Nicknamed "El Fin del Mundo," Ushuaia, Argentina sits at the tip of South America in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The city offers spectacular views of the Andes mountain range and nearby glaciers, as well as an adjacent national park. Due to its extreme southern location, Ushuaia is a popular homebase for many travelers venturing to Antarctica.

Bologna's nickname translates to "the intellectual, the fat, the red," referring to many aspects of the city's identity. "La dotta" makes reference to the local university, which is the oldest in the West and dates back to 1088. "La grassa" touches on Bologna's rich culinary tradition, and "la rossa" describes the red bricks used to construct many Bolognese buildings.

Adelaide's nickname originates not because of its abundance of actual churches, but rather due to the city's history of advocating for religious freedom. Founded in 1836 as the first modern Australian city settled by free men and not penal colonies, Adelaide was built around the concept of religious tolerance, welcoming Catholics, Muslims, Jews, and members of many other faiths.

Bucharest is about 1,400 miles away from Paris, but the City of Light has had an undeniable influence on the Romanian capital, which is home to nearly 2 million people. Much of Bucharest’s architecture was inspired by that of Paris, particularly its landmark Arcul de Triumf (a name which probably sounds familiar).

The Florentine lily is one of the city's most iconic symbols, though technically the flower is actually a white iris, which grows in abundance along the banks of the Arno River. The "City of Lilies" first adopted a stylized drawing of the flower on a flag back in 1096, and that symbol has since graced many historic Florentine coins and monuments.

An enchanting mix of ancient history and modern cosmopolitan Arab culture, Cairo is home to a rich variety of Islamic architecture. One form you’ll often see there is the minaret (Arabic for “beacon”), a tower connected to a mosque from which the faithful are called to pray. The abundance of these towers has led to Cairo’s nickname, Madeenet el alf Midhana (“City of a Thousand Minarets”).

Dubrovnik, Croatia, sits on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. One of the most spectacularly preserved cities in Europe, the "Pearl of the Adriatic" features medieval stone walls surrounding the old city, which were built around 500 years ago when Dubrovnik was a major military presence and home to one of the largest navies in the Mediterranean.

Calgary's "Cowtown" nickname dates back to the 1880s, when the city was first advertised as a desirable location for ranching. The nickname was further popularized thanks to the first Calgary Stampede rodeo exhibition in 1912. The event helped establish Calgary as an encapsulation of Canada's "Wild West" culture.

Home to over 10,000 miles of coastline and 500,000 sailboats and yachts, New Zealand’s largest city is a phenomenal destination for sailing, which is why it’s known as the City of Sails. Unsurprisingly, New Zealand fields an excellent national sailing team, which has won virtually every major international regatta, including the America’s Cup three times.

The nickname “Hollywood North” was coined for Vancouver, British Columbia, in the 1970s, and Vancouver now ranks third in North America for film and TV production, behind only Los Angeles and New York City. Vancouver became a major production center for U.S. film studios because of its relative proximity to Hollywood on the West Coast of North America and favorable tax subsidies.

A popular nickname for Norway’s capital, Tigerstaden (“The Tiger City”), comes from Norwegian writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, whose poem “Sidste Sang” (“Last Song”) describes a metaphorical battle between a horse and a tiger. In the metaphor, the horse is said to represent the peaceful countryside, while the tiger represents the city. A bronze tiger statue outside Oslo’s Central Station, sculpted for Oslo’s 1,000-year anniversary, pays tribute to the nickname.

Venice’s nuptial-themed nickname comes from an annual ceremony that dates back to 1000 CE, known as the Marriage of the Sea. During this event, Venice’s doge — or chief magistrate — sails out into the Adriatic Sea and tosses a ring into its waters, speaking the words, “I wed thee, O Sea, in token of true and lasting dominion.”

With fast-paced growth that has drawn comparisons to New York City — aka "The Big Apple" — Jakarta, Indonesia earned itself the nickname "The Big Durian," named after the pungent fruit eaten throughout Asia. Though the fruit may be off-putting to some due to its notorious odor, it contains a sweet center beloved by locals.

Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh rebranded itself as the “Athens of the North” in the 18th century — even going so far as to start construction in 1826 on a Scottish National Monument modeled after the Parthenon. (Sadly, the city ran out of funds, and the monument was never finished.) Around the same time, the Scottish Enlightenment took hold, fostering new ideas regarding politics, economics, science, and artistic pursuits.

As the birthplace of the Geneva Conventions and the Red Cross, Switzerland's second-largest city of Geneva has a storied history promoting peace and goodwill. Among other notable events to occur in Geneva include the post-WWI founding of the League of Nations — a precursor to the United Nations — and the establishment of the UN's Human Rights Council.

The "Lion City" derives its nickname from a translation of the Malay phrase, "singa pura." According to legend, Prince Sang Nila Utama (who founded the Kingdom of Singapura in 1299) chose the name after coming ashore and believing he had seen a lion. The lion head is now considered a national symbol of Singapore.

It might not seem very smoky now, but in the 19th century, the British capital was home to “pea souper” fogs that choked the city in gray and black — a result of air pollution, principally caused by burning coal as fuel. Smoky conditions persisted until the introduction of the 1956 Clean Air Act finally cleaned up the city.

You might think Paris’ nickname is obvious — with its glittering bridges, boulevards, and monuments like the Eiffel Tower lit up at night — but the history behind it may surprise you. In the mid-17th century, in an effort to reduce crime, Paris became one of the first European cities to install street lighting, leading to its nickname La Ville-Lumière (“City of Light”).

Upon its incorporation, the ancient city of Rome was built atop seven hills — Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal — which were protected within the city's Servian Walls, a fortification constructed in the fourth century BCE. Though the city limits have since expanded in modern times, those original seven hills still lend themselves to Rome's nickname.

Buenos Aires may be Argentina’s capital city, but its romantic, neoclassical, art nouveau, and art deco architecture gives the place a distinctly European flair, inspiring its nickname as South America’s version of the City of Light. The city has a long history of European influence, with the first settlers from the continent dating back to the 16th century.