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50 free European Capital Cities trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This European capital cities trivia quiz goes well beyond 'what is the capital of Slovakia'. It covers all corners of the continent — Reykjavík in the north, Valletta in the south, Lisbon in the west and Moscow, Kyiv and Minsk in the east — plus the microstates: Vaduz, Andorra la Vella, Monaco and the City of San Marino. You will be asked which capital is the highest in Europe, which is the last divided one, which pair are the closest together, which country's constitutional capital is not its seat of government, which cities used to be called Christiania, Reval, Titograd and Angora, which rivers Budapest, Warsaw, Bucharest and Belgrade stand on, and why Bern is only a 'federal city'. Some questions are straightforward capital-matching for beginners; the rest are for people who have actually walked these cities. BrainPickle also has a separate quiz on European geography and one on world capitals. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia and each question carries a citation to the page it came from.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which European capital is the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state?
Reykjavík
According to the Landnámabók, Iceland's settlement began there when Ingólfur Arnarson arrived in 874.
Q 02Which is the southernmost capital in Europe, covering just 0.61 square kilometres?
Valletta
It is named after Jean Parisot de Valette, the Grand Master who held off the Ottomans in the Great Siege of Malta.
Q 03Malta's capital was built in the 16th century by which order?
The Knights Hospitaller
The city's Royal Opera House was destroyed in the Second World War and never fully rebuilt.
Q 04Which country has no official capital, only a 'federal city' that acts as its de facto capital?
Switzerland
Bern is only Switzerland's fifth-largest city, behind Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne.
Q 05Bern's old town is surrounded by which river?
The Aare
The Altstadt became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
Q 06Which capital's name literally means 'Dam in the Amstel'?
Amsterdam
The Dutch constitution names it as capital, but the government and parliament sit in The Hague.
Q 07Vaduz, capital of Liechtenstein, is not even the country's largest town. Which neighbouring town is bigger?
Schaan
Vaduz Castle, on a hill above the town, is home to the reigning prince.
Q 08Which is the highest capital city in Europe, at 1,023 metres above sea level?
Andorra la Vella
It sits high in the eastern Pyrenees and shares a border with Spain.
Q 09Budapest was formed in 1873 from Pest, the royal seat across the river, and which smaller town to the north?
Óbuda
Before that the towns were sometimes called 'Pest-Buda'.
Q 10Which two European capitals are the closest pair, only about 50 kilometres apart?
Vienna and Bratislava
Bratislava is also the only national capital that borders two other sovereign states, Austria and Hungary.
Q 11Which national capital is the only one to have land borders with two other sovereign states?
Bratislava
It was known as Pressburg in German and Pozsony in Hungarian, and was the coronation city of Hungarian kings.
Q 12Which is the last divided capital in Europe?
Nicosia
The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities split into south and north in 1964, and the line hardened after the 1974 Turkish invasion.
Q 13Bucharest stands on which river?
The Dâmbovița
Bucharest is an enclave completely surrounded by Ilfov County.
Sofia was known by what name in antiquity, when it was conquered by the Romans in 29 BC?
Q 21Stockholm is built across how many islands?
Fourteen
It was founded as a city in 1252 by Birger Jarl.
Q 22Copenhagen is connected to which Swedish city by the Øresund Bridge?
Malmö
The city sits mainly on Zealand, with a smaller part on the island of Amager.
Q 23Dublin stands at the mouth of which river?
The Liffey
After the 1800 Acts of Union it was briefly the second-largest city in the British Empire.
Q 24Warsaw became Poland's capital in 1596 when Sigismund III moved his court from which city?
Serdica
The modern name comes from the Saint Sofia Church, from the Greek word for wisdom.
Q 15Chișinău, capital of Moldova, was formerly widely known by which Russian name?
Kishinev
The city hosts a national wine festival every October; Moldovan winemaking dates back at least 5,000 years.
Q 16Tallinn was known to most of the world by which name from the 13th century until the early 20th?
Reval
It is only 80 km south of Helsinki across the Gulf of Finland.
Q 17Which Art Nouveau-rich Baltic capital was European Capital of Culture in 2014?
Riga
Founded in 1201, it was a member of the Hanseatic League.
Q 18Which Baltic capital, the region's most populous city, lends its name to a Baroque style?
Vilnius
Its Old Town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
Q 19Until about 1930, Helsinki was generally known in English by which Swedish name?
Helsingfors
It is still officially bilingual, with Finnish and Swedish as its two languages.
Q 20Oslo was called Christiania (later Kristiania) from 1624 until which year?
1925
It had been renamed for Christian IV of Denmark, who rebuilt it after the fire of 1624; independent Norwegians thought a Danish king's name unsuitable.
Kraków
Warsaw stands on the Vistula and its symbol is a mermaid.
Q 25Ljubljana's city symbol, seen on its castle tower and a famous bridge, is what creature?
A dragon
In Roman times a city called Emona stood on the site.
Q 26Zagreb lies on which river?
The Sava
The name Zagreb was first recorded in 1134, and it became a free royal city in 1242.
Q 27Which capital is nicknamed the 'Jerusalem of Europe' for its mosque, two churches and synagogue in one neighbourhood?
Sarajevo
It sits along the Miljacka River, surrounded by the Dinaric Alps.
Q 28Belgrade stands at the confluence of the Danube and which other river?
The Sava
Its name means 'White City'; the Celts who settled it after 279 BC called it Singidūn.
Q 29Podgorica, capital of Montenegro, was known by what name from 1946 to 1992?
Titograd
It became capital of an independent Montenegro in 2006.
Q 30Skopje was founded as Scupi under which Roman emperor, then abandoned after an earthquake in 518?
Domitian
It was rebuilt under Justinian I and later ruled by the Ottomans for over five centuries.