MinskMinsk, Belarus's capital and largest city, is on the Svislach River. Its first mention dates from 1067.
SofiaSofia is Bulgaria's capital and largest city, in the west of the country, at the foot of Vitosha mountain. In ancient times it was known as Serdica.
PraguePrague is the Czech Republic's capital and largest city, on the Vltava River. It is the historical capital of Bohemia and was home to several Holy Roman Emperors.
BudapestBudapest on the Danube is Hungary's capital and most populous city. It was formed on 17 November 1873, when Buda, Pest and Óbuda were united.
ChișinăuMoldova's capital and its largest city, Chișinău stands near the center of the country on the Bîc, a small river that feeds the Dniester.
WarsawWarsaw is Poland's capital and most populous city, on the river Vistula, in the east-central part of the country.
BucharestBucharest is Romania's capital and largest city, on the River Dâmbovița, in the southeast of the country.
MoscowMoscow is Russia's capital and largest city, on the Moskva River, and among the world's largest cities.
BratislavaBratislava is Slovakia's capital and largest city, on both banks of the Danube, in the southwest. It is the only national capital with land borders with two other sovereign states, Austria and Hungary.
KyivKyiv, also spelled Kiev, is Ukraine's capital and most populous city, in the north-central part of the country, on both banks of the Dnieper River.
Northern Europe 10
CopenhagenCopenhagen is Denmark's capital and most populous city, mainly on the island of Zealand. The Øresund Bridge links it by road and rail to Malmö in Sweden.
TallinnTallinn is Estonia's capital and largest city, on a bay on the north coast, on the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki is 80 kilometers away across the water.
HelsinkiHelsinki is Finland's capital and largest city, on the Gulf of Finland's shore. Until about 1930 English speakers used its Swedish name, Helsingfors.
ReykjavíkReykjavík is Iceland's capital and largest city, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay, in the southwest. It is the northernmost capital of a sovereign state in the world.
DublinIreland's capital and largest city, Dublin stands on the east coast, where the River Liffey runs into Dublin Bay.
RigaRiga is Latvia's capital and largest city, where the Daugava River meets the Gulf of Riga. About a third of the country's people live there.
VilniusVilnius is Lithuania's capital and largest city, and the Baltic states' most populous city. Its Old Town, one of the largest and best preserved in Europe, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
OsloOslo is Norway's capital and most populous city, at the northernmost end of the Oslofjord. After a fire in 1624 a new city was built and named Christiania, and in 1925 it was renamed Oslo.
StockholmSweden's capital and most populous city, Stockholm is built on fourteen islands at the point where Lake Mälaren drains into the Baltic Sea.
LondonLondon is the United Kingdom's capital and largest city, on the River Thames, in southeast England. The Romans founded its ancient core, the City of London, as Londinium.
Southern Europe 14
TiranaTirana, Albania's capital and largest city, is in the center of the country, ringed by mountains and hills. It was founded in 1614.
Andorra la VellaAndorra la Vella is Andorra's capital and largest city, high in the eastern Pyrenees. At 1,023 meters it is Europe's highest capital city.
SarajevoSarajevo is Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital and largest city, on the Miljacka River, surrounded by the Dinaric Alps.
ZagrebZagreb is Croatia's capital and largest city, in the north of the country, on the Sava River, below the southern slopes of Medvednica mountain.
AthensAthens is Greece's capital and largest city, and mainland Europe's southernmost capital. Among the world's oldest cities, it has more than 3,400 years of recorded history.
RomeRome is Italy's capital and largest city, in the central-western part of the peninsula, in the valley of the Tiber. Vatican City, the world's smallest country, lies inside the city.
VallettaValletta is the capital of Malta, between the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour. At 0.61 square kilometers it is the second-smallest capital in the European Union.
PodgoricaPodgorica is Montenegro's capital and largest city, where the Ribnica and Morača rivers meet. It was renamed Titograd in 1946. The president's seat is Cetinje, the Old Royal Capital.
SkopjeSkopje is North Macedonia's capital and largest city, in a northern valley along the Vardar River.
LisbonLisbon is Portugal's capital and most populous city, on the Atlantic, on the northern shore of the River Tagus. It is the second-oldest capital city in Europe, after Athens.
San MarinoSan Marino, also called the City of San Marino, is the capital of the country of the same name. It sits on the western slopes of Monte Titano, the country's highest point.
BelgradeBelgrade is the capital of Serbia, where the Sava River meets the Danube and the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkan Peninsula.
LjubljanaSlovenia's capital and largest city. The Romans had a city here called Emona, and the first written mention of Ljubljana dates from the first half of the 12th century.
MadridMadrid is Spain's capital and largest city, on the River Manzanares, in the middle of the Iberian Peninsula, about 660 meters above sea level.
Western Asia 5
YerevanYerevan, Armenia's capital and largest city, is on the Hrazdan River. It has been the capital since 1918, and its history goes back to the fortress of Erebuni, founded in 782 BC.
BakuBaku is Azerbaijan's capital and largest city, and the largest city on the Caspian Sea. At 28 meters below sea level it is the lowest-lying national capital in the world.
NicosiaSince the 10th century Nicosia, also called Lefkosia, has been Cyprus's capital. People have lived on the site for more than 5,500 years.
TbilisiTbilisi is Georgia's capital and largest city, on the banks of the Kura River. It was founded in the 5th century and holds almost one third of the country's people.
AnkaraAnkara became the capital of Turkey when the Republic was established on 29 October 1923. It sits in central Anatolia and is the second-largest city, after Istanbul.
Western Europe 9
ViennaVienna is Austria's capital and most populous city, and one of its nine states. It is the most populous of all the cities on the Danube.
BrusselsBrussels is Belgium's capital. It is also the administrative center of the European Union, and several of the main EU institutions sit in its European Quarter.
ParisParis, France's capital and largest city, is on the river Seine. It is nicknamed the City of Light and is divided into twenty districts called arrondissements.
BerlinBerlin is Germany's capital and largest city, built along the banks of the Spree. No city in the European Union has more people inside its city limits.
VaduzVaduz, on the Rhine, is Liechtenstein's capital. Vaduz Castle, on a steep hill above the town, is home to the reigning prince. Neighboring Schaan has more people.
LuxembourgLuxembourg, also called Luxembourg City, is the capital of the country of the same name. It stands where the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers meet, in the south of the country.
MonacoMonaco is a city-state on the French Riviera, so the capital and the country share one name. Only Vatican City is a smaller sovereign state.
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the Netherlands' capital and largest city, founded at a dam on the Amstel river. The government and the embassies are in The Hague, which is the common wrong answer.
BernBern is the capital of Switzerland in practice, known as the federal city, and only the fifth-most populous city, behind Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne. Its old town, surrounded by the Aare, became a World Heritage Site in 1983.
How this list was compiled: Capitals, and the notes on Amsterdam and The Hague, Bern, Podgorica and Cetinje, and Monaco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_capitals, checked 2026-09-19. Which states are members of the United Nations: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states, checked 2026-09-19. The five groups are those of the United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49), https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/overview/, checked 2026-09-19. The detail line of each capital comes from the city's own Wikipedia article, all checked 2026-09-19: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirana, /Andorra_la_Vella, /Yerevan, /Vienna, /Baku, /Minsk, /City_of_Brussels, /Sarajevo, /Sofia, /Zagreb, /Nicosia, /Prague, /Copenhagen, /Tallinn, /Helsinki, /Paris, /Tbilisi, /Berlin, /Athens, /Budapest, /Reykjav%C3%ADk, /Dublin, /Rome, /Riga, /Vaduz, /Vilnius, /Luxembourg_City, /Valletta, /Chi%C8%99in%C4%83u, /Monaco, /Podgorica, /Amsterdam, /Skopje, /Oslo, /Warsaw, /Lisbon, /Bucharest, /Moscow, /City_of_San_Marino, /Belgrade, /Bratislava, /Ljubljana, /Madrid, /Stockholm, /Bern, /Ankara, /Kyiv and /London. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes (scale 1:50,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection centred on 53°N 15°E. Outlines simplified; small islands are left out. 6 places are too small to draw at this scale and shown as a dot. Licence: public domain (Natural Earth terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/)
How it works
This Europe countries capitals quiz names a country, lights it on the map and asks for its capital, such as Ljubljana or Tbilisi. It asks 48 member states of the United Nations, from Iceland to Azerbaijan, together or one of 5 regions at a time.
Read the full guide
Five regions, Baku included
The sets under Start from are the United Nations statistical regions: Southern Europe with 14 countries, Eastern 10, Northern 10, Western 9 and Western Asia 5. Expect surprises: the United Kingdom, Ireland and the three Baltic states are filed under Northern Europe. Western Asia here means Turkey, Cyprus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, so Ankara, Nicosia, Yerevan, Baku and Tbilisi are all asked.
Seven countries too small to tap
Andorra, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco and San Marino are too small for a finger, so each has a numbered ring. Three are giveaways: Luxembourg, Monaco and San Marino share a name with their capital.
Three capitals lose out to a better-known city: Bern, not Zurich or Geneva, Ankara, not Istanbul, and Amsterdam, although the government sits in The Hague.
Reykjavík is the northernmost capital of a sovereign state, Andorra la Vella the highest in Europe, and Baku the lowest in the world.
Four capitals stand on the Danube. Going downstream they are Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade, so the countries run Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia.
Questions and answers
Why is The Hague marked wrong?
The Dutch constitution calls Amsterdam the capital. The parliament, the ministries and the embassies are in The Hague, the seat of government and not a capital, so the quiz does not accept it. Switzerland is asked as Bern, the federal city.
Why 48 countries?
This page asks every member state of the United Nations with a shape on the drawing, which gives 48. Other shapes in the frame are never an answer, and tapping one is not a miss. Kazakhstan has no shape here, so it is left out.
Do Wien and Roma count?
Yes. Wien, Roma, Lisboa, København, Helsingfors and Bruxelles are all accepted, and so are Kiev for Kyiv and Lefkosia for Nicosia. Accents never matter. A longer name forgives one slip, but short ones such as Oslo, Riga, Bern and Sofia must be spelled exactly.