Sliverymoon.
It would also match the political situation in that area with several allied big cities close together.

The really big trading city would probably be somewhere in the Sea of Fallen Stars as that one really serves as a shortcut to different parts of the world. If there were a channel in Okoth it would be huge.

 

[Zardnaar]

Waterdeep serves the Dessarin valley farms.

 

[Jadeite]

I've always associated Waterdeep with Cologne because of the german Baldur's Gate localization.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Some hanseatic city sounds about right. The location does not seem to allow for more trading. You have access to to Icewind Dale (Furs?) and the Moonshae Island and thats about it. Waterdeep has the additional advantage of sitting at an estuary which allows easy access to Mithril Hall and Sliverymoon.

I assume there is a lot of trade up and down the Sword Coast - water transport being more efficient and safer than the roads. Luskan (for Icewind Dale, Mirabar and pirate spoils), Neverwinter, Baldur's Gate, Amn and south to Calimshan. Then there is some longer range trade with Mazteca and Chult.

 

[Parmandur]

Some hanseatic city sounds about right. The location does not seem to allow for more trading. You have access to to Icewind Dale (Furs?) and the Moonshae Island and thats about it. Waterdeep has the additional advantage of sitting at an estuary which allows easy access to Mithril Hall and Sliverymoon.
It would also match the political situation in that area with several allied big cities close together.

The really big trading city would probably be somewhere in the Sea of Fallen Stars as that one really serves as a shortcut to different parts of the world. If there were a channel in Okoth it would be huge.

The Sword Coast is very hoping with trade: I think the 3E setting book has a trade map of Faerun, Waterdeep is a super hub. Icewind Dale is very, very far away from Waterdeep, actually.

As to the original question: a Toronto Renaissance Faire.

 

[Hussar]

I managed to find this map for trade routes in the Sword Coast:

Which makes Waterdeep pretty much THE hub of trade. Makes sense. It's the only real deepwater port for a long distance north or south.

So, you're looking at a very cosmopolitan city, with access to foreign goods regularly (which would impact things like restaurants and food), with a highly mobile population constantly shifting as ships come and go.