Do You Know These 10 World City Nicknames?

The City of Brotherly Love.

Sin City.

The Windy City.

Travel writers depend on them, sports broadcasters adore them and, while some residents may be sick-and-tired of hearing them, you simply can’t deny the power of a good city nickname.

Every great city needs a sexy sobriquet—or at the very least a halfway decent one with an interesting backstory.

Taking inspiration from an Expedia.ca infographic that details the fascinating backstory of municipal monikers like Cottonopolis (Manchester, England), The Tavern of the Seas (Cape Town) and the City of Goldfish (Yatomi, Japan); here are a few more iconic and/or unique ones in the USA and around the world:

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The City of Dreams - Mumbai, India

Mumbai is the financial and entertainment capital of India, and its nickname came from the fact that many Indians move here to chase their aspirations. Think of it as the home of the “Indian Dream”.

Magic City - Miami, Florida

Julia Tuttle was a woman with a tremendous vision for Miami, and she was instrumental in the city essentially sprouting up overnight.

You could even say Miami’s rise was “magic”.

The Smoke - London, England

Today, London’s skyline is synonymous with the London Eye, the Shard and the Gherkin. During the Industrial Revolution, however, smoke from factories and coal-burning residences dominated the cityscape.

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The Gem City - Dayton, Ohio

Sandwiched between Columbus and Cincinnati, Dayton has a tendency to get overlooked. Those who stop though are usually pleasantly surprised, and that was the case with a newspaper reporter in 1845 who described the town as a “gem”.

The nickname stuck.

The Eternal City - Rome, Italy

Romans believed that their empire would outlast all others to last forever. While the empire (eventually) crumbled, the Roman tradition and capital carried on. This everlasting nickname for it became popular in the 20th century.

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The City of 100 Spires - Prague, Czech Republic

The Czech capital is full of lovely sights like the Charles Bridge, Prague Castle and Old Town Square. However, it’s the seemingly endless church spires that soar above the city that especially inspired its nickname.

The Emerald City - Seattle, Washington

Is Seattle home to more Wizard of Oz fans than anywhere else in America? Nope, turns out that it picked up this nickname in 1981 after a contest. Seattle’s position on the water in a perpetually green state surely played a factor.

The City That Care Forgot - New Orleans, Louisiana

Many great cities have multiple nicknames, and The Crescent City (given due to the curve of the Mississippi River in the city) is no different.

NOLA (there’s another one) acquired “The City that Care Forgot” due to its, well, how shall I say, laissez-faire approach to mores. Especially during Mardi Gras.

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The Learned, The Red, The Fat - Bologna, Italy

Certainly one of the more unique ones out there, underrated Bologna, Italy picked up two-thirds of this nickname due to its famous university and gastronomic reputation. “The Red” is disputed, either referring to the color of the city’s buildings or its left-leaning politics.

The Pink City - Jaipur, India

The capital of India’s rugged Rajasthan province, Jaipur is famous for its ravishing rose-colored buildings. They received their gorgeous coat of paint in an effort to impress a visiting member of the British Royal Family during 1876, as pink is the traditional color of hospitality.