Top Five Capital Cities I Want To Visit

I've been pretty lucky over the last few years to have had the opportunity to visit a number of interesting countries, and in most cases their capital cities too, and as some of you may remember I posted a list of my favourite such examples (so far) a few months ago. Since then I've also visited Bangkok which was... very crowded, but also home to many impressive temples and other stuff of cultural interest. There are, however, still many places I'd like to visit one day. I doubt I'll manage to fit them all in (especially since the wife isn't interested in three of them) but these are the ones I'd most like to see. Maybe one day...

5. Nuuk

Which is, for anyone who doesn't know, the capital of... Greenland! Yes that's right, though apparently unknown to many, not only does Greenland have people living on it but it even has a capital city. It's located on the south-west part of the enormous (and curiously un-green) island and is home to over 16,000 people who all speak Danish (Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark). As you can probably see though, most of them live in colourful wooden houses dotted around the rocky landscape rather than the giant concrete blocks and glass/steel towers that are usually found in capital cities. I think it would be quite interesting to live and work here for a while but for holiday purposes I think one week would probably be sufficient. Shame it costs so damn much to go there - as far as I can tell there's one flight a month and the cheapest price I found was a few coins shy of £1,000!

4. Rome

Good old Italy is jam-packed with cities I'd like to visit - Florence, Naples, Venice, Milan, and lord knows how many more - and its famous capital seems like a pretty interesting one too. This is largely due to my burgeoning interest in history - it is after all the oldest city on the list and one of the oldest in the world having been founded in the 8th Century BC. Crikey! I also seem to remember that some ancient empire or other might've passed through the area? Chortle! Indeed, much of my time in Rome would most likely be spent mooching around the likes of The Pantheon, The Roman Forum, Piazza Navona, and of course The Colosseum, but I'm sure there are lots of other things to see and do too. There are over 2½ million people living here so I'm sure it's not all old stuff. I'd also be eager to check out the famous bars with their live music as well as some of the lovely street cafes and stuff. I'd probably end up as fat as a Mafia don after all that pasta and pizza though!

3. Prague

I'd heard of the famous old Czech Republic capital many times in passing when I was younger but it wasn't until I saw a film which was set there that I actually saw what it looked like... and I liked it! Who could blame me though? It's a very picturesque place, partly since, like many capitals, it straddles a river (the Vlatva) which winds through the city under several nice bridges, but also because of the city itself which features some highly varied and impressive architecture. Much of it is pretty old as the city was fortunate enough to escape most of the wartime bombing that destroyed a sizeable percentage of Europe - sights I'm eager to see include Prague Castle, Powder Tower, St. Vitus Cathedral, and the oldest working Astronomical Clock in the world - but there are some newer things worth seeing like the melted Dancing House as well. As you can see from the picture, the city offers some pretty impressive night time views too. I think I'll end up taking a ridiculous amount of photos if I do finally visit!

2. Nassau

Well, we've had an adventurous icy place and a couple of fancy old European cities so now it's time for a hot, relaxing paradise as well, and one that I've always wanted to laze around in for a couple of weeks is Nassau, capital of The Bahamas. There's not too much history here and not a great deal of sightseeing to do, but there are lots of sandy beaches, palm trees, and clear blue waters to enjoy, and plenty of nice bars and lush restaurants as well I'm sure. The temperature is just right for me too - usually hovering somewhere between 25°c and 30°c. A majority of the population of the whole of The Bahamas lives here - a quarter of a million, no less - and helpfully for oafs like me they all speak English too, what with the islands once being a British territory and all. I might even bump into Sean Connery and annoy him by making James Bond references! Like him, I can imagine getting very comfortable here. Oh, and another point for Nassau is the awesome song named after it!

1. Tokyo

Japan has long been a country I've wanted to visit - I can imagine myself spending months or even years there if finances (and other stuff) permitted. Tokyo probably wouldn't be the city I'd spent most time in (I think I'd prefer a smaller, less congested, more traditional city like Kyoto) but... since this is a list of capitals and all, it takes the top spot anyway! It's not all huge office blocks and skyscrapers either - there are some wonderful parks, gardens, and shrines to visit, as well as the Imperial Palace (see above), and I'd also have to take in a sumo match and stop by a karaoke bar. I wouldn't be able to resist the lure of the shops forever though, which isn't something I can say about any other country. My appreciation of so many aspects of Japanese culture, however, means that I'd surely spend a fortune on videogame and anime related stuff, and I'd just have to take the time to have a good look around the amusingly-named Super Potato too. It's almost worth the trip just for that!

Honourable mentions: Reykjavik, Madrid, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Lima are all a little further down the list too!