# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/81 "2014-08-12T16:59:23Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Is this a form of Gaudere’s Law? Ok, just to make sure: Dover is the capital of Delaware. Annapolis is the capital of Maryland. Trenton is the capital of New Jersey (the one correctly mentioned.) Hartford is the capital of Connecticut. And Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. I think only Wilmington and Baltimore are being implied as being capitals in that post, unless it is just one big whoosh to me. ---
**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, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/82 "2014-08-12T17:02:47Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > 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. And I get to count Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York City; they all briefly served as capital of the US (or housed the continental congress) at some point. I’ve also been to Corydon, Indiana, which was the capital before Indianapolis was established. ---
**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 13, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/83 "2014-08-13T01:39:08Z")
> [@Ms\_Boods](#): > > 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! :smack: D’oh! I was having a brain fart yesterday. Of course I knew, deep down, that Annapolis and Dover were those capitals, respectively. ☹ > [@jtur88](#): > > The rail line across Liechtenstein doesn’t pass through Vaduz. I could have sworn we passed through Vaduz. This was 1986. Could it have then? ---
**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 13, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/84 "2014-08-13T01:45:41Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I could have sworn we passed through Vaduz. This was 1986. Could it have then? No, I guess not, as a little googling reveals it’s one of the few capitals in the world without an airport or railway station. I blame the passage of time affecting my memory. Possibly it was Schaan I passed through then? I _am_ certain, however, that the trucker drove me through Luxembourg City. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/85 "2014-08-13T11:32:41Z")
Going to be severe with myself here: will do only national capitals (have never been to the Americas, anyway) – and for the UK, will count only London, the “overall” capital. London Dublin Paris Brussels The Hague \* Luxembourg Bonn (pre-1990) East Berlin (pre-1990) Vienna Prague (pre-1993) Warsaw Bucharest Belgrade (my trips to “Yugoslavia” were when it was still indeed Yugoslavia; so am not counting visits to what became capitals after the country broke up). New Delhi Beijing Harare And – counting which, a bit of a stretch – Dushanbe: in the context of having landed there on a flight by Tajik Air in 1993 (no opportunity of getting out of the plane). - In so far as I understand (perhaps wrongly), The Hague (Den Haag) is the capital of the Netherlands, rather than Amsterdam. At all events, have been to Amsterdam too. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/86 "2014-08-13T12:04:11Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The rail line across Liechtenstein doesn’t pass through Vaduz. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I could have sworn we passed through Vaduz. This was 1986. Could it have then? > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > No, I guess not, as a little googling reveals it’s one of the few capitals in the world without an airport or railway station. I blame the passage of time affecting my memory. Possibly it was Schaan I passed through then? Per Wiki entry on “Schaan-Vaduz”: that is the name of the westernmost station on the rail route berween Switzerland and Austria which passes through Liechtenstein; Vaduz is 3.5km south of the village of Schaan with its station. Naughty suggestion – Siam Sam, per the station’s “double-barrelled” name, could you take that as letting you count Vaduz as a capital visited? ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/87 "2014-08-13T13:53:22Z")
I believe I made an error in my list. I confused Liechtenstein for Luxembourg, so while i can have “Luxembourg City” I must remove Vaduz. ---
**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 13, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/88 "2014-08-13T15:30:26Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > Per Wiki entry on “Schaan-Vaduz”: that is the name of the westernmost station on the rail route berween Switzerland and Austria which passes through Liechtenstein; Vaduz is 3.5km south of the village of Schaan with its station. Naughty suggestion – Siam Sam, per the station’s “double-barrelled” name, could you take that as letting you count Vaduz as a capital visited? Nah, I probably shouldn’t. But I’m sure that’s why I thought I was passing through Vaduz. Oh, and I said I visited Mexico City and Managua, which is true. And my flight from Mexico City to Managua and back stopped at Guatemala City and San Salvador, but I didn’t even get off the plane. That was during Sandinista days, and I recall a line of Salvadoran troops out on the tarmac in force, I guess to make sure no one tried anything funny. (It was an Aeronica flight, and tensions between the two countries were heightened at that time.) ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/89 "2014-08-13T15:37:08Z")
In USA: Augusta Boston Montpelier Providence Albany (Just in train station) Sante Fe Phoenix Atlanta Outside of US: Quebec City Halifax San Jose Santiago Mendoza(Capital of Mendoza Province, Argentina) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/90 "2014-08-13T15:38:20Z")
Not very many in the US… Austin and Topeka is it, unless you count the little bit of Atlanta I’ve driven through to get where I was going (La Grange, GA). Elsewhere, I’ve been to: Amsterdam London Edinburgh Brussels Paris Prague Budapest Rome ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/91 "2014-08-13T15:43:09Z")
London, Paris, Washington, Muscat, Manama, Tokyo, Moscow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bonn\*, Madrid… I think that’s it. Weird; I’ve been to 32 countries but mostly not their capitals. \*it was still West Germany when I was there, so I assume this counts. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/92 "2014-08-13T15:46:56Z")
Btw, Annapolis is the capital of Maryland, not Baltimore. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/93 "2014-08-13T15:47:35Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > Per Wiki entry on “Schaan-Vaduz”: that is the name of the westernmost station on the rail route berween Switzerland and Austria which passes through Liechtenstein; Vaduz is 3.5km south of the village of Schaan with its station. Naughty suggestion – Siam Sam, per the station’s “double-barrelled” name, could you take that as letting you count Vaduz as a capital visited? A similar argument could be made about “the City of London”, barely a square mile with 7,000 inhabitants. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/94 "2014-08-13T15:58:47Z")
Taipei Beijing Prague Washington DC Austin Harrisburg Little Rock Indianapolis ---
**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 13, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/95 "2014-08-13T16:02:24Z")
I used to live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which bills itself as the Ballooning Capital of the World. ---
**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 13, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/96 "2014-08-13T16:11:31Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I used to live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which bills itself as the Ballooning Capital of the World. And now that I think of it, Gallup was called the Drunk Driving Capital of America. But I didn’t think the drivers were that bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/97 "2014-08-14T01:47:49Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I’ll figure out US state capitals later (it’s almost time to go home!) > > National: > Washington > San Jose, Costa Rica > Jerusalem > Beijing > Lima > Paris > London > Amsterdam > Brussels Now for U.S. state capitals. Ones with asterisks were primary destinations; others were places I just passed through. Olympia Phoenix (airport only) Salt Lake City Denver\* Lincoln Topeka St. Paul\* Des Moines Little Rock\* Atlanta Tallahassee\* Raleigh\* Nashville\* Springfield\* Indianapolis\* Madison\* Columbus Harrisburg\* Boston\* Providence Trenton (?) Annapolis\* Richmond Charleston I’m adding Oklahoma City in a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/98 "2014-08-14T17:15:14Z")
I don’t get out as much as the rest of you guys… Washington, DC NYC Raleigh, NC Atlanta, GA ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/99 "2014-08-14T17:25:45Z")
I hate to break it to you about NYC … ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317/100 "2014-08-14T17:37:19Z")
Ah, ok. I wasn’t sure about that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-capitals-have-you-visited/695317.md?page=6)