How To Be a Tourist
@owlwings (43915)
Cambridge, England
May 28, 2016 4:11am CST
When I’m visiting a town or an area for the first time I want to know what is special and unique about the place. I like to know what makes the people who live there proud to do so and I also want to know something about the history and architecture.
If I’m planning in advance, my first stop is Google. I look for any remarkable historical information, any information on local buildings, industries and museums or exhibitions and read about them. I would probably also print off a map and mark on it any places of interest I’d like to visit.
When I get to the place, probably the first thing I’d do would be to find the local Tourist Information Office (most towns of any size in Britain have one, very often in the Civic Centre or the local Library). Based on the information I get from that and from my ‘homework’ I then plan what I want to see but I always leave some time to just mooch around the shops in the centre of the town and, of course, a liberal amount of time for lunch.
When choosing a place for lunch, I tend to reject the large and smart pubs and look for ones which are used by locals. A pub is generally an excellent place to get into conversation and if I can meet and chat with someone who lives in the place, I like to find out what they find interesting and special about it, without seeming too much as though I’m interviewing them for a documentary, of course!
What I actually decide to see on my visit depends on the time I have and what’s available. Often the church (and certainly the cathedral, if it’s a cathedral city) is a must. Many quite small towns and villages have a local museum and that is often worth a visit. However, the more special things I see, the more I need some quiet time to absorb what I have seen, so if I can find a green space where I can just sit and ponder (and maybe take out my sketch-book), that is also one of my priorities.
How do you go about being a tourist? Are you very organised, go on the guided tours and consider it ‘done’ or are you, like me, very open-ended and leave a lot of things to see ‘next time’?
22 people like this
17 responses
@allen0187 (58438)
• Philippines
28 May 16
I stay away from the usual tourist spots and activities and look for those hole in the wall establishments. Like what they say, 'When in Rome, do what the Romans do.'
That mantra has served me well.
3 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
28 May 16
I usually just find my way around. Guided tours can be useful for covering the tourist sights, but are certainly not truly representative of the location, so I also want to go where the locals do to appreciate the real town or resort.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
28 May 16
I used to shun the Guided Tour (we see quite enough of them in Cambridge) but when visiting Oxford once, I took a guided tour (which lasted a couple of hours) and then spent the rest of the time revisiting the places I had found most interesting on the tour. Ever after, I have seen their usefulness as an 'outline information provider' and occasionally use them if they don't take up too much of the time allotted.
1 person likes this
@Cristi_Ichim (3663)
• Bucharest, Romania
28 May 16
@owlwings I have been out of my town/home many times but I do not consider myself a tourist and I did not go there to be a tourist. I went there to do something.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
29 May 16
the local favorite water holes are often suprisingly the best. SOMETIMES I do guided tours, if it is something I am totally interested in, and I do preresearch, but often have a loose plan at best
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
29 May 16
It's often surprisingly interesting and enlightening to be a 'tourist' on one's own doorstep! I live in what is, I believe, the second or third 'tourist attraction' in Britain yet I probably know rather less about it than the average tourist who takes one of the two-hour guided tours. OK, that might not be strictly correct but I'm sure that the Tour Guide would have at least 50% of information which I didn't know!
I did once go on a guided walk looking at the wild flowers which one can find growing in the city - from something as tiny as groundsel and ivy-leaved toadflax growing in the crevices of the pavements to quite sizeable trees and shrubs growing on roofs and chimneys. That taught me to really use my eyes and to be aware of the tiniest green sprout that can grow in an 'urban desert'. Some of the smallest plants are incredibly beautiful when you get up close.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
30 May 16
@owlwings maybe taking some of those tours in your area, in times that arent as tourist heavy would be both fun and informational!
1 person likes this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
6 Jun 16
I would like to have a basic plan before hand of course, but would obviously improvise once I reach there if I find something different. I have been researching about towns and villages in England for some time, as I am fascinated by English countryside. Recently I've been looking up Cotswolds. I like your way of exploring and really knowing a town. How long does it take normally, to see a town like Stow-on-the-Wold or Bibury? I would really like to know your opinion on other best ways to visit them. 
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
6 Jun 16
Stow-on-the-Wold and Bibury are not very large - little more than villages, actually - but I'd like to spend the best part of a day in each, perhaps. Preferably staying overnight, so that I could take a walk around the place in the morning sunlight. One might cover Stow and Bibury in one day if you were pressed for time but it would be well worth taking a self-catering cottage somewhere and spending a week in the area.
1 person likes this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
7 Jun 16
@owlwings Thanks for the advice, because that is what I have been searching about. I see many choices of accomodations like hotels, hostels or self catering cottages. Hostels are cheap I guess but the cottage you mentioned about should give that room to explore the place relaxedly and independently without any worry.
1 person likes this
@annierose (18926)
• Philippines
28 May 16
I will be in Hongkong and Macau soon and I do not like to go on guided tours. I prefer the DIY (do-it-yourself) so that I won't feel rushed in anything. I know that if I join a tour I have to follow strictly.the schedule because I won't be alone but rather be in a group. As it will be a do-it-yourself, I study everything - from places, currency, language, do's and don'ts and a lot more. I am the type of person who will always prepare an itinerary and have an estimated budget for everything.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
28 May 16
i like seeing where ordinary people live, not just the tourist areas.
it would be nice to see your sketches.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64361)
• United Kingdom
28 May 16
I'm certainly not as organised as you. I will go to the Information Office and just pick out some things to see, based on that. I do just like to wander though.
Abroad I've often used the open top buses and I've also used them in London and even been on the one in Cambridge.
1 person likes this
@Drosophila (16573)
• Ireland
28 May 16
I usually go to trip advisor, read up there and plan my routes.
I also try to learn "hi, thank you, bye" in the local language if its not English.
I also check what currency they use if its not immediately obvious, e.g. in Sweden they use krona.
Also check where I can buy travel tickets and so on, so I can get around.
When fails.. always hit "tourist information" asap..
Be polite and smiles a lot better than anything when you're in a different country
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
28 May 16
i don't reckon i've e'er been a tourist, havin' gone no place my entire life mostly. 'n the rare times a road trip's some spare time, i'm all fer "off the beaten path".
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
28 May 16
Before my trip I look for information on the internet and sometimes I read travel guide books. I like to read about the sights, the history, the local festivals and all those things.
When I arrive I visit the most important sights first, and later I walk around without specific plans. I love to meet some of the locals. Sometimes they tell me about interesting places that aren't mentioned travel guide books. I eat in the local restaurants and I try to find local dishes that I can't buy in my own area.
@trivia79 (7828)
• El Segundo, California
29 May 16
i want to experience that also. i have not yet travelled alone or travelled with some abroad.
@Hannihar (129409)
• Israel
15 Mar 18
I think if one finds a place they want to visit they need to find out as much information as possible if they do not know anything about it.
