About This Quiz
The rapid pace of technology has made the world seem smaller today than at any point in human history. Yet while you can communicate via video chat or send a package 'round the world with guaranteed next day delivery, the time required to actually travel from one place to another hasn't changed much over the past half century or so. After all, that fancy tech that makes you feel like you're in the same room as far-off family members can't change the realities of geography—and a spot sitting six inches from your current location n a map might require multiple days of travel to actually reach.Â
One of the best ways to really grasp how far apart some cities are—and how the concept of "far" is totally relative—is to overlay a map of Europe with one of the U.S. You might be surprised to see that the distance between London and Moscow, the entire width of Europe, is less than the distance from San Francisco to New York.Â
Wondering whether you can drive across San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in the morning, and swim on San Diego's beautiful beaches that same afternoon? Curious if you can bet on black in Vegas before lunch, and make it to Reno to bet on red by dinner time? Take our quiz to see if you can guess the distance between these major global cities!
Since London is on an island separate from mainland Europe, the drive between these two cities was once impossible. Since the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994, however, folks traveling from London to Paris can make the 300-mile drive in around 6 hours. You could also take a train, which takes around 2.5 hours, or fly, which results in a 214-mile trip.
Country legends in the making strum guitars in the bars around 2nd Ave and Broadway in downtown Nashville. Roughly 530 miles south, jazz musicians play soulful saxophone solos in the clubs of the French Quarter in New Orleans. It takes just over 8 hours to drive between these two musical cities -- or you could make the trip by plane in less than 2 hours.
If you live in a place like New England or Europe, it can be hard to grasp just how large some U.S. states can be. Take Texas, for instance, where you can travel 744 miles west to east from El Paso to Houston without ever crossing state lines. With light traffic, it's about an 11-hour drive between the two cities.
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Located on the East China Sea, Shanghai is China's largest city. It's located 754 miles away from the country's capital city of Beijing, which sits in China's northeast corner. While you can drive between the two in around 11 hours, it's much easier to fly, which takes around 3 hours and cuts the distance to 664 miles.
It's about a 14-hour flight to cover the 5,400 miles between Paris, France and the replica of the Eiffel Tower on the Vegas Strip. And by the way -- if the replica of the Statue of Liberty in Vegas inspires you in between all that gambling, you're about 2,500 miles away from the real thing in NYC.
Located on the west coast of Italy, Rome is situated 800 miles from Athens on the southeast coast of Greece. If you take a ferry across the Adriatic Sea, plan on a 19 hour drive between your views of Rome's Colosseum and Athens' Acropolis.
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The 1,750-mile stretch from Key West, Florida to Portland, Maine will take you around 27 hours cruising along interstate 95. The first 128 miles are known as the Overseas Highway, and involve dozens of bridges connecting the Keys to the Florida mainland.
Located on the southeast coast of the continent and famous for its Opera House and iconic Harbour Bridge, Sydney sits 545 miles from Australia's second most populous city of Melbourne. It takes around 9 hours to drive between the two, or you could get there by air in around 2 hours.
Despite its location in southeast Alaska, Anchorage is still located a whopping 2,264 miles away from Seattle -- the closest major city in the lower 48. To travel between the two would take you around 43 hours, and you'd have to travel the entire length of British Columbia.
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Every Memorial Day Weekend, the Indy Motor Speedway in Indiana hosts one of the most iconic auto races on the planet -- the Indianapolis 500. The next month, the city of Le Mans, France hosts one of the most famous endurance races on the planet in the form of 24 Hours of Le Mans. If you want to travel between these cities, plan to cover 4,100 miles.
Munich is famous for its boisterous Oktoberfest and a 16th century Town Hall with a well-preserved glockenspiel. It's located 363 miles -- a 6-hour drive or 1-hour flight -- from German's capital city of Berlin.
The Appalachian Trail stretches 2,200 miles from Springer Mountain just north of Atlanta, GA to Mount Katahdin near Bangor, Maine. The fastest anyone has ever hiked the trail is around 45 days. You could fly from one of these cities to the other in around 5 hours -- but that would be kind of missing the point.
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The capital cities of these two nations lie just 121 miles apart. Pyongyang is North Korea's largest city, and can be found on the banks of the Taedong RIver. Seoul, which is home to nearly 10 million people, blends old and new with mammoth skyscrapers built alongside Buddhist temples.
If you want to party with Pitbull, you'd better be prepared to make the 3-hour flight between London and Ibiza -- a beach town on the Balearic Islands along the eastern coast of Spain. Of course, you can also make the 1,260-mile trip by car, but be prepared to take a pair of ferries, and allow around 22 hours for the journey.
Miami sits 236 miles southeast of Orlando on Florida's southeast coast. It's about a four-hour drive from the land of Mickey Mouse and Space Mountain to the restaurants and dance clubs on South Beach, but the two cities are a world apart in terms of the type of travel experience offered.
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It's a long, long journey traversing Canada from Vancouver, British Columbia to Quebec City Quebec -- 3,000 miles to be precise! You can drive this distance and take in the sights over the 45-hour drive, or see it from the air on a 5-hour flight.
The route from Los Angeles to gambling mecca Las Vegas stretches 270 miles across the desert. The trip takes about 4 hours by car -- as long as you can resist stopping at Calico Ghost Town, Mojave Natural Preserve and other great sites along the way.
If you want to squeeze in a few of Disney's offerings in Asia, you'd better be prepared to do some traveling. Hong Kong Disneyland lies 1,800 miles from Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea in Japan. It's about a 5-hour flight between the two cities, and you can't do it by land because it involves crossing the East China Sea.
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Around 500 miles separates these two California cities. That means it'll take you around 9 hours to fly between San Diego's Mission Beach and the rolling hills of the City by the Bay and its famous bridge.
There are 2,800 miles of cities, towns and farmland between NYC on the east coast and Los Angeles in southern California. You can traverse this route in around 41 hours by car, or see the U.S. by air on a 6-hour cross-country flight.
It takes about 5 hours to make the drive between Rome and Venice, Italy, but you might want to stick with driving instead of flying the 327 miles between these cities. In the car, you can stop at Bologna and Florence and take in the sights in these historic cities along your route.
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Washington, D.C. sits 227 miles south of New York City. That means you could theoretically tour the White House in the morning, then make the 5 hour drive to NYC and take in a Broadway show that same night.
The Japanese capital city of Tokyo is 717 miles away from Sapporo. In Tokyo, you can enjoy big city life and tour Shinto shrines and the Imperial Palace. Once you make the 15-hour drive to Sapporo, plan on a trip to the local Beer Museum and the city's famous snow festival.
Casablanca is located along the Atlantic Ocean in Morocco on Africa's northeast coast. Around 1,450 miles north of this African city, you can visit Paris. The trip takes 23 hours by car, and involves a ferry voyage across the Strait of Gibraltar, or you can fly the 1,450 miles in around 3 hours.
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Roughly 400 miles separate the pyramids of Egypt in Cairo and the rock-carved mausoleum in Petra, Jordan. The trip across the Sinai Peninsula takes 10 hours by car, and requires a ferry across the Suez Canal. You could also fly from Cairo to Amman, Jordan, then take a bus or taxi the rest of the way to view the ruins.
Istanbul has long been seen as the gateway between Europe and Asia. Around 1,900 miles separate this Turkish city from the British capital of London. You can cover this distance via a 30-hour drive or a four-hour flight.
The White Sox play in Chicago, which sits along the shore of Lake Michigan. This legendary MLB team makes its home 982 miles away from Fenway Park in Boston, which is home to the Red Sox. The trip between these two cities will take you about 15 hours by car, and take you through the states of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
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Around 4,500 miles separate the cities of Caracas, Venezuala and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Traveling between Caracas and its 17th century Romanesque cathedral, and Buenos Aires' iconic Teatro Colon would take around 94 hours by car -- and require forging ahead through the Amazon rain forest. Flying between the two cities takes only around 7 hours, thankfully.
The twin-named cities are separated by 3,200 miles, with Portland, Oregon located near Mt. Hood and Portland, Maine situated along the North Atlantic Ocean. It's about an 8-hour flight or a 47-hour drive between the two.
It can be hard to comprehend just how far away Hawaii is from the continental U.S. Honolulu lies on the big island of Hawaii, roughly 2,600 miles west of San Diego. If you travel west from Honolulu instead, you'd reach Tokyo after just 3,800 miles.
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More than 20 million people call India's capital city of New Delhi home. Roughly 877 miles to the west near the Arabian Sea, the city of Mumbai is home to another 18 million. These two major cities are separated by a 2-hour flight -- or a 24-hour drive.
It takes around 9 hours to drive the 445 miles between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The first is Russia's political center, and home to the Kremlin and Red Square; the latter represents the cultural hub of the country, and is located near the Gulf of Finland.
A mere 568 miles separates the capital of the U.S. from the capital of Canada. That means you can drive from Ottawa to DC in around 10 hours. Interested in visiting the capital of Mexico? It's just 2,400 miles from DC to Mexico City.
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Just 438 miles separate Sin City from the Biggest Little City in the World. Plan on a 7-hour road trip if you plan to travel between the two cities. This route between Reno and Vegas also happens to be the site of a famous off-road race -- the largest off-the-track auto race in the U.S. -- each August.
Prague and Budapest are just 326 miles apart in Europe. Just a five-hour drive will take you from the iconic Charles Bridge above the Vlatava River in Prague to the Chain Bridge above the River Danube in Budapest.