# How Many Capitals Have You Visited? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317 "2014-08-11T17:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/61 "2014-08-12T04:39:07Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Tel Aviv According to Israel, the capital is Jerusalem. Mine: Moscow Also, while I was in the Soviet Union, I visited several cities that were SSR capitals, and are now national capitals: Tashkent, Tbilisi, & Tallin. I was also in Bratislava when it was still part of Czechoslovakia, but now it’s the capital of independent Slovakia. More: Prague Warsaw Budapest Vienna Copenhagen Paris London Cardiff Washington, DC Also, going to a cousin’s wedding in Athens in a few months. States: Albany Augusta Harrisburg Richmond Columbus Frankfort Indianapolis Madison Topeka Oklahoma City Little Rock Austin Phoenix I may have been to Sacramento when I was three, and my family took an extensive trip through the west, and all over California over a summer, but I’m not sure. I mainly remember Disney Land, and the Redwood Forest. _cough_Seattle not the capital of Washington State_cough_ ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/62 "2014-08-12T04:46:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Oops. Delete that and add Vatican City. At least I didn’t list Istanbul. What about Constantinople? ---
**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:** [August 12, 2014, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/63 "2014-08-12T06:58:27Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Sacramento > **Seattle** > Honolulu > Carson City > Phoenix > Santa Fe > Oklahoma City (drove through) > Baton Rouge > Montgomery > Knoxville > Atlanta > Harrisburg > Indianapolis > Denver > Salt Lake City (changed planes at the airport) > Baltimore (drove through) Seattle is the largest city in Washington state, but Alas! it is not the capital. That distinction goes to Olympia, which is not far from Seattle, so perhaps you did go there too? Now, counting drive-throughs, I could add Wilmington, as we took the train from Washington DC to Penn Station in NYC and passed through the Delaware capital. I can’t remember if we passed through Baltimore; would we have? I think we also passed through Trenton, if not that time, then when we took the train from New Haven, Connecticut to Philadelphia. Counting a change of planes, the wife could add Denver to that herself, the time we flew from San Francisco to West Texas. (I’ve visited Denver for real myself, thus its inclusion in my OP.) Another plane change locale is Taipei. In 1995, we had to stay overnight at the airport hotel there after the onward leg of our flight to Los Angeles was canceled until the next day. At airline expense. They wouldn’t let us leave the hotel, which was in the airport at that time, since we weren’t officially in Taiwan. Then two years ago as part of our Bangkok-NYC ticket, an overnight stay at the airport hotel in Taipei was scheduled and included (it was China Airlines for both these flights), but they’d built a new hotel since 1995, now just a few blocks from the airport. So for that one, we had to be officially stamped into Taiwan, and the wife, being a Thai citizen, had to fill out a form to request a visa. (Americans such as myself get an automatic visa on arrival.) But the plane to Taipei was late, so once we got to the hotel some blocks away, we ended up having to check out and return to the airport just three hours after we checked in! So while we have Taiwanese visas stamped in our passports, I don’t really consider that we’ve visited Taiwan or Taipei. We’ve also changed planes in Taipei at least a couple of times between Bangkok and Honolulu. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2014, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/64 "2014-08-12T07:23:53Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Now, counting drive-throughs, I could add Wilmington, as we took the train from Washington DC to Penn Station in NYC and passed through the Delaware capital. I can’t remember if we passed through Baltimore; would we have? I think we also passed through Trenton, if not that time, then when we took the train from New Haven, Connecticut to Philadelphia. Continuing on the theme of drive-throughs, I forgot that truck driver who picked me up while hitchhiking in Europe and drove me through Luxembourg City. And my train ride from Zurich-Vienna that passed through Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/65 "2014-08-12T10:26:25Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > According to Israel, the capital is Jerusalem. Been there, too. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/66 "2014-08-12T12:06:29Z")
**Africa** Bamako Brazzaville‎ Cape Town Lagos Luanda Lusaka Kinshasa Windhoek **Europe** Berlin Brussels Budapest Helsinki Lisbon London Madrid Oslo Paris Stockholm Vaduz **Asia** Astana Baku Bangkok Colombo Kuwait City New Delhi Riyadh Singapore Tokyo **Australia / Oceana** Canberra Papette Port Moresby Wellington **North/Central/South America** Belmopan Guatemala City Managua San José Tegucigalpa Washington D.C. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/67 "2014-08-12T12:07:44Z")
Hmm, I think this covers it for \*\*National \*\*Capitals: Edinburgh (Scotland) Cardiff (Wales) London (England and UK) Paris (France) Den Haag (political capital of Netherlands) Brussels (Belgium) Rome (Italy) Madrid (Spain) Lisbon (Portugal) Olso (Norway) Copenhagen (Denmark) Berlin (Germany) Budapest (Hungary) Damascus (Syria) Tunis (Tunisia) Luanda (Angola) Muscat (Oman) Cape Town (legislative capital South Africa) Windhoek (Namibia) Gaborone (Botswana) Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Singapore (Singapore) Bangkok (Thailand) Dakka (Bangladesh) Canberra (Australia) Wellington (New Zealand) **USA** Sacramento (CA) Austin (TX) If US state capitals are listed I don’t know why other component Federal state capitals are not but I won’t bother going there (applies to Australia, Malaysia and probably others). Interesting that DrumBum and I have both been involved in Oil & Gas (I was a petroleum geologist) hence some of the odd but identical places we have been. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/68 "2014-08-12T12:15:02Z")
Oh, I forgot, add: Vatican City (Papacy). Dublin (Eire) ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/69 "2014-08-12T12:23:41Z")
> [@notquitekarpov](#): > > \<\< snip \>\> > > Interesting that DrumBum and I have both been involved in Oil & Gas (I was a petroleum geologist) hence some of the odd but identical places we have been. Several of my entries are the result of being an Army brat and following my parents around the world. This set the stage for working for an O&G company. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/70 "2014-08-12T14:15:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > And my train ride from Zurich-Vienna that passed through Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. The rail line across Liechtenstein doesn’t pass through Vaduz. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/71 "2014-08-12T14:39:03Z")
_ **Europe** _ Belfast Edinburgh London Cardiff Dublin Paris Berlin Amsterdam (?) Prague Sofia Budapest Reykjavik Moscow _ **Rest of World** _ Havana Mexico City Suva Buenos Aires Santiago Kathmandu New Delhi Gaborone Harare Pretoria (?) Kuala Lumpur / Kota Kinabalu Amman A bit disappointing; I’ve been to almost all countries in Europe, lots of them many times, many in north Africa and lots of others in North, South and central America and SE Asia, but rarely to the capitals cities, for whatever reason. I think I’m the first to list Cuba though, so that’s something… (not sure what). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/72 "2014-08-12T15:26:42Z")
**Outside the US:** Cairo **Inside the US:** Columbia Atlanta Raleigh Harrisburg (90% sure) St. Paul[sup]1[/sup] Phoenix Washington DC Richmond[sup]2[/sup] Austin Indianapolis[sup]2[/sup] [sup]1[/sup] The airport [sup]2[/sup] Drove through it ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/73 "2014-08-12T15:34:55Z")
National capitals (2): Washington, Ottawa Provincial capital (1): Toronto State capitals I have really spent significant time in (10): Hartford, Providence, Boston, Atlanta, Augusta, St. Paul, Concord, Albany, Columbus, Charleston State capitals I have driven through (9): Indianapolis, Des Moines, Lincoln, Montpelier, Bismarck, Harrisburg, Richmond, Madison, Cheyenne ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/74 "2014-08-12T15:38:39Z")
Wash DC Mexico DF Tegucigalpa Honduras, Guatemala Guatemala, San Salvador El Salvador, San Jose Costa Roca, Panama City Panama Managua Nicaragua All on one solo motorcycle trip, except for Wash DC Add Bogota Colombia and Santo Domingo Dominican Republic as well as Ottawa and that about complete’s my list of capitals of countries. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/75 "2014-08-12T15:38:51Z")
> [@siam sam](#): > > however you want to define “capital.” ALL TWENTY-SIX. heh. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/76 "2014-08-12T16:20:37Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > Not very many. > > Outside the US: > Rome, Italy > Vatican City > London > Dublin > > In the US: > Washington DC > Boston MA > Phoenix AZ > Denver CO > Hartford CT > Atlanta GA > Indianapolis IN > Annapolis MD > Trenton NJ > Santa Fe NM > Albany NY > Oklahoma City OK > Providence RI > Richmond VA Forgot to add Reykjavik Iceland. And I’ll add Edinburgh Scotland because a couple of other people did. I wasn’t thinking of it as a capital because it’s not the capital of the UK, but I will take any stats I can get. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/77 "2014-08-12T16:24:39Z")
Outside the US: London (lived there for a while, loads of trips for business and pleasure) Edinburgh (messed about on a holiday) Cardiff (conference) Paris (shopping; school field trip) Berlin (messed about there on an extended holiday) If former capitals count, I go to Winchester several times a week. Inside the US: Dover, DE (home state) Atlanta (for a concert once) Annapolis (multiple times) Boston (multiple times, couple of concerts and conferences) St Paul (lived in Minneapolis for a while) Jackson, MS Lincoln, NE (for a conference) Columbus, OH (concert) Harrisburg, PA (long plane stopover; left the airport, so I hope it counts!) Richmond, VA (my Mini’s dealership was there, and a couple of concerts) Washington, DC (many times for holiday and business) I’ve been to many more states than this, but very few of their capitals. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/78 "2014-08-12T16:29:32Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Now, counting drive-throughs, I could add Wilmington, as we took the train from Washington DC to Penn Station in NYC and passed through the Delaware capital. I can’t remember if we passed through Baltimore; would we have? I think we also passed through Trenton, if not that time, then when we took the train from New Haven, Connecticut to Philadelphia. Baltimore isn’t the capital of Maryland. Wilmington is where I was born, but it is not the capital of Delaware. Amtrak does go through both though! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/79 "2014-08-12T16:49:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Seattle is the largest city in Washington state, but Alas! it is not the capital. That distinction goes to Olympia, which is not far from Seattle, so perhaps you did go there too? > > Now, counting drive-throughs, I could add Wilmington, as we took the train from Washington DC to Penn Station in NYC and passed through the Delaware capital. I can’t remember if we passed through Baltimore; would we have? I think we also passed through Trenton, if not that time, then when we took the train from New Haven, Connecticut to Philadelphia. Is this a form of Gaudere’s Law? Or is Siam Sam just joking? After pointing out that Seattle isn’t the capital of Washington, he then lists several other cities, and only one is actually a capital. BTW, I had to learn all the state capitals, how to spell the states, and how to label a US map (we got a blank map, and had to fill in the states’ names) in the 5th grade. I was under the impression that this was part of school curriculum pretty much all over the country, but apparently not, I’ve found out over the years. How many people (US) were required to learn this at some point in school? Oddly, we were required to learn European capitals in the 6th grade, but not the capitals of any other continent. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/80 "2014-08-12T16:53:57Z")
> [@Ms\_Boods](#): > > If former capitals count, I go to Winchester several times a week. Then I get to count Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City and Kingston, which all served as functional capitals of a unified Canada before Ottawa was created in 1866. And Petra, Jordan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317.md?page=5)