Berlin becomes Polish and Manchester moves south east: Mancunians' shocking geography knowledge

By Charlie Bennett

Russia is not a European country. Berlin is in Poland. Barcelona is the Portugese capital. And Manchester is a south east English city. These are just some of the shocking geographical mistakes Mancunians are making.

New research out today revealed one in three Mancunians has not seen the rest of Europe in the last five years.

Work conducted by the escorted coach tour operator Leger Holidays shows that despite a majority of Mancunians (89%) wanting to see more of the continent, only one in five holidaymakers will have been to one other European country, if any.

The most commonly cited barrier that prevents them from going abroad is cost, and the current economic climate particularly affects under 45s, which has had a detrimental effect on their general knowledge.

Of those surveyed, 39% of Manchester residents did not know that Russia is a European country, a further 29% think the same about Iceland, and almost one in ten didn’t know that the Berlin Wall was located in Germany.

In an MM-conducted survey, members of the public were asked to locate Barcelona, Berlin, Manchester, Paris and Vatican City on a map.

In some of the more unusual answers, three out of twenty placed the Catalonia capital in or around Portugal; five out of twenty put Berlin outside of Germany (four in Poland); four put Paris in the South of France (and one between Belgium and the Netherlands) and two people put both Paris and Berlin in France.

The majority could locate Manchester, but two put Manchester somewhere in Yorkshire and one in the South East.

Many holidaymakers also opt for familiar destinations instead of exploring outside their comfort zones due to fears that journeys may be over-complicated and that they may not be able to speak the local language.

According to Leger Holidays, Manchester is equally challenged to foreign currency, with one in four unable to recognise the Polish Zloty, and one in ten unable to identify the Lev, the Leu and the Kron  as European tender either.

Huw Williams, Marketing Director at Leger Holidays, said: “Europe holds some of the most exciting and vibrant destinations in the world, and it’s disheartening to see that people aren’t making the most of these locations, especially since they’re right here on our doorstep.”

Out of the more than 2,000 people surveyed, it was concluded that the average Mancunian has only experienced 12% of Europe (5 out of 41 countries).

Here's a few of the more amusing errors Mancunians put on the map:

HOLY KINGDOM: Is the Vatican in London?

TWIN CITIES: Paris and Berlin join together in France, and Manchester moves south

EAST IS EAST: The Vatican crops up in Russia, Berliners become Polish

ALL ABOUT THE POPE: The Vatican moves to Poland

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