# Ever been to the capitol of your country? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639 "2015-02-02T21:28:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/21 "2015-02-03T00:49:18Z")
I grew up right outside Washington DC and spent a lot of time there as a kid. As far as other capitals go, I’ve been to: San Salvador (El Salvador) Guatemala City Quito Santiago Amsterdam Berlin Nairobi I somehow lived in Australia for four years without ever getting to Canberrra. Apparently, I didn’t miss anything. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/22 "2015-02-03T00:51:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I see someone’s never been to Vientiane. No, I have not. But if it’s more boring than Canberra, I thank you for the heads up. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/23 "2015-02-03T00:58:38Z")
Missed the invite to list other capitals. Canadian provinces: St John’s NL Halifax NS Fredericton NB Québec, QB Toronto, ON Winnipeg, MB Regina, SK Edmonton, AB Victoria, BC Whitehorse, YU Yellowknife, NWT Only two I’m missing are Charlottetown, PEI, and Iqualuit, NU. Other countries: Washington London Dublin Edinburgh Paris New Delhi Canberra Havana ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/24 "2015-02-03T01:11:22Z")
Not by choice. I got lost on the beltway and ended up in downtown about rush hour. So I stopped and had dinner and shopped a little before getting back on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/25 "2015-02-03T01:12:54Z")
My thread entitled [How Many Capitals Have You Visited?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=730817&highlight=capital) ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/26 "2015-02-03T01:18:51Z")
We took a trip to Washington a couple years ago. One of **Rhiannon8404** ’s friends was a stenographer for the House of Representatives at the time, so she gave us a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Capitol Building. We spent 5 days total in Washington; we probably need three or four more trips in order to see ‘everything’… ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/27 "2015-02-03T02:30:52Z")
Canberra is the capital city of Australia, I went there as a kid on a school trip and have little desire to return, although the War memorial was pretty cool. I wouldn’t mind seeing how that’s looking now, but not enough to actually travel to Canberra Suva is the capital city of Fiji. Visited there on a boat cruise with the folks when I was a kid. Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. Actually nice place, visited there for a few days for work in 2000. Windy, interesting scenery, it’s so hilly that you walk into one entrance of a tall office building to find you’re on the 6th floor and need to get the elevator to the ground floor to walk out the other side. Friendly people, good tucker and bars. I’d happily go back. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/28 "2015-02-03T03:07:19Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > No, I have not. But if it’s more boring than Canberra, I thank you for the heads up. Way back when, we almost lived in Canberra. The wife was considering Australian National University for her doctorate but ultimately stayed in country here. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/29 "2015-02-03T03:31:23Z")
I have visited more than 80 country capitals from Tokyo and Tirana to Tehran and Tbilisi, but capitols and/or Parliament building are far fewer: Hungary Czech Republic Australia New Zealand Uganda Romania perhaps a few others… ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/30 "2015-02-03T04:12:24Z")
I’ve passed through several capital cities, but don’t recall visiting a capitol building in: Washington, DC Philipsburg, Sint Maarten Mexico City Guatemala City Bogotá, Colombia Panama City, Panama Oranjestad, Aruba Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis St Johns, Antigua and Barbuda Roseau, Dominica Castries, St Lucia Kingston, Jamaica Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines St Georges, Grenada Valletta, Malta And if overseas territories/departments count then add: Marigot, Saint Martin Road Town, BVI The Valley, Anguilla George Town, Cayman Islands Gustavia, St Barths Plymouth, Montserrat Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe Fort-de-France, Martinique I suppose several may not have a capitol building. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/31 "2015-02-03T04:34:58Z")
I lived in Canberra and have visited many times since. And despite what others say, I found it a very interesting place to live, with a great lifestyle (no pollution, no traffic problems, wonderful facilities). I’ve also been to all of the state and territory capitals in Australia. As for other countries’ capitals, I’ve visited Wellington, Suva, Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Cape Town, Nairobi, Jerusalem, London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Reykjavik, Rome, Bern, Brussels, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Tallinn, Moscow, Vienna, Ottawa. And I’m soon to visit Valletta and Athens. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/32 "2015-02-03T04:55:34Z")
Visited Washington, DC a couple of years ago. A high school friend of mine was working as a court reporter for the House of Representatives. My family and I got a very thorough behind the scenes tour including visiting the floor of the House of Representatives by walking through the employee passages. We also saw the original Supreme Court chambers, which is also the room from which the first Morse code message was sent. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/33 "2015-02-03T04:57:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I was born in the capital of my country, and I’ve been in the Capitol as well. Some people seem to not know the difference between the two words. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/34 "2015-02-03T05:04:41Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Some people seem to not know the difference between the two words. For some reason the thread got derailed right away. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/35 "2015-02-03T05:18:12Z")
Ignoring the spelling stuff, No. But I’ve been in Brasilia. It was a trip. A big, vacant city. Did some “rock-star” quality shenanigans at the hotel I was in. That’s all I have to say on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/36 "2015-02-03T05:20:19Z")
I’ve been to the U.S. Capital 3 times: once on business, and twice for LGBT marches. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/37 "2015-02-03T05:22:57Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Some people seem to not know the difference between the two words. > [@Personal](#): > > For some reason the thread got derailed right away. Most of the posters have indicated that they in fact do know the difference between a capital and a Capitol. However, because of the way the question was phrased it suggests the OP was confusing the two. Since most countries don’t have Capitols (or at least it’s not referred to as a capitol), whereas almost all have capitals, answering the presumed question rather than the actual one makes for a more interesting thread. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/38 "2015-02-03T06:23:35Z")
I’ve been to the capital of my country many times. It’s a nice city. I’ve also been to the Parliament Buildings, where I visited the library, sat in on Parliamentary proceedings in the public gallery of the House of Commons, and saw the Memorial Chamber. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/39 "2015-02-03T15:52:25Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Most of the posters have indicated that they in fact do know the difference between a capital and a Capitol. However, because of the way the question was phrased it suggests the OP was confusing the two. Since most countries don’t have Capitols (or at least it’s not referred to as a capitol), whereas almost all have capitals, answering the presumed question rather than the actual one makes for a more interesting thread. Seems the OP has also driven on to better horizons. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639/40 "2015-02-03T15:55:20Z")
I just remembered that one of my duties for my first internship was to attend congressional hearings and then write up a summary, those were all in the office buildings, not the capitol building itself. I must have blocked out the memory because the were too exciting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-been-to-the-capitol-of-your-country/711639.md?page=3)