The United Kingdom is a country of great cities, each with a very different character: London, the global metropolis, and then the capitals of the other nations, the great industrial cities of the north reborn as cultural centres, the university cities, the seaside resorts and the ports that made the history of the Empire. This page brings together the site's guides, with an overview to help you find your way.
The capitals of the four nations
- London, capital of the United Kingdom and of England, with about nine million inhabitants.
- Edinburgh, capital of Scotland, with its castle, the Royal Mile and the world's largest festival.
- Cardiff, capital of Wales, with its castle, the bay and the rugby stadium.
- Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland, the city of the Titanic and the murals.
The great cities of the north and the Midlands
The cities that were the engine of the Industrial Revolution have reinvented themselves in recent decades with museums, universities, music and sport. Manchester is the capital of the north, of football and of music; Liverpool is the city of the Beatles and the port; Birmingham, the country's second city, is a multicultural crossroads; Leeds and Sheffield are the hubs of Yorkshire, the latter built on seven hills and surrounded by green; Newcastle is famous for its bridges and the warmth of the Geordies; Glasgow is Scotland's largest city, with spectacular Victorian architecture.
Cities of history and learning
Oxford and Cambridge are the most famous university cities in the world. York keeps its medieval walls and a great Gothic cathedral. Canterbury is the cradle of English Christianity and the starting point of the Via Francigena. Bath, with its Roman baths and Georgian terraces, is a UNESCO site in its entirety. Colchester was the first Roman capital of Britain, and Exeter and Salisbury are cities of great cathedrals.
Ports and the sea
Bristol is the city of Brunel and Banksy; Plymouth is the port from which Drake, the Mayflower and Darwin set sail; Southampton is the port of the Titanic and of cruises; Brighton is England's most famous seaside city.
Villages and special places
For those seeking the England of villages and legends: Windsor and its royal castle, St Ives and Tintagel in Cornwall, Glastonbury, the isle of Avalon, the medieval village of Dunster, Bridgwater, Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast, Alnmouth in Northumberland and the stone circle of Stonehenge. For the most important sites see also UNESCO sites in the United Kingdom.
More major cities
Other British cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, each with a full guide:
- Nottingham: Robin Hood, a castle above the caves, lace and bicycles: the capital of the East Midlands.
- Leicester: Romans, Richard III and the Ranieri fairytale: one of England's oldest and most multicultural cities.
- Coventry: Lady Godiva, bicycles and cars, the night of 1940 and a cathedral that became a symbol of reconciliation.
- Bradford: The wool metropolis, the first UNESCO City of Film and 2025 City of Culture, on the edge of the Brontës' moors.
- Hull: Deep-sea fishing port, birthplace of Wilberforce and 2017 City of Culture, with cream-coloured phone boxes.
- Stoke-on-Trent: Six potters' towns joined into one: the home of Wedgwood and English china.
- Wolverhampton: Lady Wulfrun's town and home of Wolves, gateway to the Black Country, between locks, Pop Art and William Morris.
- Derby: The world's first factory, born from a secret stolen in Piedmont, on the edge of the Peak District.
- Swansea: The second city of Wales, between the bay, copper, Dylan Thomas's verse and the beaches of Gower.
- Aberdeen: The North Sea's Silver City, gateway to the castles of Aberdeenshire and Royal Deeside.
- Dundee: Jute, marmalade and comics, the V&A on the Tay and the birthplace of Lemmings and GTA.
- Portsmouth: The navy's island city, between Nelson's flagship, Henry VIII's wreck and the sea at Southsea.
- Reading: One of England's largest towns without city status: a buried king, Oscar Wilde in a cell and a legendary festival.
- Northampton: The world capital of handmade English shoes, with medieval churches, Mackintosh and Diana's resting place.
- Luton: Not just low-cost flights: Britain's old hat-making capital, multicultural and full of surprises.
- Milton Keynes: England's youngest city, with roundabouts, parks and the secrets of Bletchley Park, where Enigma was broken.
- Sunderland: The Mackems' city on the North Sea: monks, shipyards, glassmakers and sandy beaches.
- Norwich: A Norman cathedral, a castle, thirty medieval churches and the rivers of the Broads close by.
- Bournemouth: Eleven kilometres of golden sand, pines, writers and the Jurassic Coast: the seaside capital of southern England.
- Southend-on-Sea: A pier more than two kilometres long, seafood in Old Leigh and the treasure of an Anglo-Saxon prince.
- Swindon: The town that grew around Brunel's works, gateway to Avebury, the White Horse and the Cotswolds.
- Middlesbrough: Ironopolis, the town that built Sydney Harbour Bridge: steel bridges, modern art and Captain Cook's birthplace.
- Peterborough: A unique Norman cathedral, Catherine of Aragon's grave and one of England's largest Italian communities.
- Huddersfield: Where rugby league was born: fine wool, a station like a stately home and the Pennine valleys.
- Ipswich: One of England's oldest towns, with Constable, Gainsborough and the treasure of Sutton Hoo.
- Gloucester: A cathedral with Hogwarts' cloisters, an inland Victorian port and the cheese-rolling race.
- Blackpool: England's most famous popular seaside resort: a tower, ballrooms, roller coasters and a million lights.
- Bolton: The town of the machine that changed cotton, a pub from 1251 and the Rivington hills.
- Preston: A festival every twenty years, the word teetotal, England's tallest parish spire and Britain's first motorway.
- Slough: The world's largest telescope, the first Mars bar and The Office: England's most mocked town has plenty to tell.
- Newport: A Roman fortress, the Chartist Rising, a bridge hanging over the river and a 15th-century ship found in the mud.
- Wakefield: Barbara Hepworth's birthplace, with a sculpture park in the hills and rhubarb picked by candlelight.
- Warrington: The town of the Mersey ford, the golden gates and Lewis Carroll's birthplace, halfway between Manchester and Liverpool.
- Stockport: The town of hats, the brick viaduct and the sandstone tunnels, ten minutes by train from Manchester.
- Poole: The town of the great natural harbour, the beaches of Sandbanks and the island of red squirrels, gateway to the Jurassic Coast.
- Doncaster: The city of horse racing and record-breaking locomotives, granted city status in 2022, in South Yorkshire.
- Telford: The Shropshire new town that holds Ironbridge Gorge, where the Industrial Revolution began.
- Chelmsford: The Essex county town where Guglielmo Marconi opened the world's first radio factory, half an hour from London.
- Crawley: The Gatwick Airport new town, with an old coaching town at its heart and the Weald gardens all around.
- Basildon: The Essex new town born from the plotlands, home of Depeche Mode, with views over the Thames estuary.
- Derry: The only city in Ireland with its walls intact, full of history, murals, music and a huge Halloween festival.
- Lincoln: The medieval hilltop city with a record-breaking cathedral and one of the originals of Magna Carta.
- Worcester: The cathedral city on the Severn, home of Elgar, fine porcelain and the world's most famous sauce.
Getting around between cities
The big cities are well connected by fast trains from London's stations; coaches are slower but cheaper. For details see trains and transport in the UK.