List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits

This is a list of the largest cities in the European Union according to the population within their city boundary. The cities listed all have populations over 300,000. The list deals exclusively with the areas within city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or larger urban zones (metropolitan areas), which are generally larger in terms of population than the main city (although they can also be smaller, in some of the cases presented).

As some cities have a very narrow boundary and others a very wide one, the list may not give an accurate view of the comparative magnitude of entire urban areas, and thus the figures in the list should be treated with caution. For example Paris is the most populous urban area in the European Union; however, the city proper of the French capital has a lower population than top-ranked Berlin and a couple of other cities, as shown in the table. Likewise the City of Brussels is only one of a total of 19 municipalities making up the greater Brussels Capital Region, and by itself does not reach the population threshold to be listed here. On the other hand, the Municipality of Sintra, listed on the table as the second most populous Portuguese city includes in it the cities of Agualva-Cacém and Queluz, in addition to the town of Sintra and other urban centers.

Cities by population within the city boundary
Cities in bold are capital cities of their respective countries.