Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 37th most populous built-up area, with an official population estimate of 196,670 for the city of Aberdeen itself and 228,990 for the local authority area. Nicknames include the Granite City, the Grey City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands. During the mid-18th to mid-20th centuries, Aberdeen's buildings incorporated locally quarried grey granite, which can sparkle like silver because of its high mica content. Since the discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s, other nicknames have been the Oil Capital of Europe or the Energy Capital of Europe. The area around Aberdeen has been settled since at least 8,000 years ago, when prehistoric villages lay around the mouths of the rivers Dee and Don. The city has a long, sandy coastline and a marine climate, the latter resulting in chilly summers and mild winters.

Newcastle upon Tyne, often shortened to Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Situated on the north bank of the River Tyne, the city grew as an important centre for the wool trade and it later became a major coal mining area. The port developed in the 16th century and, along with the shipyards lower down the river, was amongst the world's largest shipbuilding and ship-repairing centres. These industries have since experienced severe decline and closure, and the city today, is largely a business and cultural centre, with a particular reputation for nightlife.

Norwich is a city on the River Wensum in East Anglia. It is the regional administrative centre for East Anglia and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London and one of the most important places in the kingdom. Until the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was the capital of the most populous county in England. The urban or built-up area of Norwich had a population of 213,166 according to the 2011 Census. It is the fourth most densely populated local-government district in the East of England, with 3,480 people per square kilometre (8,993 per square mile). In May 2012, Norwich was designated England's first UNESCO City of Literature.

Belfast (meaning: "mouth of the sandbanks") is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, the second-largest city in Ireland after Dublin, and is situated around the River Lagan, which runs through the city. It is a port city known as the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, and for its political murals, documenting the ‘Troubles’ of the 20th century. Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education, business, and law, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the period of conflict called "the Troubles", but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. Additionally, Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square.

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of the county council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the County Council. Exeter has been identified as one of the top ten most profitable locations for a business to be based. The city has good transport links, with Exeter St David's railway station, Exeter Central railway station, the M5 motorway and Exeter International Airport connecting the city both nationally and internationally. Although a popular tourist destination, the city is not dominated by tourism.

The city has long been known as a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583 and now one of four in the city, was placed 17th in the QS World University Rankings in 2013 and 2014. The city is also famous for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the latter being the largest annual international arts festival in the world. The city's historical and cultural attractions have made it the second most popular tourist destination in the United Kingdom after London, attracting over one million overseas visitors each year. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, and the extensive Georgian New Town, built in the 18th century. Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999.

Liverpool is an important city of Merseyside, England. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. It is a major city famed for culture, football teams, The Beatles and buzzing nightlife. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. It is also a large, vibrant city with great cultural heritage and was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture 2008, with the famous Pier Head Waterfront being a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2004.

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan country of Greater Manchester urban county, northwestern England with a rich industrial heritage. Manchester occupies a featureless plain made up of river gravels and the glacially transported debris known as drift. It lies at a height of 133 feet (40 metres) above sea level, enclosed by the slopes of the Pennine range on the east and the upland spur of Rossendale on the north. Much of the plain is underlain by coal measures; mining was once widespread but had ceased by the end of the 20th century.  Manchester’s economy has been moving from an industrial to a postindustrial nature. Services have become the chief employers, with the “thinking” rather than the manual services undergoing expansion. Some services, such as transport and distribution, are declining, but the professions, finance and banking, administration, and general personal services are growing with explosive force.

Birmingham is a major city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. A medium-sized market town in the medieval period, Birmingham grew to international prominence in the 18th century at the heart of the Midlands Enlightenment and subsequent Industrial Revolution, which saw the town at the forefront of worldwide advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society. By 1791 it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". It's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation and provided a diverse and resilient economic base for industrial prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. Perhaps the most important invention in British history, the industrial steam engine, was invented in Birmingham. Birmingham's major cultural institutions – including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the Library of Birmingham and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations, and the city has vibrant and influential grassroots art music, literary, and culinary scenes. The city is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors and offers many wonderful things to its people and guests.

Cardiff, the capital of Wales, is a refined coastal city with a nightlife scene and a medieval castle with ornate Gothic Revival interiors. The city is the country's chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. The city is a significant tourist centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. Cardiff is a very green city; it has a reputation as a city of castles, having 5 different castles within its surroundings.

Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in Yorkshire's West Riding, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the name referred to a wooded area of the Kingdom of Elmet. The name has been applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small manorial borough in the 13th century, through several incarnations, to being the name attached to the present metropolitan borough. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a major centre for the production and trading of wool. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major mill town; wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing, and other industries were important. Today, Leeds is ranked as a gamma world city and is considered the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. Leeds is served by four universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and has the country's fourth largest urban economy.

Nottingham, a city in Nottinghamshire, England, is a tourist destination and was named a UNESCO City of Literature, joining Norwich, Melbourne, Prague and Barcelona as one of only a handful in the world. The title reflects Nottingham's literary heritage, with Lord Byron, DH Lawrence and Alan Sillitoe having links to the city. The city is also ranked as a sufficiency-level world city. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin Hood and to the lace-making, bicycle (notably Raleigh bikes) and tobacco industries. It was granted its city charter in 1897 as part of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The city is also a major sporting centre, and was named 'Home of English Sport'.

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,006,600 residents, it is sixth, and the eighth most populous city, one of the group of English Core Cities and the most populous city in South West England. Bristol received a in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. From the 13th century, for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities after, alongside, on the basis of tax receipts, until the rapid rise of and during the Industrial Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century. It borders the counties and is also located near the historic cities of to the south east and to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel.

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian. Glasgow grew from the medieval Bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, which subsequently became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with British North America and the British West Indies.