I thought so too until a friend showed me his small telescope on his apartment building right downtown. And we could see Saturn's rings clearly! I would never have guessed it could be done in the middle of a major city.
Of course a telescope will give you a much better image but with a - very - steady hand and a good pair of binoculars you can actually see them.
It is always a delight to see Saturn with the rings..every single time, it makes me gasp!
A small spotting scope is sufficient to catch saturn and even Jupiter..Altho you can’t really see the bands on Jupiter.
I've found that the main challenge so far hasn't been the light pollution, but that the comet hugs the horizon so closely at about 45 degrees NE in the early morning hours. In the big city I live in, it means that there's often a surprisingly tall building obstructing exactly that view, even at a few elevated city parks I live close to.
The weather forecast for the next week is rain every day, so I might also be out of luck...