City Guides to the UK

Accommodation
Bed & Breakfast
Camping
Hostel
Hotels
Long Stay
Motels
Rooms
Student Housing
Classified
Entertainment
Concerts
Exhibitions
Theatre
Markets
Movies
Museums
Night Clubs
Parks & Recs
Theme Parks
Zoos
Events
Food & Drink
Bars
Adult Entertainment
Biker
Cocktail Lounge
Gay
Irish
Jazz, Blues & Piano
Pubs
Sports Bars
Wine Bars
Coffee
Ice Cream
Fast Food
Burgers
Chicken
Chinese
Deli
Donuts
Fish
Hot Dogs
Mexican
Pizza
Subs
Restaurants
African
American
Barbeque
Bistro
Buffett
Casual Dining
Fine Dining
Fish
Steak
Vegetarian
Wings
Asian
Chinese
Japanese
Korean
Mongolian
Thai
Vietnamese
Other Asian
Australasian
European
British
Eastern European
French
German
Irish
Italian
Scandinavian
Spanish
Swiss
Other European
Indian
Mexican
Middle Eastern

Real Estate
Agents
Apartments
Condo
Houses 4 Rent
Houses 4 Sales
Removals
Storage
Title Companies
Services
Auto Repairs
Accessories
Body Shop
Brakes & Shocks
Breakdown
Car Wash
Mufflers
Oil
Parts
Service – Dealers
Service – Garages
Tires
Windshields
Churches
City Services
City Hall
DMV
Garbage
Fire
Hospitals
Libraries
Police
Radio Stations
Schools
Universities
Financial Services
ATMs
Bail Bonds
Banks
Check Cashing/Advance
Credit Unions
Financial Adviser
Insurance
Mortgage Brokers
Pawn Shop
Home Repairs
Appliances
Computers
Drains
Electrician
Garage Doors
Glass
Heating & Air Conditioning
Locksmith
Painter
Plumber
Roofing, Gutters & Siding
Windows & Doors
Home Services
Carpets & Rugs Cleaning
Decks & Patios
Duct Cleaning
Exterminator
Grass Cutting
Home Cleaning
Improvements
Landscaping
Septic Tanks
Swimming Pool
Window Cleaning
Medical
Chiropractic
Dentist
Doctor
Emergency
Optician
Paediatrician
Physiotherapy
Pharmacy
Walk-in Clinic

Pets
Animal Shelter
Boarding & Kennels
Horse Stables
Horse Training & Riding
Horse Transportation
Pet Grooming
Pet Sitting
Pet Store
Pet Shops
Pet Training
Pet Walking
Vets
Professional Services
Accountant
Architect
Attorney
Business
Criminal
Divorce
DUI
Immigration
Injury
Funeral Services
Tax Services
Photographer
Recruiter
Stock Broker
Translator
Web Designer
Transportation
Airlines & Airports
Aircraft Charter & Flying Lessons
Boat Rental
Boat Charter
Bus service
Car Rental
Cycle Rental
Limo
Motor Bike Rental
Taxi
Tourist Tours
Trains
Utilities
Cable TV
Electricity
Gas
Miss Dig
Telephone
Water
Shopping
Beauty
Barber Shop Beauty Products
Cosmetic Surgery
Hair Removal
Hair Salon
Hair Transplant
Nails
Orthodontist
Spa & Parlours
Tanning
Tattoo & Piercings
Clothes
Cleaning & Repairs
Alterations
Dry Cleaning
Laundromat
Laundry
Shoe Repairs
Coats & Furs
Children
Hats & Caps
Jeans
Teenagers
Maternity & Babies
Men’s Apparel
Casual

Shirts
Suits
Tuxedo
Work Wear
Shoes
Sports
Sunglasses
Women’s Apparel
Casual
Dresses
Lingerie
Swimwear
Wedding
Uniforms
DIY & Hardware
Bath
Building Materials
Cement
Hardware
Kitchen
Lumber
Paint & Wallpaper
Tiles
Tool Rental
Wooden Floors
Electronics
Appliances
Camera
Computers
Electrical Supplier
Home Theatre
Security Systems
Stereo Systems
Televisions
Mobile Phones
Entertainment Media
Bookstore
Hobbies
Antiques
Boating
Comic Books
Dive Shop
Fishing
Guns
Models
Music & Instruments
Riding
Scrapbooking
Sewing & Quilting
Sports
Movie Rental
Music Store
PC & Video Games
Used Books
Videos & DVD
Gifts
Card Shop
Chocolates
Cigars
Dollar Stores
Flowers
Gift Shop
Jewellery
Party Shop
Perfume
Toys
Trophy
Groceries
Bakery
Beer & Wine
Cakes, Cookies & Candy
Convenience Store
Fish
Liquor
Market
Meat
Organic/Health
Supermarket
Vegetables

World/Ethnic
Home & Gardens
Decks
Fencing
Garden Centre
Garden Machinery
Irrigation
Lighting
Mulch
Patio
Ponds
Pools
SodHome Goods
Arts & Crafts
Awnings
Bed & Bath
Blinds
Carpets
Curtains
Dollar Stores
Furniture
Beds & Mattresses
Garden Living
Furnishings
Leather
Recreation
Kitchen
Lighting
Home Office
Rugs
Gas
Vehicles
Bicycle
Boats
Electric
Exotic Cars
Recreation
Mobility
Motor Bikes
RV & Caravans
New Cars
Used Cars
Sports
Bowling
Cycling
Fishing
Golf Courses
Gyms
Ice Arena
Martial Arts
Sailing
Sports Clubs
Sporting Events
College
High School
Professional
Travel
Hotels
Rental Cars
Air Travel
Cruises
Vacations

www.cityguide2.co.uk

	License either a CityGuide2^TM or iGuide2^TM internet portal to operate in your Town, City or Country. Sites are navigated using Nav-i-Guide^TM, a unique patent pending system of dynamic context sensitive toolbars, allowing access to all content with 3 mouse clicks or less and without ever leaving the home page. The sites provide information on a local area and have a full listing of Hotels, Restaurants, Entertainment, Services and so much more all expressed as icons on toolbars. In addition to a free classified ads section users can create a profile, blog, share experiences and join interest groups using CityClique^TM. Your City’s own social media site.
	Copyright © 2010 i-Guides Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.







	The business categories that define a good city guide are listed below. The city business categories define every aspect of City living. The art of a good city guide is have an intuitive navigation system; this is where CityGuide2 sites prevails with their Nav-i-Guide (patent pending) internet navigation system.

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement, particularly a large urban settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law. For example, an article of incorporation approved by the local state legislature distinguishes a city government from a town in Massachusetts. In the United Kingdom and parts of the Commonwealth of Nations, a city is traditionally a settlement with a royal charter. Historically, in Europe, a city was understood to be an urban settlement with a cathedral, hence the official status of St David's as a city in the United Kingdom despite its population of 1,797 in 2001. Cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, and transportation. The concentration of development greatly facilitates interaction between people and businesses, benefiting both parties in the process. A big city, or metropolis, usually has associated suburbs. Such cities are usually associated with metropolitan areas and urban sprawl, creating numerous business commuters travelling to urban centres of employment. Once a city sprawls far enough to reach another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis. There is insufficient evidence to assert what conditions in world history gave rise to the first cities. Theorists, however, have offered arguments for what the right conditions might have been and have identified some basic mechanisms that might have been the important driving forces. The conventional view holds that cities first formed after the Neolithic revolution. The Neolithic revolution brought agriculture, which made denser human populations possible, thereby supporting city development. The advent of farming encouraged hunters to abandon nomadic lifestyles and to choose to settle near others who lived by agricultural production. The increased population density encouraged by farming and the increased output of food per unit of land, created conditions that seem more suitable for city-like activities. Modern city planning has seen many different schemes for how a city should look. The most commonly seen pattern is the grid, favoured by the Romans, almost a rule in parts of the Americas, and used for thousands of years in China. Derry was the first planned city in Ireland, begun in 1613, with the walls being completed five years later. The central diamond within a walled city with four gates was thought to be a good design for defence. The grid pattern was widely copied in the colonies of British North America. The Ancient Greeks often gave their colonies around the Mediterranean a grid plan. One of the best examples is the city of Priene. This city had different specialized districts, much as is seen in modern city planning today. Fifteen centuries earlier, the Indus Valley Civilization was using grids in such cities as Mohenjo-Daro. In medieval times there was evidence of a preference for linear planning. Good examples are the cities established by various rulers in the south of France and city expansions in old Dutch and Flemish cities. Grid plans were popular among planners in the 19th century, particularly after the redesign of Paris. They cut through the meandering, organic streets that followed old paths. The United States imposed grid plans in new territories and towns, as the American West was rapidly established, in places such as Salt Lake City and San Francisco. Other forms may include a radial structure, in which main roads converge on a central point. This was often a historic form, the effect of successive growth over long time with concentric traces of town walls and citadels. In more recent history, such forms were supplemented by ring-roads that take traffic around the outskirts of a town. Many Dutch cities are structured this way: a central square surrounded by concentric canals. Every city expansion would imply a new circle (canals + town walls). In cities such as Amsterdam and Haarlem, and Moscow, this pattern is still clearly visible. Towns and cities have a long history, although opinions vary on whether any particular ancient settlement can be considered to be a city. A city formed as central places of trade for the benefit of the members living in close proximity to others facilitates interaction of all kinds. These interactions generate both positive and negative externalities between others' actions. Benefits include reduced transport costs, exchange of ideas, sharing of natural resources, large local markets, and later in their development, amenities such as running water and sewage disposal. Possible costs would include higher rate of crime, higher mortality rates, higher cost of living, worse pollution, traffic and high commuting times. Cities will grow when the benefits of proximity between people and firms are higher than the cost. The first true towns are sometimes considered to be large settlements where the inhabitants were no longer simply farmers of the surrounding area, but began to take on specialized occupations, and where trade, food storage and power was centralized. In 1950 Gordon Childe attempted to define a historic city with 10 general metrics. These are:

Size and density of the population should be above normal.
Differentiation of the population. Not all residents grow their own food, leading to specialists.
Payment of taxes to a deity or king.
Monumental public buildings.
Those not producing their own food are supported by the king.
Systems of recording and practical science.
A system of writing.
Development of symbolic art.
Trade and import of raw materials.
Specialist craftsmen from outside the kin-group.

This categorization is descriptive, and it is used as a general touchstone when considering ancient cities, although not all have each of its characteristics. The growth of modern industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization and the rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas. In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the invention of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centres began to emerge, thus allowing migration from rural to city areas. However, cities during those periods of time were deadly places to live in, due to health problems resulting from contaminated water and air, and communicable diseases. In the Great Depression of the 1930s cities were hard hit by unemployment, especially those with a base in heavy industry. In the U.S. urbanization rate increased forty to eighty percent during 1900-1990. Today the world's population is slightly over half urban, with millions still streaming annually into the growing cities of Asia, Africa and Latin America. There has also been a shift to suburbs, perhaps to avoid crime and traffic, which are two costs of living in an urban area. One characteristic that can be used to distinguish a small city from a large town is organized government. A town accomplishes common goals through informal agreements between neighbours or the leadership of a chief. A city has professional administrators, regulations, and some form of taxation (food and other necessities or means to trade for them) to feed the government workers. The governments may be based on heredity, religion, military power, work projects (such as canal building), food distribution, land ownership, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, finance, or a combination of those. Societies that live in cities are often called civilizations. A global city, also known as a world city, is a prominent centre of trade, banking, finance, innovation, and markets. The term "global city", as opposed to megacity, was coined by Saskia Sassen in a seminal 1991 work. Whereas "megacity" refers to any city of enormous size, a global city is one of enormous power or influence. Global cities, according to Sassen, have more in common with each other than with other cities in their host nations. Notable examples of such cities include London, New York City, Paris, Moscow, Chicago, Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul. The notion of global cities is rooted in the concentration of power and capabilities within all cities. The city is seen as a container where skills and resources are concentrated: the better able a city is to concentrate its skills and resources, the more successful and powerful the city. This makes the city itself more powerful in the sense that it can influence what is happening around the world. Following this view of cities, it is possible to rank the world's cities hierarchically. Critics of the notion point to the different realms of power. The term global city is heavily influenced by economic factors and, thus, may not account for places that are otherwise significant. For example, cities like Rome, Delhi, Mumbai, Istanbul, Mecca, Mashhad, Karbala, Jerusalem and Lisbon are powerful in religious and historical terms but would not be considered "global cities." Additionally, it has been questioned whether the city itself can be regarded as an actor. In the United States of America, the classification of population centres is a matter of state law; consequently, the definition of a city varies widely from state to state. In some states, a city may be run by an elected mayor and city council, while a town is governed by the people, a select board (or board of trustees), or open town meeting. There are some very large towns (such as Hempstead, New York, with a population of 755,785 in 2004) and some very small cities (such as Woodland Mills, Tennessee, with a population of 296 in 2000), and the line between town and city, if it exists at all, varies from state to state. The lack of a clear-cut definition of a city in the United States can lead to some counter-intuitive labelling; for example, before it was dissolved in 2002 Maza, North Dakota, with only 5 inhabitants, was a city as by North Dakota law any incorporated location is deemed a city regardless of size. California has both towns and cities but the terms "town" and "city" are considered synonymous. The nation's top 5 largest cities are New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Phoenix, Arizona. In some U.S. states, any incorporated town is also called a city. If a distinction is being made between towns and cities, exactly what that distinction is often depends on the context. The context will differ depending on whether the issue is the legal authority it possesses, the availability of shopping and entertainment, and the scope of the group of places under consideration. Intensifiers such as "small town" and "big city" are also common, though the flip side of each is rarely used. Some states make a distinction between villages and other forms of municipalities. In some cases, villages combine with larger other communities to form larger towns; a well-known example of an urban village is New York City's famed Greenwich Village, which started as a quiet country settlement but was absorbed by the growing city. The word has often been co-opted by enterprising developers to make their projects sound welcoming and friendly. In Illinois, cities must have a minimum population of 2,500 but in Nebraska, cities must have a minimum of only 800 residents. In Oregon, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa, all incorporated municipalities are cities. In Ohio, a municipality automatically becomes a city if it has 5,000 residents counted in a federal census but it reverts to a village if its population drops below 5,000. In Nebraska, 5,000 residents is the minimum for a city of the first class while 800 is the minimum for a city of the second class. The Constitution of Idaho makes no distinction between incorporated towns or cities. In all the New England states, city status is conferred by the form of government, not population. Town government has a board of selectmen or Town Council for the executive branch, and a town meeting for the legislative branch, but unlike the US Government, the executive acts only as an administrative body and cannot override the will of town meeting. New England cities, on the other hand, have a mayor for the executive, and a legislature referred to as either the city council or the board of aldermen. In Virginia, all incorporated municipalities designated as cities are independent of the adjacent or surrounding county while a town is an incorporated municipality which remains a part of an adjacent or surrounding county. The largest incorporated municipalities by population are all cities, although some smaller cities have a smaller population than some towns. For example, the smallest city of Norton has a population of 3,904 and the largest town of Blacksburg has a population of 39,573. The other U.S. independent cities are Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; and Carson City, Nevada. In Pennsylvania any municipality with more than 10 persons can incorporate as a borough. Any township or borough with a population of at least 10,000 can ask the state legislature to charter as a city. In Pennsylvania, a village is simply an unincorporated community within a township. In the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term "inner city" is sometimes used with the connotation of being an area, perhaps a ghetto, where people are less wealthy and where there is more crime. These connotations are less common in other Western countries, as deprived areas are located in varying parts of other Western cities. In fact, with the gentrification of some formerly run-down central city areas the reverse connotation can apply. In Australia, for example, the term "outer suburban" applied to a person implies a lack of sophistication. In Paris, the inner city is the richest part of the metropolitan area, where housing is the most expensive, and where elites and high-income individuals dwell. In the developing world, economic modernization brings poor newcomers from the countryside to build haphazardly at the edge of current settlement (shacks and shanty towns). The United States, in particular, has a culture of anti-urbanism that dates back to colonial times. The American City Beautiful architecture movement of the late 1800s was a reaction to perceived urban decay and sought to provide stately civic buildings and boulevards to inspire civic pride in the motley residents of the urban core. Modern anti-urban attitudes are to be found in the United States in the form of a planning profession that continues to develop land on a low-density suburban basis, where access to amenities, work and shopping is provided almost exclusively by car rather than by foot or transit. However, there is a growing movement in North America called "New Urbanism" that calls for a return to traditional city planning methods where mixed-use zoning allows people to walk from one type of land-use to another. The idea is that housing, shopping, office space, and leisure facilities are all provided within walking distance of each other, thus reducing the demand for road-space and also improving the efficiency and effectiveness of mass transit.

Largest Cities of the world by population.

1. Tokyo, Japan - 28,025,000
2. Mexico City, Mexico - 18,131,000
3. Mumbai, India - 18,042,000
4. Sáo Paulo, Brazil - 17, 711,000
5. New York City, USA - 16,626,000
6. Shanghai, China - 14,173,000
7. Lagos, Nigeria - 13,488,000
8. Los Angeles, USA - 13,129,000
9. Calcutta, India - 12,900,000
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina - 12,431,000
11. Seóul, South Korea - 12,215,000
12. Beijing, China - 12,033,000
13. Karachi, Pakistan - 11,774,000
14. Delhi, India - 11,680,000
15. Dhaka, Bangladesh - 10,979,000
16. Manila, Philippines - 10,818,000
17. Cairo, Egypt - 10,772,000
18. Õsaka, Japan - 10,609,000
19. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 10,556,000
20. Tianjin, China - 10,239,000
21. Jakarta, Indonesia - 9,815,000
22. Paris, France - 9,638,000
23. Istanbul, Turkey - 9,413,000
24. Moscow, Russian Fed. - 9,299,000
25. London, United Kingdom - 7,640,000
26. Lima, Peru - 7,443,000
27. Tehrãn, Iran - 7,380,000
28. Bangkok, Thailand - 7,221,000
29. Chicago, USA - 6,945,000
30. Bogotá, Colombia - 6,834,000
31. Hyderabad, India - 6,833,000
32. Chennai, India - 6,639,000
33. Essen, Germany - 6,559,000
34. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - 6,424,519
35. Hangzhou, China - 6,389,000
36. Hong Kong, China - 6,097,000
37. Lahore, Pakistan - 6,030,000
38. Shenyang, China - 5,681,000
39. Changchun, China - 5,566,000
40. Bangalore, India - 5,544,000
41. Harbin, China - 5,475,000
42. Chengdu, China - 5,293,000
43. Santiago, Chile - 5,261,000
44. Guangzhou, China - 5,162,000
45. St. Petersburg, Russian Fed. - 5,132,000
46. Kinshasa, DRC - 5,068,000
47. Baghdãd, Iraq - 4,796,000
48. Jinan, China - 4,789,000
49. Wuhan, China - 4,750,000
50. Toronto, Canada - 4,657,000

51. Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) - 4,458,000
52. Alger, Algeria - 4,447,000
53. Philadelphia, USA - 4,398,000
54. Qingdao, China - 4,376,000
55. Milano, Italy - 4,251,000
56. Pusan, South Korea - 4,239,000
57. Belo Horizonte, Brazil - 4,160,000
58. Almadabad, India - 4,154,000
59. Madrid, Spain - 4,072,000
60. San Francisco, USA - 4,051,000
61. Alexandria, Egypt - 3,995,000
62. Washington DC, USA - 3,927,000
63. Houston, USA - 3,918,000
64. Dallas, USA - 3,912,000
65. Guadalajara, Mexico - 3,908,000
66. Chongging, China - 3,896,000
67. Medellin, Colombia - 3,831,000
68. Detroit, USA - 3,785,000
69. Handan, China - 3,763,000
70. Frankfurt, Germany - 3,700,000
71. Porto Alegre, Brazil - 3,699,000
72. Hanoi, Vietnam - 3,678,000
73. Sydney, Australia - 3,665,000
74. Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. - 3,601,000
75. Singapore, Singapore - 3,587,000
76. Casablanca, Morocco - 3,535,000
77. Katowice, Poland - 3,488,000
78. Pune, India - 3,485,000
79. Bangdung, Indonesia - 3,420,000
80. Monterrey, Mexico - 3,416,000
81. Montréal, Canada - 3,401,000
82. Nagoya, Japan - 3,377,000
83. Nanjing, China - 3,375,000
84. Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire - 3,359,000
85. Xi'an, China - 3,352,000
86. Berlin, Germany - 3,337,000
87. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - 3,328,000
88. Recife, Brazil - 3,307,000
89. Dusseldorf, Germany - 3,251,000
90. Ankara, Turkey - 3,190,000
91. Melbourne, Australia - 3,188,000
92. Salvador, Brazil - 3,180,000
93. Dalian, China - 3,153,000
94. Caracas, Venezuela - 3,153,000
95. Adis Abeba, Ethiopia - 3,112,000
96. Athina, Greece - 3,103,000
97. Cape Town, South Africa - 3,092,000
98. Koln, Germany - 3.067,000
99. Maputo, Mozambique - 3,017,000
100. Napoli, Italy - 3,012,000

Capital Cities of the World

	Afghanistan, Kabul Albania, Tirane, 300,000 Algeria, Algiers Andorra, Andorra la Vella, 22,390 Angola, Luanda, 2,000,000 Antigua and Barbuda, St. John's, 21,514; Codrington (capital of Barbuda), est. pop. 1,000 Argentina, Buenos Aires: city 3,000,000; metro 12,000,000 Armenia, Yerevan, 1,226,000 Australia, Canberra, 307,700 Austria, Vienna, 1,600,000 Azerbaijan, Baku, 1,713,300 Bahamas, Nassau, 171,542 Bahrain, Manama, 140,401 Bangladesh, Dhaka: city 3,839,000; metro area 8,500,000 Barbados, Bridgetown, 6,700 Belarus, Minsk, 1,666,000 Belgium, Brussels, 949,070 (metro) Belize, Belmopan, 5,845 Benin, Porto-Novo (official), 177,660; Cotonou (de facto capital) 33,212 Bhutan, Thimphu 30,340 Bolivia, Sucre, 131,800; Administrative capital: La Paz, 713,400 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 310,000 Botswana, Gaborone, 138,000 Brazil, Brasilia, 1,800,000 Brunei, Darussalam Bandar Seri Begawan, 52,300 Bulgaria, Sofia, 1,113,674 Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, 500,000 Burundi, Bujumbura, 300,000 Cambodia, Phnom Penh, 900,000 Cameroon, Yaounde Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (unavailable) Cape Verde, Praia, 61,797 Central African Republic, Bangui, 706,000 Chad, N'Djamena, 529,555 Chile, Santiago, 4,601,434 China, Beijing, 12,033,000 Colombia, Bogota 1,945,448 Comoros, Moroni (on Grande Comoro), 23,432 Congo, Brazzaville, 937,580 Congo, Democratic Republic of the Kinshasa, 4,655,313 Costa Rica, San Jose, 315,909 Cote d'Ivoire, Yamoussoukro (official); Abidjan (administrative),106,786 Croatia, Zagreb, 930,753 Cuba, Havana, 2,241,000 Cyprus, Nicosia, 186,400 Czech Republic, Prague, 1,215,771 Denmark, Copenhagen, 1,339,395 Djibouti, Djibouti, 395,000 Dominica, Roseau, 15,853 Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 2,100,000 Ecuador, Quito, 1,500,000 Egypt, Cairo: city limits 7,010,000; metro 10,72,000 El Salvador, San Salvador, 972,810 Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, 30,418 Eritrea, Asmara, 400,000 Estonia, Tallinn, 471,608 Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 2,200,186 Fiji, Suva, 200,000 Finland, Helsinki, 515,765 France, Paris Gabon, Libreville, 419,596 Gambia, Banjul, 44,188, Georgia, Tbilisi, 1,279,000 Germany, Berlin, 3,471,418 Ghana, Accra Greece, Athens Grenada, St. George's, 4,439 Guatemala, Guatemala City, 1,150,452 Guinea, Conakry, 1,508,000 Guinea-Bissau, Bissau, 200,000 Guyana, Georgetown, 248,500 Haiti, Port-au-Prince, 1.500,000 Honduras, Tegucigalpa, 1,500,000 Hungary, Budapest, 2,008,546 Iceland, Reykjavik, 103,036 India, New Delhi, 294,149 Indonesia, Jakarta: city 9,160,500; metro 11,500,000 Iran, Teheran Iraq, Baghdad Ireland, Dublin Israel, Jerusalem, 2,550,500 Italy, Rome, 2,693,383 Jamaica, Kingston, 104,000 Japan, Tokyo: city 8,162,444; metro 28,025,000 Jordan, Amman, 963,490 Kazakhstan, Astana, 280,200 Kenya, Nairobi, 2,000,000 Kiribati, South Tarawa, (25,154) Korea (North), Pyongyang, 2,741,260 Korea, (South), Seoul, city 10,231,217; metro 11,968,000 Kuwait, Kuwait City, 151,060 Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, 631,000 Laos, Vientiane, 442,000 Latvia, Riga, 874,000 Lebanon, Beirut, 1,100,000 Lesotho, Maseru 170,000	Liberia, Monrovia, 1,000,000 Libya, Tripoli Liechtenstein, Vaduz, 5,067 Lithuania, Vilnius, 590,100 Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 75,622 Macedonia, Skopje, 444,229 Madagascar, Antananarivo, 1,000,000 Malawi, Lilongwe, 260,000 Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 1,145,000 Maldives, Male, 62,973 Mali, Bamako, 746,000 Malta, Valletta, 9,183 Marshall Islands, Majuro, 20,000 Mauritania, Nouakchott, 480,000 Mauritius, Port Louis, 134,516 Mexico, Mexico City: city 8,735,400; metro 18,131,000 Micronesia, Palikir Moldova, Chisinau, 676,700 Monaco, Monaco, 30,400 Mongolia, Ulan Bator, 619,000 Morocco, Rabat, 1,220,000 Mozambique, Maputo, 1,095,300 Myanmar, Rangoon Namibia, Windhoek, 161,000 Nauru, Yaren, 559 Nepal, Kathmandu, 535,000 The Netherlands, Amsterdam (official), 724,096; The Hague (administrative capital), 445,279 New Zealand, Wellington Nicaragua, Managua, 974,000 Niger, Niamey, 398,265 Nigeria, Abuja, 339,000 Norway, Oslo, 483,401 Oman, Muscat, 350,000 Pakistan, Islamabad, 201,000 Palau, Koror, 12,299 Palestinian State, Panama, Panama City, 450,668 Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, 250,000 Paraguay, Asuncion, 502,426 Peru, Lima, city 5,681,941; metro 7,443,000 Philippines, Manila, city 1,654,761, metro 9,280,000 Poland, Warsaw, 1,642,700 Portugal, Lisbon, 677,790 Qatar, Doha, 300,000 Romania, Bucharest, 2,351,000 Russian Federation, Moscow: city 8,415,549, metro 9,299,000 Rwanda, Kigali, 232,733 St. Kitts and Nevis, Basseterre, 19,000 St. Lucia, Castries, 13,600 St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Kingstown, 15,466 Samoa, Apia, 32,859 San Marino, San Marino, 2,397 Sao Tome and Principe, Sao Tome, 43,420 Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Senegal, Dakar, 1,729,823 Seychelles, Victoria, 25,000 Sierra Leone, Freetown, 1,300,000 Singapore, Singapore, 3,044,000 Slovakia, Bratislava, 446,600 Slovenia, Ljubljana, 330,000 Solomon Islands, Honiara, 35,288 Somalia, Mogadishu, 900,000 South Africa, (official) Pretoria, (legislative) Cape Town, (judicial) Bloemfontein Spain, Madrid, 2,947,228 Sri Lanka, Colombo, (official) 1,994,000, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative and judicial), 107,000 Sudan, Khartoum, 924,505 Suriname, Paramaribo, 200,970 Swaziland, Mbabane 47,020 Sweden, Stockholm, 703,627 Switzerland, Bern, 129,423 Syria, Damascus, 1,549,932 Taiwan, Taipei, 2,643,439 Tajikistan, Dushanbe, 524,000 Tanzania, Dar es Salaam (administrative), 1,360,850, Dodoma (official) 45,807 Thailand, Bangkok, 5,882,000 Togo, Lome, 366,476 Tonga, Nuku'alofa, 34,000 Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain, 52,451 Tunisia, Tunis, 887,800 Turkey, Ankara, 2,890,025 Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, 518,000 Tuvalu, Funafuti, 3,839 Uganda, Kampala, 773,463 Ukraine, Kiev, 2,637,000 United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, 363,432 United Kingdom, London, 7,007,091 United States, Washington, D.C., 606,900 Uruguay, Montevideo, 1,330,440 Uzbekistan, Tashkent, 2,106,000 Vanuatu, Port Vila, 26,100 Venezuela, Caracas Vietnam, Hanoi Western Sahara, El Aaiun, 20,010 Yemen, Sana, 1,972,011 Yugoslavia, Belgrade, 1,168,454 Zimbabwe, Harare, 1,184,169

The English Dictionary defines 'a city' as 'a large town' or 'any town in the UK which has a cathedral'. This is the common meaning of the word throughout the world, and in most countries the size of a town is the deciding factor over whether it has city status. Large towns are automatically considered cities. This is perfectly logical and sensible; however this is not the case in the UK.

Despite having a parliamentary democracy, many decisions within the UK are not open to the public, but instead controlled by the monarchy or parts of the British government which answer to the monarchy, irrespective of which political party is in office. The decision to grant a town city status is one such decision. Hence in the UK city status is not granted automatically just because a town becomes very large, or because of a cathedral. A town must be granted city status by the British monarch.

According to the British government:

"City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of the Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers. It is for Her Majesty the Queen to decide when a competition for city status should be held. Competitions are usually held on occasions such as important Royal anniversaries."

Because of this peculiarity there is a discrepancy between the common meaning of the word 'city' and the 'official' meaning. Officially and contrary to popular belief, there are no specific criteria which automatically grant city status in the United Kingdom, although in the past the status was awarded to towns with a diocesan cathedral. As far back as history has been recorded, city status has been conferred by a royal charter, but there are a number of cities whose city status predates historic records. In present times, city status is granted by the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. To most people, the word 'city' confers a large and densely populated urban area. However there are a number of UK cities which are no bigger than average towns or even villages. Most notably, St David's in Pembrokeshire, Wales is the smallest city in the United Kingdom with a population of just 2000. The city is so small that it lies entirely within a national park. Other small cities include Wells in Somerset with a population of 10000 and Ely in Cambridgeshire with a population of around 14000. By contrast there are several large and densely populated urban areas in the United Kingdom which are not officially designated as cities, that is which have no city charter. These fall into two groups: Conurbations are large urban areas which can include cities, but which are not officially designated a city as a composite The most notable example of the former group is London (Greater London) which contrary to popular belief is not officially classed as a city as it has no city charter. It is a conurbation which includes two cities, the City of London and the City of Westminster, as well as a large number of towns and villages. Nevertheless the overwhelming majority of people in the UK and internationally consider London to be a city. (Note that the City of London is not the same as London or Greater London. The City of London also known as The City or the Square Mile spans an area of just over one square mile (just under 3 square kilometres) and forms the financial centre of Greater London. Its resident population is just 8000 but due to the high density of offices, its daily working population is around 300,000. There are many examples of large towns within the United Kingdom which are large enough to be considered 'cities', if 'cities' are defined as large and densely populated urban areas. To name but a few: Milton Keynes (approx. population of 210,000), Northampton (approx. population of 190,000), Luton (approx. population of 190,000). Hence there is an inconsistency between the common usage or meaning of the word 'city' and the very different "official" definition of the word 'city' as an exclusive status which can only be granted by the British Monarch. For some people the distinction between 'city' and 'large town' is not important and in the course of their daily affairs either could be used interchangeably as synonyms. For other people, there is a principle at stake and they would sooner refute the official definition on the grounds that it has nothing in common with the meaning conveyed in common usage and even ought to be officially superseded by the meaning in common usage. There is also dispute over whether it is the Crown's place to define a word.

There are three main criticisms of the official definition of 'city':

City status granted since time immemorial

There is no record of how, why or when some cities were granted their city status. Had some of the smaller cities not been granted city status in the distant past, it is very unlikely that they would receive city status today, in view of their very small size. Many people therefore consider their status unjustified by today's standards of common usage.
Cities whose status was granted in the past due to having a diocesan cathedral

Although cathedrals may have been considered of prime importance at the time of their construction and are still important to their local clergy and members, cathedrals do not play an important role in the lives of the majority of Britain's modern city dwellers.

In the past the Church was at the very centre of each community and assumed a local governmental and administrative role. However today local councils, departments and endless layers of government administration have acquired this power. Today therefore in the interests of aspiring to democracatic values, cathedrals cannot be considered sufficient or appropriate grounds for granting city status. In modern multicultural Britain, it would not be deemed appropriate for city status to be granted due to the existence of a Christian cathedral, as this would be prejudice against the significant number of members of other faiths. Furthermore it is likely that most people would not consider religious grounds as an appropriate measure to determine city status. Level of economic activity, population size or other socio-economic indicators would be better suited.
Cities as designated by the British Monarch

According to the Department for Constitutional Affairs website: "City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of The Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers. It is for Her Majesty The Queen to decide when a competition for city status should be held. Competitions are usually held on occasions such as important Royal anniversaries." So, no matter which political party the British public elect, it is still up to the Queen, non-elected though she is, to determine which town has city status and which has not. Whether this is her decision or on the advice of her ministers, it is still a decision removed from the public. The following account of how the city of Rochester lost its city status much to its dismay in 2002, illustrates the undemocratic nature of city status as designated by a monarch. An administrative oversight meant that Rochester, which had held city status since 1211, ceased to officially be a city. The former Rochester-upon-Medway City Council neglected to appoint ceremonial Charter Trustees when Medway became a unitary authority in 1998. Unfamiliar with the archaic rules governing city status, they did not realize that Charter Trustees would be needed to protect the city's status. Consequently Rochester was removed from the Lord Chancellor's official list of UK cities and since then has not been a city. Furthermore, much to the alarm of the people of Rochester, the decision is irrevocable, because the former City Council no longer exists as an entity and so cannot appoint Charter Trustees now. The people of Rochester have since been writing to the queen pleading with her to restore its former city status, but it is far from certain whether this will occur anytime soon.

From a linguistic perspective, there is also a question of whose place it is to determine the definition of words in the English language. Normally lexicographers, who study the lexicon of a language and author dictionaries, define words as for publication in their dictionaries, as closely as possible to the word's common usage. Why then should the so-called "official" definition of a word such as 'city' and which towns qualify for city status be based on the whims of a single person (or indeed a group of ministers) who are uneducated in the field of lexicography?

This is a list of the largest cities in the United Kingdom. Note that the population statistic for London refers to Greater London which according to the official definition is not considered a city.

City	Population
London	7.2 Million
Birmingham	992000
Leeds	720000
Glasgow	560000
Sheffield	512000
Bradford	467000
Edinburgh	450000
Liverpool	440000
Manchester	420000
Bristol	380000
Wakefield	316000
Cardiff	310000
Coventry	305000
Nottingham	285000
Leicester	280000
Sunderland	280000
Belfast	280000
Newcastle upon Tyne	259000
Brighton	248000
Hull	240000
Plymouth	240000
Stoke-on-Trent	239000
Wolverhampton	239000
Derby	230000
Swansea	225000
Southampton	220000
Salford	215000
Aberdeen	215000
Westminster	190000
Portsmouth	186000
York	182000
Peterborough	157000
Dundee	145000
Lancaster	135000

Oxford	135000
Newport	135000
Preston	130000
St Albans	130000
Norwich	125000
Chester	118000
Cambridge	115000
Salisbury	115000
Exeter	111000
Gloucester	110000
Lisburn	110000
Chichester	108000
Winchester	108000
Londonderry	105000
Carlisle	101000
Worcester	93000
Bath	90000
Durham	87000
Lincoln	86000
Hereford	55000
Armagh	55000
Inverness	51000
Stirling	45000
Canterbury	42500
Lichfield	30000
Newry	30000
Ripon	24500
Bangor	20000
Truro	19000
Ely	14000
Wells	10000
St Davids	2000

This is a list of dates when the places now deemed to be cities in the United Kingdom received their charters of incorporation and assumed official city status. Note that some cities have no date listed as their city status predates any known historical record. Also note that the date given is when they officially became cities and is not the same as the date when the settlement began. Most of these cities existed as villages or towns for thousands of years before they were awarded city status.

City	Year of Incorporation
Preston	2002
Newport	2002
Stirling	2002
Lisburn	2002
Newry	2002
Brighton	2000
Wolverhampton	2000
Inverness	2000
St Davids	1994
Armagh	1994
Sunderland	1992
Derby	1977
Swansea	1969
Southampton	1964
Cambridge	1951
Plymouth	1928
Portsmouth	1926
Salford	1926
Stoke-on-Trent	1925
Cardiff	1905
Bradford	1897
Nottingham	1897
Sheffield	1893
Aberdeen	1891
Birmingham	1889
Dundee	1889
Wakefield	1888
Belfast	1888
Liverpool	1880
St Albans	1877
Truro	1877
Manchester	1853
Ripon	1836
Londonderry	1613
Lichfield	1553
Bristol	1542
Oxford	1542
Peterborough	1541
Westminster	1540
Bath	1519
Glasgow	1492
Coventry	1345
Edinburgh	1329
Hull	1299
Salisbury	1220
Leeds	1207
Wells	1205
Norwich	1195
Hereford	1189
Worcester	1189
Newcastle upon Tyne	1080
Ely	673
Carlisle
Canterbury
Chichester
Gloucester
Lincoln
Chester
Durham
Exeter
Lancaster
Leicester
Winchester
York
Bangor

A conurbation is an urban area which encompasses a number of cities or towns. There are numerous examples of conurbations throughout the United Kingdom due to urban sprawl. In particular, in the South East of Great Britain, the area around Greater London can be thought of as one gigantic conurbation and/ or a metropolis. A metropolis can encompass one or more cities but also includes peripheral zones such as suburban districts, towns and villages which are not necessarily urban in nature, yet which are dependent on the city or cities, for example commuter belts. Often an urban area is a conurbation and a metropolis, as the larger it becomes, the more cities become encompassed and amalgamate. When new towns are built, usually they are strategically placed in proximity to existing cities and towns. As new towns evolve and their suburbs become increasingly developed, the peripheries of these new towns often merge with the peripheries of the existing towns and cities. Transport links further entrench the connections between the towns, which in turn makes the land near to the transport routes more desirable and prone to development, thereby intensifying the sprawl.

A guide book is a book for tourists or travelers that provide details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide. Many travel guides now take the form of travel websites rather than printed books. It will usually include details such as phone numbers, addresses, prices and reviews of hotels and other lodgings, restaurants, and activities. Maps of varying detail are often included. Sometimes historical and cultural information is also provided. Different guide books may focus on different aspects of travel, from adventure travel to relaxation, or be aimed at travelers with larger or smaller travel budgets, or focus on the particular interests and concerns of certain groups such as sexual orientation or dietary restrictions. Guide books are generally intended to be used in conjunction with actual travel, although simply enjoying a guide book with little or no intention of visiting may be referred to as "armchair tourism". A travel website is a website on the World Wide Web, that is dedicated to travel. The site may be focused on travel reviews, the booking of travel, or a combination of both. Approximately one hundred million consumers researched travel plans online in July 2009. Many travel websites are online travelogues or travel journals, usually created by individual travelers and hosted by companies that generally provide their information to consumers for free. These companies generate revenue through advertising or by providing services to other businesses. This medium produces a wide variety of styles, often incorporating graphics, photography, maps, and other unique content. Some examples of websites that use a combination of travel reviews and the booking of travel are TripAdvisor, Virtualtourist, GLOBOsapiens, IgoUgo, and Cruise Critic. TripAdvisor allows travelers to view, contribute to, and edit the online travel "guide books", containing over 25 million travel reviews on more than 33,000 destinations worldwide, as of July 2009. IgoUgo offers a place to store and share trip stories, pictures, opinions, tips, and experiences. Similarly, Cruise Critic is an interactive virtual community of avid and first-time cruisers who plan, research, and share their experiences online.