All 46 European Capitals – With a Memory Trick for Each One

Europe has 46 countries and most people can name about 20 capitals without thinking. The last 26 are where quiz scores fall apart. This guide lists every European capital, grouped by region, with a short memory hook for the ones people most often get wrong. Read it once, then play the Europe capitals quiz and see how many stick.

The easy twenty

You probably already know these. Skim and move on.

• France – Paris
• Germany – Berlin
• Italy – Rome
• Spain – Madrid
• Portugal – Lisbon
• United Kingdom – London
• Ireland – Dublin
• Netherlands – Amsterdam
• Belgium – Brussels
• Switzerland – Bern (not Zurich or Geneva – Bern is the federal city)
• Austria – Vienna
• Denmark – Copenhagen
• Sweden – Stockholm
• Norway – Oslo
• Finland – Helsinki
• Iceland – Reykjavik
• Poland – Warsaw
• Czechia – Prague
• Greece – Athens
• Russia – Moscow

The Baltics – three in a row

These three line up north to south along the Baltic Sea. Learn them as a column.

• Estonia – Tallinn (top)
• Latvia – Riga (middle)
• Lithuania – Vilnius (bottom)

Hook: Tallinn is "tall" – it's at the top. Vilnius sounds like "villain" – at the bottom. Riga is simply in between.

Central Europe

• Hungary – Budapest. Buda and Pest are two halves of the city on either side of the Danube.
• Slovakia – Bratislava. It sits on the Danube too, only 60 km from Vienna – the two closest capitals in Europe.
• Slovenia – Ljubljana. Pronounced "lyoo-BLYAH-nah". Hook: the "lj" letters are the odd ones out, like the country that's often mixed up with Slovakia.
• Croatia – Zagreb
• Liechtenstein – Vaduz. Tiny country, tiny capital of around 6,000 people.
• Luxembourg – Luxembourg City. Same name as the country – an easy one if you remember it's a city-state in all but name.

The Balkans

This is where most people lose points. Six capitals, all starting with different letters, which actually helps.

• Serbia – Belgrade ("white city")
• Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo
• Montenegro – Podgorica. Hook: Montenegro = "black mountain"; Podgorica = "under the little hill".
• North Macedonia – Skopje. Pronounced "SKOP-yeh".
• Albania – Tirana
• Kosovo – Pristina
• Bulgaria – Sofia
• Romania – Bucharest. Don't confuse it with Budapest – Bucharest is Romania, Budapest is Hungary. Hook: Bucharest is in the east; Budapest is further west. (Not perfectly true geographically, but it works as a hook.)

Eastern Europe

• Ukraine – Kyiv
• Belarus – Minsk
• Moldova – Chișinău (pronounced "kee-shee-NOW"). This is the capital most people can't spell. Just remember it starts with "Ch".

The micro-states

Five of the smallest countries in the world are in Europe. Four of them have capitals with the same name as the country.

• Monaco – Monaco
• San Marino – San Marino (technically "City of San Marino")
• Vatican City – Vatican City
• Luxembourg – Luxembourg City
• Andorra – Andorra la Vella ("Andorra the Old")
• Malta – Valletta. The one island micro-state with a different name. Hook: Malta and Valletta both have double letters.

The island nations

• Cyprus – Nicosia. The last divided capital in Europe – a UN buffer zone runs through the middle.
• Malta – Valletta (see above)
• Iceland – Reykjavik
• Ireland – Dublin
• United Kingdom – London

Four pairs that get confused

1. Bucharest / Budapest – Romania / Hungary. See the hook above.
2. Bratislava / Ljubljana – Slovakia / Slovenia. Slovakia is landlocked and north; Slovenia has a short coast and is south-west. Bratislava is next to Vienna; Ljubljana is next to Italy.
3. Vilnius / Vaduz / Valletta – Lithuania / Liechtenstein / Malta. All start with V. Vilnius is the big one (Baltic), Vaduz is the Alpine one, Valletta is the island one.
4. Minsk / Kyiv – Belarus / Ukraine. Belarus is the northern neighbour, Ukraine the southern.

How to use this with the quiz

• Play Europe – capitals once without studying to get a baseline.
• Read the sections for the regions you missed. Don't try to learn all 46 at once.
• Play again the next day. The ones you still miss go into the Mistake Bank, and the flashcards will bring them back just before you forget them.
• When you can get 46/46, try Whole World – capitals. Europe is the densest region, so if you've got it, the rest is easier.

Full list, alphabetical

Albania – Tirana · Andorra – Andorra la Vella · Austria – Vienna · Belarus – Minsk · Belgium – Brussels · Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo · Bulgaria – Sofia · Croatia – Zagreb · Cyprus – Nicosia · Czechia – Prague · Denmark – Copenhagen · Estonia – Tallinn · Finland – Helsinki · France – Paris · Germany – Berlin · Greece – Athens · Hungary – Budapest · Iceland – Reykjavik · Ireland – Dublin · Italy – Rome · Kosovo – Pristina · Latvia – Riga · Liechtenstein – Vaduz · Lithuania – Vilnius · Luxembourg – Luxembourg · Malta – Valletta · Moldova – Chișinău · Monaco – Monaco · Montenegro – Podgorica · Netherlands – Amsterdam · North Macedonia – Skopje · Norway – Oslo · Poland – Warsaw · Portugal – Lisbon · Romania – Bucharest · Russia – Moscow · San Marino – San Marino · Serbia – Belgrade · Slovakia – Bratislava · Slovenia – Ljubljana · Spain – Madrid · Sweden – Stockholm · Switzerland – Bern · Ukraine – Kyiv · United Kingdom – London · Vatican City – Vatican City