The rise of big cities highlights their growing role as key actors in the globalised world. This is especially the case for capitals, which amass more resources and power in contrast to rural, peripheral, and declining areas. Place as a politically divisive element is receiving increasing attention and numerous studies address the phenomenon of left-behind areas. This paper explores a complementary but understudied aspect: the negative feelings towards the capitals, the places that do matter, among these lagging areas’ inhabitants. Despite growing research on the topic, it is still necessary to clarify how different explanations ‒the rural-urban, the centre-periphery, and economic divides‒ relate to these negative feelings. The objective of this article is, therefore, to shed light on the influence of each of these factors. Using Spain as a case study, this paper investigates these dynamics in a country marked by stark rural-urban demographic imbalances and a political landscape shaped by centre-periphery debates. The analysis leverages unique geocoded survey data collected in 2022 to examine feelings at both national and regional levels, focusing on perceptions of national and regional capitals. Preliminary findings indicate that geographic distance to the capital is the most significant factor driving negative feelings, while the roles of rurality and unemployment appear more nuanced. These findings help clarify the complexity of geographic divides, providing crucial insights into the nature of these tensions and their implications for political cohesion and policy intervention.