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Twin cities are two cities that are geographically close to each other and may seem to form a single unit, often referred to collectively.

A remarkable example of twin cities: Plaza Internacional of the Frontera de la Paz. On the left, Santana do Livramento (Brazil); on the right, Rivera (Uruguay).

Twin cities are often separated by a river; notable examples include the capital of the medieval Khazar Empire, Atil-Khazaran, which was situated on the western and eastern banks of the Volga River, respectively. A notable modern example includes the cities of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, Canada, on the north bank, and Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, United States, on the south bank, which are separated by the Saint Mary's River which trails the Canada-U.S. border at Lake Huron. The cities of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit, Michigan, United States are also a prime modern example. Twin cities without this physical barrier (or international barrier) more often become a single entity, as with the growth of London from its cores in the City of London and the City of Westminster to encompass many other towns and villages. Winston-Salem, North Carolina is a good American example. One exception is Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, which has always rebuffed any merger referendum, and where the original boundary is the appropriately named "Division Street".

Another notable example of twin cities: Soo Locks on the Saint Mary's River which connects Lake Huron and Lake Superior; cities Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario (left) and Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan (right), often referred to as the Twin Soos

One remarkable example of twin cities is Rivera (Uruguay) with Santana do Livramento (Brazil). With nearly 200,000 inhabitants, this is the only known case of twin cities of this size, belonging to different countries, with no natural limit between them, but only some streets. This border is open; i.e.: one can cross the border with freedom, as being in the same city in the same country. This frontier is dubbed "Frontera de la Paz" (Frontier of Peace), due to the huge integration between both cities. A symbol of this integration is the "Plaza Internacional" (International Square), inaugurated in the year 1943 (during World War II); this is the single known international square in the world.

Perhaps the most famous example of twin cities in the United States is the combination of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, on the banks of the Mississippi River (however, the political boundary of the two cities is not entirely coincident with the river). Although the metropolitan area of the Twin Cities includes seven counties and nearly 200 separate municipalities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul form the urban, cultural and economic core of the area. The region is typically called "The Metro Area" by local media as much as (or more than) "The Twin Cities", and remote residents of the state often call it simply "The Cities". (See Minneapolis-St. Paul.) St. Anthony (not to be confused with St. Anthony Village, a modern city which is a suburb of Minneapolis) was a twin city to Minneapolis in the two cities' youth. Minneapolis, the larger of the two, annexed St. Anthony in the late 1800s.

Canada is home to several twin cities. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's federal capital, and Gatineau, Quebec are twin cities and both of them (together with the surrounding area) constitute to the National Capital Region of Canada, although Ottawa is much larger in population. Another example is the city of Lloydminster, which is today incorporated as one city but straddles the Saskatchewan-Alberta border and was formerly composed of two separate entities. Different parts of the city are called Lloydminster, Saskatchewan and Lloydminster, Alberta (the larger of the two).

The Dallas–Fort Worth area is also known for its 'twin cities'.

Australian examples include Townsville and Thuringowa, Albury and Wodonga on the New South Wales/Victoria border, and Coolangatta/Tweed Heads on the Queensland/New South Wales border.

Twin cities often share an airport, into whose airport code are integrated the initials of both cities; DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) and MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul) might be the most famous examples.

Some twin cities form on opposite sides of natural or governmental boundaries as conduits for trade between the two sides. For instance, Albury and Wodonga in south-eastern Australia are on the state border between New South Wales and Victoria, and formed as customs posts when the two states were independent colonies. The border between the United States and Mexico is significant in this respect because there is a chain of twin cities, particularly within the Rio Grande valley. One such example is Ciudad Juárez on the Mexico side and El Paso, Texas on the U.S. side. Others began as distinct cities, but growth caused them to merge into each other and assume a common identity; examples include Budapest (Buda and Pest), New York City (five boroughs, historically especially between Manhattan and Brooklyn), Hong Kong (Victoria City and Kowloon) and Thunder Bay, Ontario (Fort William and Port Arthur).

Another LatinAmerican example, are Valparaiso-Viña del Mar and La Serena-Coquimbo, both in Chile

Note that not all geographically close cities are combined in this way. In England, for example, the cities of Leeds and Bradford are very close, but have strong separate identities and would not see themselves as part of the same entity. Both cities have an individual cathedral and council, as well as having separate sports teams.

In contrast, Brighton and Hove are considered a 'twin town', though in fact there are several other smaller towns like Worthing which make up the metropolitan area. One of Brighton & Hove Albion FC's nicknames is 'The Twins' to reflect this joint status (in a similar vein to that of the Minnesota Twins). Nonetheless, Brighton can be seen as the 'senior partner' as the area is often referred to as just 'Brighton'. Hove on the other hand receives much less recognition and is less commonly known outside the UK.

Gotham City (the home of Batman) and Metropolis (the home of Superman) have sometimes been presented as twin cities, mainly in 1970s and 1980s stories by DC Comics. The two cities were shown as located on opposite sides of a large bay.

In the current Flash comics, Central City and Keystone City are shown as twin cities; earlier comics presented each city as located in the same space but on different parallel Earths.

In the Discworld novels, Ankh-Morpork is referred to as "the twin cities of proud Ankh and pestilent Morpork", but has been a single political entity in all the books thus far.

In the animated television series The Simpsons, the cities of Springfield and Shelbyville are twin cities with an intense rivalry between each other.

• Divided cities
• United cities
• Town twinning
• Cross-border town naming
• Tri-cities
• Quad cities
• Megacity