The League also acts as a think tank for bilateral cooperation, mutual learning and best practices.

[2][3] It aims to strengthen affiliations between historic cities to exchange knowledge, deepen mutual understanding and build on the common foundations.

[6] It is in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, International Council on Monuments and Sites and the Organization of World Heritage Cities.

[7][8] The League consists of 71 historic cities from 50 different countries, and in 2008, it was joined by Gongju (Korea), Lviv and Odesa (Ukraine), Minsk (Belarus), and Osmangazi (Turkey).

The purpose of the LHC, according to its statutes, is to guarantee eternal peace for future generations, to deepen human understanding through cross-national education, and to support the development of historical cities through education with the aim of promoting human understanding across national borders.