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London is the capital and largest city of England and the United KingdomStanding on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millenniaLondinium was founded by the RomansThe City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that closely follow its medieval limitsThe City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status.

Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.London is considered to be one of the world's most important global cities and has been called the world's most powerful, most desirable, most influential, most visited, most expensive, innovative, sustainable, most investment-friendly, and most-popular-for-work cityLondon exerts a considerable impact upon the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transportationLondon ranks 26th out of 300 major cities for economic performanceIt is one of the largest financial centres and has either the fifth or the sixth largest metropolitan area GDPIt is the most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the busiest city airport system as measured by passenger traffic.

It is the leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other cityLondon's universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe, and London is home to highly ranked institutions such as Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences, the London School of Economics in social sciences, and the comprehensive University College London and King's College LondonIn 2012, London became the first city to have hosted three modern Summer Olympic Games.London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the regionIts estimated mid-2018 municipal population (corresponding to Greater London) was 8,908,081, the third most populous of any city in Europe and accounts for 13.4% of the UK populationLondon's urban area is the third most populous in Europe, after Moscow and Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census.

The London commuter belt is the most populous in Europe with 14,040,163 inhabitants in 2016Prior to Brexit, London had been the largest city in the EULondon was the world's most populous city from c1831 to 1925. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory, Greenwich defines the Prime Meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean TimeOther landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard.

Brussels (French: Bruxelles [bʁysɛl] or [bʁyksɛl]; Dutch: Brussel [ˈbrʏsəl]), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of BelgiumThe Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region (within which it forms an enclave) and the Walloon RegionBrussels is the most densely populated and the richest region in Belgium in terms of GDP per capitaIt covers 162 km2 (63 sq mi), a relatively small area compared to the two other regions, and has a population of over 1.2 millionThe five times larger metropolitan area of Brussels comprises over 2.5 million people, which makes it the largest in Belgium.

It is also part of a large conurbation extending towards Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven and Walloon Brabant, home to over 5 million people.Brussels grew from a small rural settlement on the river Senne to become an important city-region in EuropeSince the end of the Second World War, it has been a major centre for international politics and home to numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servantsBrussels is the de facto capital of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, including its administrative-legislative, executive-political, and legislative branches (though the judicial branch is located in Luxembourg, and the European Parliament meets for a minority of the year in Strasbourg)Its name is sometimes used metonymically to describe the EU and its institutionsThe secretariat of the Benelux and headquarters of NATO are also located in Brussels.

As the economic capital of Belgium and one of the top financial centres of Western Europe with Euronext Brussels, it is classified as an Alpha global cityBrussels is a hub for rail, road and air traffic, sometimes earning the moniker "Crossroads of Europe"The Brussels Metro is the only rapid transit system in BelgiumIn addition, both its airport and railway stations are the largest and busiest in the country.Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th centuryThe Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, even though French is now the de facto main language with over 90% of the population speaking it.