How common is it to have never visited the capital of your state?

26 comments

1. I think most people have visited Berlin but it’s not totally uncommon if people have never been there.

   Berlin is quite remote for a large part of the German population and as Germany is quite decentralised and has several big cities, Berlin is by far not the only option if you need to get something done in a big city.

2. Really really uncommon. I don’t think there’s many Belgians who never saw Brussels. It’s in the center of the country. I don’t think any spot in the country is further than 2 hours away. Most kids probably visited it with school.

3. In France, quite uncommon

   Many people, maybe half of the population will live there or close to it in their lifetime, most transport (public, and highway) also passes close to it.

   And it is also quite touristic, even for other french (despite most of them somewhat hating the parisians, though most french city close enough to aknowledge each other are rivals)

4. It’s uncommon enough that every five years or so there will be news article about a person who’s visiting Helsinki for the first time and it’s notable. I don’t think that I know anyone who hasn’t but I’ve spent my life in the more southern half of the country in larger towns.

5. What do you mean by “capital of your state”?

   You give Madrid as an example so I guess the equivalent is London. I think most people have visited at some point, but London is down in the South East so the further north you go, the less common it is to go there frequently. It’s almost a point of pride for people in Scotland or the North of England to boast about how rarely they visit London and how much they don’t like it. Personally I find it a bit weird, but each to their own. Certainly, if you live in the South East then you’re probably there pretty frequently, if only because all the trains run out from there.

   I live in Scotland, however, so an alternative answer to your question would be Edinburgh. Seeing as I live in Edinburgh, I’m there pretty frequently! I think most Scots outside the city will visit Edinburgh and Glasgow about equally however – being the capital doesn’t really give people much more reason to visit other than that it’s one of the two big cities up here.

   In terms of never visiting, I think most Scots will have been to Edinburgh and most Brits would have been to London.

6. States here are small, and our decentralised government where the states control a lot of things makes it near impossible for a person to have not been to the capital of their state.

7. Depends. Almost every southerner must have visited Bucharest at some point. Many Romanians from Moldova and Transilvania might not have visited it unless they had state business since the train/car ride is quite long. Iasi and Cluj Napoca are the cities they usually visit since they’re also the most important cities in the regions.

8. I know a lot of people who have never been to Bucharest, because the city is clearly in the South of the country, so people that live in Western Transylvania (Oradea, Timisoara etc.) and Northen Moldova (Botosani etc.) don’t really have a reason to come to the capital, as all business can be done in the region’s “big city” – Cluj, Iasi ori Timisoara. So I would say it’s very rare that someone that lives in the South (Craiova, Giurgiu etc.) or Center (Brasov, Sibiu) never visited Bucharest, but for the rest of the country it is pretty common.

9. Considering the size of the country, it would be unusual for people to have never been to Amsterdam in some capacity.

10. Not uncommon, or even rare for people from more distant regions, especially more rural areas. Most of my family have never visited Kyiv. And everyone in my family’s older generation who did visit, was there only because of our minority’s administrative problems in the 90s (we’re Crimean Tatars), not for tourism. These days, I do see around me a bit of a new appreciation for the capital city, though, so I think it may change in the future.

11. Most Croatians do a school trip to Zagreb. And then later in life you visit friends there, go study and work or for medical reasons.

12. I know plenty of rural types in my neck of the woods (northeast Netherlands) who have never been to Amsterdam but insist that it’s hell on earth. Lol.

13. The smaller a country is, the less likely it is to have never visited the capital. I doubt any adult Danes haven’t been to Copenhagen at least once.

14. It would be unusual to say the least, but I don’t think it’s completely unheard of. It took me until I was 18 before I visited Amsterdam for the first time and I don’t even live that far away from it. Most people will have gone there at least once for some reason or another though.

15. I don’t think there’s anybody here over the age of five who hasn’t visited Budapest.

16. Unfortunately the last time I visited Rome I was ~8 years old. Now I’m a broke uni student… Hopefully after uni I’ll be able to afford a holiday there

17. I think it’s quite rare for someone who has grown up in Sweden to have never visited Stockholm in their entire lives. Most have at least gone there on a school trip as kids or so. That said though, Sweden is a very large country area wise, with a very spread out population. Many live very far from the capital and therefore go there very seldom.

    I, who live in Scania in southernmost Sweden, have for example not been to Stockholm for over a decade, and that is not so unusual. People down here go to the Danish capital Copenhagen way more often than to Stockholm, since it is way closer for us. Copenhagen is really like the “unofficial capital” for us down here, at least when it comes to things like culture, entertainment or a day or night out.

18. Unless you’re a young kid I would say it would be considered super uncommon. Copenhagen is like the only city in Denmark with more that 400k inhabitants. Besides that Denmark is also a pretty small country and most people can get there in around 3 hours by train or less.

19. I’ve been to Rome thrice, twice to London and not even once to Madrid.

20. i believe everyone has at least one school trip to either Warsaw or Krakow

21. Visited London once when I was about 5. Can’t remember much. Does that count?

22. Uncommon for sure. But probably not completley unheard of.

    We’re a large country by European standards and Oslo is far away for a lot of people. Therefore a lot of people have spent very little time in Oslo, perhaps only visited properly once or twice. I would however said that having never visited would be rare. To fly to most destinations abroad you have to go through Oslo, and many people have family there that they have visited at some point.

    Perhaps difficult for me to say as I grew up close to Oslo. But I have family all over the country and I’m fairly sure every family member I have visited Oslo at some point.

23. My guess would be that it is very uncommon for an irish person to not have visited at least once.
    Most school kids in ireland will have at least one trip to Dublin, to visit a museum/see the sights.

    Aside from that, the biggest sports matches are played in Dublin, the biggest airport, the centre of government and the biggest hospitals are here and people also visit for shopping around christmas time.

24. Talking about just England, it really depends. I have lived down south (which stretches from Dover to Penzance – about 350ish miles), the Midlands, and up north.

    Near London where I’m from, most people have at least been through London when taking trains because where I am, you can’t avoid London when taking trains to the rest of the country. Even as far south as Brighton, which isn’t really near to London, they can’t avoid London when going to most other places via train.

    However, when I’ve lived in other areas, it was pretty common for people to never have been to London. Maybe for a weekend visit or to see a show or even a school trip but pretty common. I’d say wherever I’ve been, more people have been than not.

    I’ve been to Wales, and most Welsh people I’ve met (in South Wales) have been to Cardiff.

    I’ve never been to Scotland, but I’ve never met a Scot who has not been to Edinburgh.

25. I’ve never heard about anyone who hasn’t ever visited Prague. Maybe some people from Ostrava region but even that would be quite surprising.

26. 🇮🇹
    Italy is not a very centralized country, so Rome is not as central as other eu capitals, but still very common. Rome is a beautiful city, a very truistic one, and not very expensive in the off season, even the least well of can go, so yes… it’s very uncommon to hear a person that never visited Rome