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Countries where the Capital is not the most famous city:
Canada
USA
Belize
Honduras
Colombia
Ecuador
Bolivia
Brazil
Morocco
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Tanzania
South Africa
Switzerland
Croatia
Turkey
UAE
Pakistan
India
Sri Lanka
Burma
China
Vietnam
Australia
New Zealand
And both Korea and Egypt are planning new capitals, so you can add those countries.
I would also add Nigeria, Netherlands, Germany (debatable, but Berlin certainty isn't the largest, wealthiest or most important metro, though it's probably the best known)
Just to clarify on this question, I'm not asking which one is more "iconic", that's a deeper and more personal question, also more subjective, but which one you think more people have heard of, or are somewhat familiar with.
As an American I am not able to comprehend how someone who has never lived in or visited this country views our cities. I imagine it may go something like this:
New York City: Very large and very rich city, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, endless sea of skyscrapers for a skyline, and then after thinking of the more famous visual references to the city, perhaps songs or people associated with the city, or sports teams, etc.
Washington DC: Capital of the United States, the country that has its hands in everything, Barack Obama, White House, U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument, The National Mall, The Pentagon, political influence and power and corruption. Then perhaps they'll think of other things associated with the city, George Washington, the Smithsonian Museums, past presidents, both famous and infamous, TV shows.
I guess it's still a pretty open ended question, I appreciate everyone's insight and answers so far.
Anytime the United States intervenes in foreign affairs they always say something along the lines of, "So and so, from Washington" or they mention the Pentagon, or they show pictures of the U.S.Capitol or the White House.
Well, yeah, "Washington" in that context means "federal govt." like "Detroit" means auto industry or "Hollywood" means entertainment industry or "Wall Street" means financial industry. It's more a reference to an industry than a specific location.
Countries where the Capital is not the most famous city:
Canada
USA
Belize
Honduras
Colombia
Ecuador
Bolivia
Brazil
Morocco
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Tanzania
South Africa
Switzerland
Croatia
Turkey
UAE
Pakistan
India
Sri Lanka
Burma
China
Vietnam
Australia
New Zealand
I know about half of these but maybe that's just me then.
Anytime the United States intervenes in foreign affairs they always say something along the lines of, "So and so, from Washington" or they mention the Pentagon, or they show pictures of the U.S.Capitol or the White House.
I figured, they're both very well known cities in the world, but for very different reasons, I thought it'd be a good match up.
I think this is true for those of us in the US, Canada and maybe Mexico and maybe the UK. I would imagine that beyond those countries, it's probably just a mention of the US is doing this or that without mentioning DC.
And both Korea and Egypt are planning new capitals, so you can add those countries.
I would also add Nigeria, Netherlands, Germany (debatable, but Berlin certainty isn't the largest, wealthiest or most important metro, though it's probably the best known)
I think it's pretty well known that Amsterdam and Berlin are the Dutch and German capitals respectively.
New York is more well known, people roughly known its most well known landmarks, know its celebrities and several of them (in Italy) now know even the name of the mayor (only due to him being of Italian descent). Aside from the landmarks on the National Mall, people would be struggling to name anything else regarding Washington DC as they mostly know it because of polics
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentoo
I think this is true for those of us in the US, Canada and maybe Mexico and maybe the UK. I would imagine that beyond those countries, it's probably just a mention of the US is doing this or that without mentioning DC.
No, they mention Washington quite often in the news and people know it's the seat of the USA government but if you dared bring up the name of DC most wouldn't know what it is. That said, i still think New York is more well known as people know more of it than they know about Washington (basically the landmarks on the National Mall, mostly the White House)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Davy-040
Countries where the Capital is not the most famous city:
Canada
USA
Belize
Honduras Colombia
Ecuador Bolivia
Brazil
Morocco
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Tanzania
South Africa
Switzerland Croatia
Turkey
UAE
Pakistan India
Sri Lanka
Burma China
Vietnam
Australia
New Zealand
Disagree with the bold. That is speaking from an Italian perspective, i fail to think of a Croatian city that's more well known than Zagreb, maybe that's because you vacationed in Split or Dubrovnik but they aren't as well known even though they are just over the Adriatic Sea and roughly 200 kms of distance air-wise from Northern Apulia.
As for Bolivia, La Paz is the capital, what other city is more well known than it? Same goes for Ecuador with Quito as the Galapagos are a group of islands, Guayaquil a little known industrial city and Cuenca a touristic but i would say still relatively little known place.
For Colombia it's harder, Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena are close. Same goes for China with Shanghai and Beijing but i still would give the latter a little margin for political and historical reasons. As for India, New Dehli is just a modern suburb of Dehli, i struggle calling it a different city
I sure wouldn't. I don't think any of their other cities come close to Amsterdam for fame.
To the OP, I tipped the scales just a little more in NYC's favor, haha. San Francisco vs DC might be a fairer fight, IDK
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