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World City Nicknames Quiz

Guess the non-U.S. cities that have these nicknames.
Some nicknames only refer to a specific part or aspect of the city.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 2, 2019
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First submittedOctober 15, 2012
Times taken32,193
Average score45.0%
Rating4.04
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Nickname
City
The City of Light
Paris
The Eternal City
Rome
Athens of the North
Edinburgh
The Stampede City
Calgary
Pearl of the Danube
Budapest
City of David
Jerusalem
Brum
Birmingham
Paris of the Middle East
Beirut
Bollywood
Mumbai
The Square Mile
London
Nickname
City
The Forbidden City
Beijing
City of Canals
Venice
The City of a Thousand Minarets
Cairo
Birthplace of Democracy
Athens
Vegas of the East
Macau
The Lion City
Singapore
Steel City
Sheffield
The Big Durian
Jakarta
The Golden Horn
Istanbul
The Paris of South America
Buenos Aires
+6
Level 20
Oct 15, 2012
Can Macao be accepted in place of Macau?
+2
Level 71
Oct 19, 2012
Yeah, please! I missed it because it didn't even occur to me that it can be spelled with a U.
+2
Level 41
May 29, 2019
It didn't occur to me that it can be spelled with an O
+1
Level 68
Dec 25, 2019
The portuguese way is Macau
+1
Level 82
Feb 4, 2013
agree
+1
Level 77
May 15, 2014
As well!
+1
Level 84
Oct 4, 2016
I tried Macao too. :-(
+1
Level 61
Mar 27, 2018
Yes, I'd add to that. Common spelling pre-1980.
+1
Level 37
Apr 27, 2019
^ I did as well. Then I remembered that it was a Portuguese island and entered Macau.
+1
Level 77
Oct 4, 2018
I got it (last one) with 2 seconds to go. Challenging quiz.
+1
Level 76
Oct 15, 2012
Actually, Bethlehem is the City of David - "For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a child..."
+1
Level 75
Jan 2, 2017
Bethlehem is what I was taught. I had to guess to get the correct answer.
+1
Level 82
Apr 7, 2017
I visited the ruins of the "city of David," nearby the old city of Jerusalem. I also visited Bethlehem.
+9
Level 77
Oct 15, 2012
I tried Atlantic City for Vegas of the East, then realized I was being too US-centric. But how is Pittsburgh not the Steel City?
+4
Level 25
Oct 16, 2012
Sheffield is known for being the centre for steel production during the Industrial Revolution, plus I the quiz is solely looking for non-US cities.
+2
Level 67
Nov 17, 2012
If you remember the beginning of "The Big Monty," is starts with some documentary footage of Sheffield, when it actually produced a good deal of steel.
+2
Level 90
Oct 8, 2015
It's "The Full Monty".
+1
Level 86
May 4, 2014
I'm belgian and tried Atlantic City as well ^^.
+1
Level 29
Jul 24, 2020
Go away Belgian wafflehead
+5
Level 84
Sep 16, 2014
Right, quiz clearly states "non-US cities". Not that I noticed it until I was 1/2 finished with the quiz and scratching my head a bit. :-)
+1
Level 75
Aug 21, 2017
Yup. Typed in Pittsburgh five times. Even tried Hamilton, which is probably only known as such in Canada.
+1
Level 85
Jan 8, 2023
Hamilton still makes steel but not as much as before. People rarely use Steeltown anymore; its the Hammer.
+2
Level 59
Apr 4, 2017
You never know, there might be more than one city in the world that has produced steel...
+1
Level 88
Jul 5, 2018
Doubtful
+3
Level 71
Oct 19, 2012
But The Forbidden City is the actual name of a palace. :S
+2
Level 82
Feb 4, 2013
agree. Never heard it applied to the entire city of Beijing before. The whole city is not forbidden... just the emperor's city within the city.
+3
Level 76
Oct 25, 2015
Yep, it's incorrect. It would be like saying Buckingham Palace is a nickname for London.
+1
Level 44
May 24, 2013
I'm an Indonesian. But i missed Jakarta! That's so awful.
+2
Level 84
Oct 4, 2016
Ouch!
+2
Level 92
Apr 23, 2014
Saw the note that the quiz was looking for non-US cities, but still took a while to get to Sheffield. Newcastle (NSW, Australia), Kosice (Slovakia) and Jamshedpur (India) also have the nickname of 'Steel City.' Steel seems like such a common industry, there could be even more.

Also, for Lion City, I thought you were going for Shi Cheng city (China's 'Atlantis' underneath Qiandao Lake).

+1
Level 82
Aug 21, 2017
yeah.. lots of steel cities out there... also any city with broad avenues, colonial architecture, or slightly charming architecture will be called the "Paris of the..." (though the two clues/answers are the most obvious combos), and any city with a casino in it will be called the "Vegas of the..." (though I got that on my first guess, too). Some nicknames are a bit overused.
+1
Level 28
Apr 26, 2014
Cant believe ''Paris of the Middle East'' is actually Beirut, thought it would be Dubai or Doha or something.
+1
Level 71
Apr 4, 2017
Many years ago (60 in my memory) Beirut was a beautiful city and worthy of the title 'Paris of the Middle East'. Then they started the troubles of a Civil War which unfortunately spoilt it's image dramatically.
+1
Level 82
Aug 21, 2017
Dubai and Doha look nothing at all like Paris. Beirut is actually still a beautiful city with delicious food and lovely women though maybe not as nice as it was pre Civil War.
+2
Level 77
Oct 4, 2018
Whereas Dubai is brash and vulgar - it so clearly exalts money over good taste. Not at all like Paris. Don't know about Doha really as have only changed planes there.
+1
Level 82
Oct 17, 2018
Doha, Kuwait, Manama and Abu Dhabi all look very much like mini-Dubais.
+1
Level 44
May 11, 2014
I'm from London, and I've never heard it called the square mile, thought it was better known as the big smoke?!?
+3
Level 59
Apr 4, 2017
The City (you know, the bit around the Bank of England and St Paul's) is the Square Mile. It's not applied to the whole of London though.
+1
Level 67
Jun 12, 2014
Yeah, I've heard Big Smoke for London but never the Square Mile.
+1
Level 65
Aug 24, 2020
i want two number 9
+2
Level 88
Jul 20, 2015
Pittsburgh is both significantly larger than Sheffield and, when both were in their prime, produced significantly more steel. Sheffield is--at best--the steel city lite.
+3
Level 40
May 23, 2016
You do realize you were only asked non-US cities, right ?
+1
Level 50
Sep 22, 2015
I think that The Square Mile actually refers to the City of Westminster, which is in London but is a city in its own right.
+3
Level 47
Oct 9, 2015
No, the Square Mile refers to just the City of London, and the City of Westminster I don't think is a city in its own right anymore. But the Square Mile definitely doesn't apply to the whole of London.
+2
Level 71
Apr 4, 2017
Although many processes of producing steel had been tried during history it was Henry Bessemer that patented the 'Bessemer' process to produce steel in quantity and cheaply. His system then started in Sheffield and was producing a great amount of steel to further push the 'Industrial Revolution'. Sheffield became the worlds greatest steel producing area.
+1
Level 77
Jun 21, 2017
So proud of the Edinburgh, the city I live in.
+3
Level 37
Feb 25, 2018
I thought that the Stampede City would be Pamplona, Spain.
+1
Level 55
Jun 19, 2018
I have never heard London being called the Big Smoke, but have heard the expression 'going up the Smoke'. The square mile refers to the city of London
+2
Level 65
Dec 13, 2018
Non-us cities.... really...
+2
Level 60
Apr 12, 2019
Now Las Vegas should be called Macau of the West
+1
Level 82
May 29, 2019
Maybe. Though Vegas is still much more internationally famous, I'd wager. Gambling was actually legalized in Macau by the Portuguese in the 1850s, about 50 years before the city of Las Vegas was even founded. And I've also heard Macau referred to as the Monte Carlo of the East, though the first casino in Monaco/Monte Carlo wasn't built until the late 19th century. Perhaps all of these cities should be known as Macaus of the West.
+1
Level 84
May 29, 2019
Or perhaps Canto Bights of the Earth. Much as I'd like to forget it, that place apparently existed a long time ago... :/
+1
Level 23
May 29, 2019
First time doing a quiz on this site and seeing my home city(Calgary) appear!!
+1
Level 65
Mar 15, 2020
The Forbidden City is not a nickname of Beijing, but the name of the old royal palace instead.
+1
Level 68
May 24, 2022
Yes, the City of London is a city within a city and is literally only slightly over one square mile in area. Founded by the Romans around two hills, one of which is now crowned by St. Paul;s cathedral.

The Big Smoke (no longer smokey) is the city called London but probably only older people would use that name. As it says in the list of 'Nicknames' quizzes, giving cities nicknames seems peculiar to the USA and Brits don't do it, except in a humorous (and usually insulting) way. I think English people would generally choose Sheffield as the steel-producing city answer but I've never heard anyone here refer to it as 'Steel City'. I considered a couple of German cities too.

British cities are completely different from American ones - their classification is all to do with tradition, cultural relevance and importance rather than size, as you'll see if you look at a list.

Anyway, thanks for an interesting quiz.

+2
Level 86
Dec 17, 2023
Steel city is way too broad. I feel like more people would think about Pittsburgh