0 of 15
- The Dutch capital was named because it was originally built around a dam in the river Amstel. The river still runs through Amsterdam which is famous for being home to more canals than Venice and more bicycles than people!
- Singapore is packed full of surprises and there is far more to see than first meets the eye. The modern city's name comes from 'singa' meaning lion and 'pura' meaning town.
- Vienna is known for being a home to classical music and opera but the city's name actually comes from the Celtic word 'windo' meaning bright and fair - which is understandable when you see the array of brightly coloured homes and buildings!
- This ancient city in the south of Jordan is famous world-wide for the unusual rock cut architecture and the name Petra fits with this as it comes from 'petros' meaning stone or rock.
- It may be found dropped in the middle of Nevada's Mojave Desert but Las Vegas' name actually comes from Spanish meaning 'the meadows'.
- Toronto sits right on the banks of Lake Ontario so it's perhaps not that surprising that the name originates from the Iroquois (Native American) term meaning 'where there are tree in the water'.
- Given that this sun drenched metropolis is nicknamed 'City of Angels', it comes as no surprise that the name Los Angeles derives from Spanish, meaning 'the angels'.
- Given that the name Shanghai comes from 'shang' meaning above and 'hal' meaning sea, it shouldn't come as a surprise to visitors that the Huangpu River splits Shanghai into two districts: Pudong and Puxi.
- Florence is undoubtedly the jewel in Tuscany's crown and it has a name to match. The city's title comes from the Latin word 'florens', which means to flower.
- Saudi Arabia's capital city can be found sitting on a desert plateau which may explain why it's name comes from 'rawdah', meaning gardens or meadows.
- Given that the city is perched on the edges of the Victoria Harbour is makes total sense that Hong Kong originates from 'hong' meaning fragrant and 'kong' meaning harbour.
- Argentina's capital sits just below Uruguay on the east coast of South America and its name comes from the Spanish meaning 'good airs' or 'fair winds'.
- Venice is often nicknamed the 'city of love' and it's not hard to understand why when you see the beautiful canals and picturesque houses, but the city's name also works with the nickname. Venice is based on the Indo-European root 'wen' meaning love.
- Although the majority of this city is either on the water or scattered across numerous islands, confusingly the name does not reflect this. Abu Dhabi actually means 'father of the gazelle'!