Amsterdam, located in the Dutch province of North Holland, is often referred to as the “Venice of the North” for its large number of canals. The foundation of the city is made up of 11 million wooden beams to stop the city’s buildings from sinking. It was originally a small fishing village in the late 12th century and became a major world port during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. Cycling is key to the city’s character.

Atlanta, also known as ATL, is the capital city of Georgia. It played an important part in both the Civil War and the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. It’s the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coca-Cola. There are around 70 streets with a variation of the word “Peachtree”, however, there are no peach trees in the city. The name came from “pitch tree” the name of the native pine trees because of their sticky sap.

Austin, the capital city of Texas, was originally named Waterloo. It has the second largest capitol building in America made from red granite which appears pink. Austin is known for its live-music scene and home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. It has many beautiful parks and lakes including Lady Bird Lake, a dammed section of the Colorado River. If there’s one food that describes the city it would be tacos.

Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, has the longest city name in the world- 169 characters. Locals refer to it as Krung Thep-a shortened version. It has the world’s biggest Chinatown and the largest solid gold buddha. A city built on dozens of canals and referred to as ‘Venice of the East.’ Home to over 400 temples and several floating markets. All of the temples pictured on Thai baht coins are in Bangkok.

Barcelona is the largest city on the Mediterranean Sea and the second largest city in Spain. It is the capital of Catalonia (one of the 17 regions in Spain). Catalan and Spanish are the two languages spoken in the city. Barcelona is home to 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 7 of which were created by Antoni Gaudi. The most famous of his projects is the Sagrada Familia, the huge unfinished Roman Catholic Church in Barcelona.

Boston is the capital city of Massachusetts and the only American state capital with a shoreline. It is named after Boston, England where many of Boston’s early settlers were from. The first American lighthouse was built in Boston Harbor in 1716 and America’s oldest park, Boston Common dates back to 1634. The city’s nickname is Beantown due to the popularity of the baked beans in molasses among its early residents.