World Cities

New York City contains five boroughs, including Manhattan, and is linked with the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street.

Rio de Janeiro's beaches and mountains frame one of the world's largest Carnival celebrations.

Toronto grew along the shore of Lake Ontario into Canada's largest city and financial center.

Mexico City rose on the site of Tenochtitlan, the former Aztec capital built on a lake.

Buenos Aires earned its nickname for the European-style architecture lining its wide boulevards.

Los Angeles grew around the Hollywood district into the hub of the American film industry.

Chicago rebuilt after an 1871 fire with early steel-framed skyscrapers that shaped modern architecture.

Havana's seafront Malecón and colonial-era streets reflect centuries as a Spanish colonial port.

London has served as a global center of trade and finance for centuries along the River Thames.

Paris grew into a global center for art, fashion, and cuisine along the Seine River.

Barcelona's Catalan identity shows in its architecture, most famously Antoni Gaudí's unfinished basilica.

Amsterdam's 17th-century canal ring shaped the city's layout and is protected as a World Heritage Site.

Berlin was divided by a wall during the Cold War and reunified as Germany's capital in 1990.

Moscow grew from a medieval fortress town into Russia's political and cultural capital.

Vienna hosted composers such as Mozart and Beethoven and remains linked to classical music tradition.

Prague's skyline of towers and spires along the Vltava earned it a nickname of a hundred spires.

Dubai built an ultramodern skyline and became a major hub for trade and tourism in the Gulf.

Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus strait, with neighborhoods on both the European and Asian sides.

Cairo sits along the Nile near the ancient pyramids of Giza and is the Arab world's largest city.

Cape Town sits at the foot of Table Mountain near where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.

Nairobi grew from a rail depot into East Africa's leading political and business center.

Lagos grew from a set of islands and lagoons into the most populous city on the African continent.

Hong Kong developed as a major trading port under British rule before returning to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Singapore's port position made it one of the busiest trade and finance hubs in Southeast Asia.

Sydney grew up around one of the world's great natural harbours on Australia's southeast coast.

Mumbai grew from a group of islands into India's leading financial and entertainment center.

Shanghai's riverside Bund district recalls its history as a major treaty port on the Yangtze delta.

Venice was built on more than a hundred islands linked by canals in a lagoon on Italy's northeast coast.

Beijing has served as the seat of Chinese government across several dynasties and into the present.

Seoul has served as Korea's capital for over six centuries, dating back to the Joseon dynasty.

Bangkok became Thailand's capital in the late 18th century and grew into a major Southeast Asian hub.

Kyoto served as Japan's imperial capital for over a thousand years before the capital moved to Tokyo.

Marrakesh grew as a trading post linking sub-Saharan Africa with the Mediterranean world.

Reykjavik sits farther north than any other capital of a sovereign nation.