If you’re visiting a new city for the first time, such as a capital of a new country you’ve never been to before, you need to know what you’re in for! Most of all, you need to explore in the most efficient manner and find out what the city is underneath all that ‘touristy’ glitter. So here’s what you need to do to discover this wonderful downtown area you find yourself in, and ensure you enjoy yourself along the way.

Try Out Multiple Walking Tours

Walking tours are better than bus tours, simply because you get to traverse the city on foot. And when you’re on foot, you take things slower. As such, you take more in. You have the chance to truly explore while someone literally ‘walks’ you through the various streets and centers. You can capture better shots as you go and can dip in and out of shops to buy snacks and souvenirs.

Attend a Festival

Festivals are great insights into the culture of the place you’re visiting. After all, you’ll be able to experience a lot of music, food, and local revelry when you’ve got your wristband on! And because of that, you should think about getting tickets to events like fall festivals near New York City, if that’s one of the destinations you’ve got listed next on your bucket list. 

Get Opinions From Locals

The best way to collect opinions like these is through the use of online groups. Facebook, for example, is a great platform for finding local groups or tourist-focused groups to join and post questions in. Find out whatever you want to know ahead of time and then visit these places, eat at these restaurants, and attend the local events you get recommended. 

Personally, my favorite ways to get recommendations are through the app, Yelp, local publications like TimeOut New York, and trusted food bloggers. You can search for food bloggers on Instagram out before you even travel just by using the hashtag of the city you are going to. Don’t just look at pictures but read the captions for detailed food reviews. Believe me, you’ll be able to tell the difference between a real foodie and someone just doing it for pictures. As I mentioned before, Yelp is full of reviews from locals like me, who take pride in the honesty of their reviews.

And if you’re worried someone may be playing a joke with what they suggest, don’t stress too much. You can trust real recommendations like these, thanks to how heavily moderated these groups tend to be. 

Shop at the Markets

Markets are great places to find deals, and you’ll experience a lot of local cultures just by surfing through and seeing what people have pitched up to sell. And let’s face it, who doesn’t love a market? Getting up early to visit your local market is a staple of family life, even in the modern era, and the same principle applies to your vacation as well.

Ultimately, if you want to get to know the city, find out what people are selling in it – little shop owners who have a regular pitch will have so much more to offer compared to another branch of a corporation. Even if you see a load of clear tourist ‘tat’ lining these stalls, walk through and see what you can haggle over.

If you’re about to book a hotel in a new city you’ve never visited before, plan little activities like those above to take you around it. You’ll learn so much more!

What techniques did you use when you were visiting a new city? Did I mention any of yours? Let me know in the comments below. You can also follow me on Yelp to see a few of my reviews.

Until our next rendezvous…

XOXO

Trudy