Partner Cities
Liverpool is in England - but is not of this country. Situated on the River Mersey and facing west to the Atlantic its inspirations and attitudes have been forged by its seafaring community, its merchants, sailors and immigrants.
The city at various times has been described as the capital of Wales and Ireland and America's eastern most city. With long established African, Arabic, Chinese, Jewish, Catholic and Protestant communities Liverpool is a city that has learnt to tolerate and celebrate different cultures.
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Istanbul is the furthest Eastern point of Europe and lays claim to be one of the most diverse cities in the world
- where East and West meets.
Its tale as the bridgehead between Islam and Christianity is clearly pivotal. Historically Byzantium and later Constantinople, Istanbul has been a capital city of Roman, Latin and Ottoman empires.
Today it is Turkey's most populous city and its cultural and financial centre.
Located on the Bosphorus Strait, it is a World Heritage City and the non-EU European Capital of Culture in 2010
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Marseilles is probably the city in Europe with the strongest and most productive links with North Africa.
Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it is France's largest port and second largest city.p>
From the 1050s onwards the city has served as the entrance for over a million immigrants, any who came in 1062 from Algeria.
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Naples has also experienced a strong Islamic influence.
This is noticeable in the local dialect, patisserie, urban form and in some architectural motifs, as well a trade links with North Africa and the Middle East.
Naples is the largest and most prosperous city in southern Italy, but its estimated 4 million of its citizens emigrated at the turn of the 20th century.
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Gdansk a former Hanseatic city, known historically by the German name of Danzig, lies on the southern
coast of the Baltic Sea.
The city is situated at the south of the Motlawa River, giving its pivotal role in Poland's sea trade.
Its shipyard was the birth place of the Solidarity trade union movement, which led to the end of the communist party rule in 1989.
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Bremen, situated in North West Germany was also as Hanseatic City state.
Situated along the River Weser, which leads to the North Sea, it is the second most populous city in Northern Germany. Bremen is also the oldest city state in the world.
Home to Germany's oldest university, it is also host to world's oldest fairground festival.
