50 US State Capitals.
How many have you visited?

Unique fact: The oldest state capital in the United States, founded by Spanish colonists 10 years before the Mayflower reached Plymouth. The Palace of the Governors on the plaza has been a continuously occupied government building since 1610.

Why visit: Adobe architecture, ristras of red chile drying outside doorways, and a plaza where Pueblo artists have set up shop for generations. The capitol building itself is round, the only round state capitol in the US.

Unique fact: Briefly the capital of the United States from November 1783 to August 1784. The Maryland State House (1772) is the oldest US state capitol still in continuous legislative use, and is the only one to have served as a national capitol.

Why visit: The colonial waterfront feels almost untouched, the US Naval Academy gives the town its rhythm, and the State House dome is made of unpainted cypress shingles, no nails, just hand-shaped pegs.

Unique fact: Boston has been Massachusetts' capital since the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1630, by a wide margin the oldest continuously-serving state capital city in the country, even older than Santa Fe's capital tenure under Spain.

Why visit: Walk the Freedom Trail past Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the State House's gilded dome. The "Sacred Cod," a 5-foot wooden codfish, has hung in the legislative chamber since 1784.

Unique fact: Texas' state capitol building is taller than the US Capitol, 308 feet to Washington's 288. It was deliberately built that way in 1888 as a display of Texas pride. The pink-granite exterior came from nearby Marble Falls.

Why visit: Music spills out of every venue on 6th Street and South Congress, the bats under Congress Avenue Bridge are the largest urban bat colony in North America, and breakfast tacos here are basically a constitutional right.

Unique fact: Built on a narrow isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. The state capitol's granite dome is the largest by volume in the United States, only the US Capitol has a taller dome.

Why visit: A college town and capitol town wrapped together. The Saturday farmers' market loops the Capitol Square and is one of the largest producer-only markets in the country.

Unique fact: The only US state capital located outside the continental United States and the only one in the tropics. The Iolani Palace, the official residence of the Hawaiian monarchy, is the only royal palace on US soil.

Why visit: Coffee at Kona prices, surfing as a daily commute option, and a state capitol building with no roof over the legislative chambers, open to the sky to symbolize Hawaii's volcanic origins.

Unique fact: The only US state capital not connected to the rest of the state's road system, and one of two (with Honolulu) not reachable by road from the contiguous US. Access is by boat, plane, or seaplane only.

Why visit: A capital wedged between mountains and the Gastineau Channel, with the Mendenhall Glacier within city limits. State legislators commute by air for every session.

Unique fact: The smallest state capital by population in the United States, about 8,000 residents, and famously the only state capital without a McDonald's. The capitol's gold dome is topped with a statue of Ceres, Roman goddess of agriculture.

Why visit: A walkable downtown of brick storefronts and an old-school general store next to the capitol. Vermont State House is one of the oldest continuously-used state capitols (1859), restored down to the gilded dome.