European Capitals with Closest Capital Cities

Here is a list of European capitals in alphabetical order by the city, not the country. This order helps see how many capital cities begin with a given letter. Yes, most lists give the alphabetical order by country but that really makes it easier to forget the capital than to actually learn it. Also included are the nearest capital cities of other countries. Some countries are categorized separately — the UK countries, partially recognized states, etc.

A:
Amsterdam – The Netherlands: closer to Brussels than Luxembourg City
Andorra la Vella – Andorra: closer to Madrid than Monaco
Ankara – Turkey: closer to Sofia than Bucharest
Athens – Greece: closer to Tirana than Skopje
B
Belgrade – Serbia: closer to Sarajevo than Podgorica
Berlin – Germany: closer to Prague than Copenhagen
Bern – Switzerland: closer to Vaduz than Luxembourg City
Bratislava – Slovakia: very close to Vienna, closer to Prague than Budapest
Brussels – Belgium: closer to Amsterdam than Luxembourg City
Bucharest – Romania: closer to Sofia than Belgrade
Budapest – Hungary: closer to Bratislava and Vienna than to Zagreb
C
Chișinău – Moldova: closer to Bucharest than Kyiv
Copenhagen – Denmark – closer to Berlin than Oslo
D
Dublin – Ireland: closer to London than Brussels
H
Helsinki – Finland – closer to Tallinn than Stockholm
K
Kyiv – Ukraine: closer to Chișinău than Minsk
L
Lisbon – Portugal: closer to Madrid than Andorra la Vella
Ljubljana – Slovenia: closer to Zagreb than Vienna
Luxembourg City – Luxembourg: closer to Paris than Brussels
M
Madrid – Spain: closer to Andorra la Vella than Lisbon
Minsk – Belarus: closer to Vilnius than Riga
Monaco – Monaco (There is no geographical distinction between the
State and City of Monaco): closer to San Marino than Vaduz
Moscow – Russia: closer to Minsk than Vilnius
N
Nicosia – Cyprus: closer to Ankara than Athens
O
Oslo – Norway: closer to Stockholm than Copenhagen
P
Paris – France: closer to Brussels than Luxembourg City
Podgorica – Montenegro: closer to Tirana than Sarajevo
Prague – Czech Republic: closer to Vienna and Bratislava than Berlin
R
Reykjavik – Iceland: closer to Dublin than Oslo
Riga – Latvia: closer to Vilnius than Tallinn
Rome – Italy: (and Vatican City) closer to San Marino than Monaco
S
San Marino (City) – San Marino: closer to Rome than Ljubljana
Sarajevo – Bosnia and Herzegovina: closer to Podgorica than Belgrade
Skopje – Macedonia: very close to Pristina; closer to Sofia than Podgorica
Sofia – Bulgaria: closer to Skopje and Pristina than Bucharest
Stockholm – Sweden: closer to Helsinki than Oslo
T
Tallinn – Estonia: closer to Helsinki than Riga
Tirana – Albania: closer to Podgorica than Pristina and Skopje
V
Vaduz – Liechtenstein: closer to Bern than Luxemburg City
Valletta – Malta: closer to Tirana than Rome
Vatican City – The Holy See: (in Rome) closer to San Marino than Monaco
Vienna – Austria: very close to Bratislava; closer to Budapest than Prague
Vilnius – Lithuania: closer to Minsk than Riga
W
Warsaw – Poland: closer to Vilnius than Berlin
Z
Zagreb – Croatia: closer to Ljubljana than Sarajevo

Capitals of countries of the United Kingdom:
Belfast, Northern Ireland: closer to Dublin than Glasgow
Cardiff, Wales: closer to London than Dublin
Glasgow – Scotland: closer to Belfast than Dublin
London – (England) UK capital: closer to Brussels than Paris

These capital cities in partially recognized countries are sometimes included on lists of European Capitals:
North Nicosia: Northern Cyprus (see Cyprus)
Pristina – Kosovo: closer to Skopje than Tirana
Sukhumi – Abkhazia: a self-declared republic located in Georgia

These former Soviet Union states are considered European by some, Asian by others
Astana – Kazakhstan
Baku – Azerbaijan
Tbilisi – Georgia
Yerevan -Armenia

If you really want to remember a capital city, look up well-known places, landmarks, museums, etc. Also, look up some prominent people who came from that city.

After you know your stuff, here’s a European capitals quiz with most of the capitals on this list.