Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

• Originally named Gastown
• The only city in the world to rank in the top 10 'most livable' cities for five consecutive years
• Due to its huge film industry, Vancouver is referred to as 'Hollywood North'

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Originally referred to as Hogtown due to the presence of large pig slaughterhouses
• Toronto is Canada's commercial capital, and is home to the nation's largest banks
• 49% of Toronto's total population was born outside of Canada

Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

• The Mexican province of Yucatan forms a portion of the Yucatan Peninsula, along with Belize and Guatemala
• The region is populated with people of Mayan descent, and is dotted with several archaeological sites
• The region is sustained by a tourist economy, with millions of visitors travelling to the Mayan Riviera and Cancun each year

Caracas, Venezuela

• Caracas is Venezuela's capital city, and is entirely contained within a valley of the Venezuelan central range
• Despite its beautiful landscape, Caracas remains one of the most dangerous tourist destinations, in terms of violent crime per capita
• Due to the crowded nature of the city, most residents choose from a variety of busses for their primary means of transportation

Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Is the most visited city in the Southern Hemisphere
• Due to the poorly designed and over-congested roadways, Rio has a flourishing bike rental program with over 600 bicycles available for rent throughout the city

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

• Cape Town is Africa's most popular tourist destination
• Second only to English, Afrikaans is the primary language of 43% of Cape Town's population
• In addition to whale watching, shark diving is a prominent tourist attraction for the city

Cairo, Egypt

• Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world
• The 4th and 5th subway cars of each subway line are exclusively reserved for female passengers; however, women may travel in any car that they wish
• Egypt is internationally known for producing excellent squash players

Casablanca City, Grand Casablanca, Morocco

• Morocco is one of the few countries in the world still governed by a politically active monarchy
• Casablanca City was an important strategic port for Allied forces in WWII, and hosted the Casablanca Conference between Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt

Lisbon, Portugal

• Lisbon enjoys the warmest winters of any European city, with average daily temperatures around 15C
• It is the second oldest European capital behind Athens, pre-dating Rome by about 4 centuries
• Lisbon's most interesting tourist attraction, the underground Roman galleries, are only open for public viewing for a few weeks each year due to seasonal flooding

Madrid, Spain

• Madrid is the third largest city in the European Union, behind London and Berlin
• Madrid is the seat of the World Tourism Organization as well as the International Tourism Fair
• Madrid is famous for its tapas, small-snack sized dishes that mean top or lid in Spanish

London, England

• Largest city in the European Union
• The Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, have 19 restaurants and bars on site
• 'Big Ben' refers to the bell inside of the tower; the entire structure is called St. Stephen's Tower

Paris, Ile de France, France

• The original name of the city's area can be translated to mean 'the mud city of the Parisii'
• The area was originally settled as a Roman city, and the ruins of Roman amphitheaters and bath houses dot the city landscape
• The phrase "City of Lights" refers to the intellectual minds of Paris, not the physical city lights

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

• The city is most commonly known for its popular Oktoberfest beer festival
• Munich is home to the car company BMW
• Munich is one of the most expensive, and generally wealthy, cities in Germany

Vienna, Austria

• The voting age in Vienna is only 16 years old
• Vienna is home to Europe's second-largest cemetery, with an estimated 2.5million tombs (more than double the city's living population)

Budapest, Central Hungary, Hungary

• Budapest is the capital of Hungary, and home to Europe's largest Synagogue
• Budapest is home to the oldest underground train system in Europe
• Budapest is home to one of the oldest zoos in the world

Kiev, Ukraine

• Kiev is considered the greenest city in the world by the UN, with about 20 square meters of green space for every resident
• During WWI and the Russian Civil War, Kiev changed political-military hands 18 times
• The Ukrainian name for the city is Kyiv, Kiev is Russian

Moscow, Russia

• Moscow has the largest collection of billionaire residents of any city in the world
• In Russia, the first weekend in September of every year is dedicated to celebrating the founding of Moscow
• Moscow is the second largest city in Europe, behind Istanbul

Ulan Bator, Mongolia

• Ulan Bator is the largest city and capital of Mongolia
• It is connect to both Russia and China via railway systems
• The city struggles with excessively high air pollution levels due to its valley location and coal-power plant usage - In the winter months, pollution levels reach such heights that they make air and ground travel impossible due to poor visibility

Tokyo, Japan

• The Greater Tokyo Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with upwards of 35 million residents
• Tokyo is one of the three economic centers of the world, alongside London, England and New York City
• For many couples living in Tokyo, Christmas is celebrated like Valentine's Day in the western world

Beijing, China

• One of China's national foods, Peking Roast Duck or simply Peking duck has been eaten in Beijing since the Imperial era
• According to the city's official census in 2006, the most common surname in Beijing is Wang, a name shared by 10.35% of the population.
• Cab rates are based on the 'fanciness' of the car being driven

Kathmandu, Nepal

• People in Nepal do not greet one another with a handshake, but rather put their palms together and bow their forehead and say Namaste
• A popular and cheap 'fast food' is the Momo. Delicious dumplings made from flour and water filled with different fillings like chicken, meat or vegetables either fried or steamed and served with a dipping sauce.
• The Sherpas are an ethnic group from mostly the eastern mountainous part of Nepal. Many are employed as porters for mountain expeditions as they do not suffer the effect of altitude and due to their genetics and upbringing.

New Delhi, India

• The entire public transportation system runs in environmentally-friendly compressed natural gas
• Delhi has an International Toilet museum
• Delhi is one of the 'greenest' cities in the world with a green cover of almost 20%

Bangkok, Thailand

• Bangkok currently holds the Guinness record for having the longest name of a place. Apparently "Bangkok" is just the short version because the city's ceremonial name
• Bangkok was named the hottest city in the world by the World Meteorological Organization

Manila, Philippines

• Ginto was the first known name of Manila. The word means, Land of Gold
• With An area of only 38.55 km², it is the world's most densely populated city with 43,079 people per km²

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

• Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia
• There are 40 species of kangaroos and wallabies in Australia

Auckland, New Zealand

• Unlike Australia, New Zealand does not have any dangerous or poisonous animals
• New Zealand was the last major landmass to be populated with the exception of the Polar Regions
• Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the world and is also known as "the city of sails". It has more boats per capita than anywhere else in the world

Honolulu, Hawaii

• Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city
• Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee

San Francisco, USA

• Chinese fortune cookies were invented in San Francisco in the 19th century
• San Francisco outlawed burials in 1901
• San Francisco cable cars are the only moving National Historic Landmark

New York City, New York, USA

• The first known name for Manhattan was New Amsterdam, which referred to the southern tip of Manhattan, a Dutch trading port
• New York City was the U.S. capital from 1789 to 1790
• The Federal Reserve Bank on New York's Wall Street contains vaults that are located 80 feet beneath the bank and hold about 25 percent of the world's gold bullion

London, Ontario

• London is home to the most talented Hospitality Services team in the world: Western University

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Last Modified on May 7, 2013 11:47 AM, by [DR]