Capitals of Europe

Tirana

Tirana is the capital and largest city of Albania, lying in a plain at the foot of several mountains. It is the country's political and cultural centre.

💡 Did you know? After the end of communism the mayor had the grey concrete blocks painted in bright colours.

Andorra la Vella

Andorra la Vella is the capital of the microstate of Andorra, high in the Pyrenees between France and Spain. It lives from trade and tourism.

💡 Did you know? At over 1000 metres it is the highest capital city in Europe.

Vienna

Vienna is the capital of Austria and lies on the Danube. It was the centre of the Habsburg empire and is famous for music and coffee houses.

💡 Did you know? Vienna is repeatedly voted the city with the highest quality of life in the world.

Minsk

Minsk is the capital and by far the largest city of Belarus. It is the country's economic and political centre.

💡 Did you know? Minsk was almost completely destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt afterwards in the Soviet style.

Brussels

Brussels is the capital of Belgium and is also seen as the unofficial capital of the EU. Key bodies of the European Union are based here.

💡 Did you know? Its landmark 'Manneken Pis' is a fountain figure only about 60 centimetres tall.

Sarajevo

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina and lies in a narrow river valley. Eastern and Western cultures meet in it.

💡 Did you know? In Sarajevo the assassination of the Austrian heir to the throne in 1914 triggered the First World War.

Sofia

Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria and lies at the foot of the Vitosha mountains. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe.

💡 Did you know? Over the millennia Sofia was renamed several times before it received its present name.

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia and lies inland on the River Sava. It is the political and cultural centre.

💡 Did you know? Zagreb is divided into a historic Upper Town and a modern Lower Town.

Nicosia

Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus and lies inland on the island. It is divided between the Greek and Turkish parts.

💡 Did you know? Nicosia is the last divided capital in Europe.

Prague

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and lies on the River Vltava. Its medieval old town with the Charles Bridge is world-famous.

💡 Did you know? Prague is called the 'City of a Hundred Spires' for its many towers.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and lies mostly on the island of Zealand. It is seen as the most cycle-friendly city in the world.

💡 Did you know? By the harbour sits the small bronze figure of the 'Little Mermaid' from Andersen's fairy tale.

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and lies on the Baltic Sea. Its medieval old town is exceptionally well preserved.

💡 Did you know? Tallinn's old town is one of the best-preserved medieval city centres in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital of Finland and lies on a peninsula on the Baltic Sea. It is known for its modern architecture and design culture.

💡 Did you know? Helsinki is the northernmost mainland capital in the EU.

Paris

Paris is the capital of France and lies on the Seine. It is a global centre for art, fashion and culture.

💡 Did you know? The Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be only temporary, built for the 1889 World's Fair.

Berlin

Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany. It is a major centre for politics, culture and start-ups.

💡 Did you know? Berlin is almost nine times the size of Paris and has more bridges than Venice.

Athens

Athens is the capital of Greece and one of the oldest cities in the world. The ancient Acropolis towers above it.

💡 Did you know? Athens is regarded as the birthplace of democracy around 2500 years ago.

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary and lies on the Danube. It was formed from the two cities of Buda and Pest on opposite banks.

💡 Did you know? Over a hundred thermal springs bubble up beneath Budapest; the city is famous for its baths.

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland and the northernmost capital in the world. It is heated largely by geothermal energy.

💡 Did you know? Reykjavík means 'smoky bay': after the steam from its hot springs.

Dublin

Dublin is the capital of Ireland and lies on the east coast at the mouth of the River Liffey. It is known for its literary and pub culture.

💡 Did you know? Dublin produced world authors like James Joyce and Oscar Wilde and is a UNESCO City of Literature.

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and was the centre of the ancient Roman Empire. Its old town is full of ancient ruins.

💡 Did you know? In the middle of Rome lies the Vatican, an independent state of its own.

Riga

Riga is the capital of Latvia and the largest city in the Baltics. It lies on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Daugava.

💡 Did you know? Riga has one of the largest collections of Art Nouveau buildings in the world.

Vaduz

Vaduz is the capital of the microstate of Liechtenstein and lies on the Rhine between Switzerland and Austria. The prince's castle looks down on it.

💡 Did you know? Vaduz has no railway station of its own: the nearest is in a neighbouring village.

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and lies in the south-east of the country. Its baroque old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

💡 Did you know? Vilnius has one of the largest baroque old towns in Eastern Europe.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg City is the capital of the grand duchy of the same name and an important financial and EU centre. It sits spectacularly on cliffs above deep valleys.

💡 Did you know? The city's old fortifications are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Valletta

Valletta is the capital of Malta and one of the smallest capitals in Europe. The Knights of Malta built it as a fortress city in the 16th century.

💡 Did you know? The whole of Valletta's inner city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Chișinău

Chișinău is the capital and largest city of Moldova. It is the country's economic and cultural centre.

💡 Did you know? Chișinău is known for its many parks and green spaces.

Monaco

Monaco is the capital of the tiny principality of Monaco on the Mediterranean coast. It is famous for luxury, its casino and the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

💡 Did you know? Monaco is the second-smallest state in the world after the Vatican.

Podgorica

Podgorica is the capital of Montenegro and lies in a plain where several rivers meet. It is the country's economic centre.

💡 Did you know? In Yugoslav times the city was called 'Titograd', after the head of state Tito.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and is criss-crossed by a famous network of canals. The seat of government, though, is in The Hague.

💡 Did you know? Amsterdam is built on millions of wooden piles that anchor it in the soft ground.

Skopje

Skopje is the capital of North Macedonia and lies on the River Vardar. It is the country's political and cultural centre.

💡 Did you know? Skopje was the birthplace of Mother Teresa.

Oslo

Oslo is the capital of Norway and lies at the end of a long fjord. It is surrounded by forests and hills.

💡 Did you know? The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo every year.

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland and lies on the Vistula. It is the country's economic centre.

💡 Did you know? Warsaw's old town was faithfully rebuilt after being almost completely destroyed in the war.

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and lies where the Tagus flows into the Atlantic. It is built over seven hills.

💡 Did you know? A severe earthquake almost completely destroyed Lisbon in 1755.

Bucharest

Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania. Because of its once splendid buildings it was called 'Little Paris'.

💡 Did you know? The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is one of the largest and heaviest buildings in the world.

Moscow

Moscow is the capital of Russia and the largest city in Europe. At its centre lie the Kremlin and Red Square.

💡 Did you know? The colourful onion domes of St Basil's Cathedral on Red Square are world-famous.

The City of San Marino

The City of San Marino is the capital of the tiny microstate of the same name, perched on a steep mountain within Italy. It is one of the oldest republics in the world.

💡 Did you know? San Marino is regarded as the oldest surviving republic in the world.

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia and lies where the Sava meets the Danube. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe.

💡 Did you know? Because of its strategic position Belgrade has been conquered and destroyed countless times through history.

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and lies on the Danube right on the border with Austria and Hungary. A mighty castle towers above it.

💡 Did you know? Bratislava is the only capital in the world that borders two neighbouring countries.

Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and lies on the river of the same name. Its old town is overlooked by a castle and largely car-free.

💡 Did you know? The city's symbol is the dragon that sits atop the famous Dragon Bridge.

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain and lies almost exactly at the country's centre. It is known for art museums and nightlife.

💡 Did you know? At around 650 metres Madrid is one of the highest-lying capitals in Europe.

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and spreads over 14 islands between the Baltic Sea and a lake. It is called the 'Venice of the North'.

💡 Did you know? About a third of Stockholm's area is water.

Bern

Bern is the seat of government of Switzerland and lies in a loop of the River Aare. Its well-preserved old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

💡 Did you know? Zurich and Geneva are bigger: Bern is only the seat of government, not the largest city.

Kyiv

Kyiv is the capital and largest city of Ukraine and lies on the River Dnieper. It is one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe.

💡 Did you know? Kyiv is seen as the cradle of East Slavic culture, from which Russia, Belarus and Ukraine later emerged.

London

London is the capital of the United Kingdom and lies on the River Thames. It is a global centre for finance, culture and history.

💡 Did you know? The London Underground ('the Tube') is the oldest underground railway network in the world.