Capital of Georgia, set on the Kura River and famed for the hot springs that gave it its name, meaning ‘warm place.’ Traditionally founded in the 5th century by King Vakhtang Gorgasali, it has served as Georgia's capital through many kingdoms and empires.

Cosmopolitan capital of Catalonia on the Mediterranean coast, famed for the fantastical architecture of Antoni Gaudí. His still-unfinished Sagrada Família basilica and mosaic-clad Park Güell draw millions, alongside the medieval Gothic Quarter, the tree-lined La Rambla, and a lively beach and football culture.

Constitutional capital of the Netherlands, though the government and royal residence sit at The Hague. A leading port of the Dutch Golden Age, it grew wealthy on global trade and remains the country's financial and cultural centre.

Capital of Japan since 1868, when the Meiji emperor moved the court from Kyoto to the renamed shogunal city of Edo. Seat of the emperor and the National Diet, it anchors one of the world's largest economies.

Turkey's largest city, straddling the Bosphorus strait where Europe meets Asia. Once Byzantium and then Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, it is layered with monuments — the domed Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace, and the labyrinthine Grand Bazaar.

A city built across more than a hundred islands in a lagoon off the Adriatic, laced by canals and crossed only on foot or by boat. The seat of a once-mighty maritime republic, it centres on St Mark's Square and Basilica, the sweeping Grand Canal, and the marble Rialto Bridge.

Capital of Czechia and the historic seat of Bohemia, which flourished as an imperial residence under Charles IV in the fourteenth century. Astride the Vltava, it preserves one of Europe's largest medieval cores around Prague Castle.

A coastal city in southeastern Florida and a gateway between the U.S. and Latin America. Known for its beaches, Art Deco district, Cuban-American culture in Little Havana, and a glittering, multilingual nightlife.

Capital of Argentina, founded on the Río de la Plata in February 1536. Long the country’s political, cultural, and economic centre, it is known for tango, historic neighbourhoods, and grand avenues.

South Africa's legislative capital, set beneath the flat-topped Table Mountain where the Atlantic meets the Cape Peninsula. Founded by the Dutch in 1652 as a supply station, it looks out to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and toward the Cape of Good Hope.