MY SELECTED LIST OF CITIES (PART 2)

South America

13. Bogota

Formerly known as Santafé or Santa Fe de Bogotá from 1991 to 2000, it is the capital and largest city of Colombia. This city was founded as the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada on 1538. The capital hosts the main financial market in Colombia and the Andean natural region, and is the leading destination for new foreign direct investment projects coming into Latin America and Colombia.

14. Caracas

When the city was founded in 1567, the valley of Caracas was populated by indigenous people. Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range. It is also Venezuela's cultural capital, with many restaurants, theaters, museums, and shopping centers.

15. Quito

Quito is the one which is closest to the equator, as the country's name 'Ecuador' is Spanish word for equator. Quito has one of the largest, least-altered and best-preserved historic centers in the Americas. Since 2002, the city renewed its historical center and also demolished the old airport and built a new Mariscal Sucre International Airport located 45 minutes from the city centre.

16. Lima

Lima is the central coastal part of Peru, facing the Pacific Ocean. Founded in 1535 as Ciudad de los Reyes, around one-third of the country's population lives in the metropolitan area. Strongly influenced by European, Andean, African and Asian culture, Lima is famous as the Gastronomical Capital of the Americas, mixing Spanish, Andean and Asian culinary traditions. 

17. Rio de Janeiro

Simply known as Rio, the city achieved the status as the second largest city in Brazil after Sao Paulo. Being Brazil's capital from War of Independence in 1822, it has been moved to Brasilia in 1960. At the mouth of Guanabara, there stands the Sugarloaf Mountain with 396 metres of height. Besides that, this city is also popular with a big statue, an iconic Christ The Redeemer.

18. Sao Paulo

Besides being the most populated city in Brazil, the city is, in fact, the largest Portuguese speaking city in the world. The metropolis is also home to the tallest skyscrapers in Brazil, such as the Mirante do Vale, Banespa and North Tower. Furthermore, São Paulo is a cosmopolitan, melting pot city, home to the largest Arab, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese diasporas.

19. Santiago

Also known as Santiago de Chile, this city is the capital and the largest in Chile, a home to approximately 7 million residents. Santiago's cityscape is shaped by several stand-alone hills and the fast-flowing Mapocho River, lined by parks such as Parque Forestal. The Andes Mountains can be seen obviously in the city, although they can contribute to smog problems especially during winter.

20. Buenos Aires

The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on the South America's southeastern coast. Over a third of Argentina's population lives in its metropolitan area. Buenos Aires is the most visited city in South America, and the second-most visited city of Latin America after Mexico City. Buenos Aires' quality of life was ranked 91st in the world, being one of the best in Latin America in 2018.

21. Montevideo

Not only the southernmost capital city in the Americas, Montevideo is situated on the southern coast of the country on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata. Founded in 1724, this city becomes the seat of the administrative headquarters of Mercosur and ALADI, Latin America’s leading trade blocs, a position that entailed comparisons to the role of Brussels in Europe. The city is also the financial hub of Uruguay and the cultural anchor of a metropolitan area with a population of around 2 million.