How to See a New City - The Right Way
Few feelings illicit more excitement than stepping foot in a new city. The sights! The smells! The sounds! It’s the closest thing we have to being a kid again. So much excitement exists in the unknown in front of you. It’s like being lost in the grocery store…except this time you’re lost among the endless mazes of art, architecture, and - like grocery stores - amazing food.
There’s only one way to truly immerse yourself in the culture of a new city - and spoiler, it’s not standing in lines all day to see overpriced tourist attractions. Listen, there’s nothing wrong with seeing tourist attractions. We do it all the time, but just don’t make it the only thing you do. Get them done and out of the way as quickly as possible, take your photo for insta, and move on with your life.
I remember my dad once telling me, “When you are in a new city, you see differently. It won’t last forever. Take it in while you can”. The first time I noticed this was when I moved to New York. My eyes were darting side to side at every new sight, walking past a restaurant or cafe with a delicious smell, and the sounds. New languages, cars, bikes, birds, it was so much to take in! That first walk I took, I felt like I was in Narnia. It quickly turned into an eyes-forward power walk to catch the train. You only get that chance once. You’ve got to make the most of it.
My number one piece of advice for truly immersing yourself in the culture of a city is to live the life of its locals. Spend your day walking around, you can still even walk to tourist attractions, but you’ll be so engaged in all the little details along the way and there’s no shortage of hidden wonders to uncover. Little things that you have for yourself, little moments that piece together to make something beautiful. Often times our favorite parts of the trip come in the most unexpected locations.
Parisians aren’t visiting the Louvre every day. Londoners aren’t waking up at the crack of dawn to beat the lines at the Eye. And New Yorkers DEFINITELY aren’t going to see the Statue of Liberty. Get off that boat and you’ll end up giving a $20 bill to some goofball whos going to pretend to jump over 3 people. That sentence might not make sense now, but it will. Trust me.
Caroline and I were gifted a two day London Pass, which enables you to see all the tourist attractions at a major (30%+) discount. We saved almost 50% off normal prices, but we move fast. By the way, if you ARE going to do tourist attractions in London, we wrote an article on how to do it best! See our article on the London Pass HERE.
While seeing the London tourist attractions was fun, it all felt like I was participating in a facade the city had painted to attract new money. Yes there’s history there. Yes tourist attractions can be a great time. But you don’t learn anything about what the city is like now.
We spent an entire 3-day weekend in Paris without doing a single tourist attraction, and it was one of the greatest trips we’ve ever had. 20,000+ steps a day, #health and tons of hidden gems that we get to keep all for ourselves.
Get out of the tourist areas to eat. You will pay so much more for significantly lower quality food. We use google reviews to find top rated locations to save ourselves the horror. If you get hungry in a touristy area, walk 10-15 minutes and you will often be in a great local spot that has authentic food for a fraction of the price.
Also, and this one is extremely important, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES use a currency exchange if you can help it. The best option is to use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. If that isn’t an option, go to your bank and convert to the necessary cash before you travel. If you use a debit card, you’ll usually wind up with 1-5% foreign transaction fees. This is still significantly better than currency exchanges. They take advantage of travelers who don’t know the exchange rates.
I had a friend visit London recently and was told by a currency exchange that the rate was $1 USD = £0.67 GBP. In reality, $1 USD = £0.83GBP at time of writing. He took out $400 and ended up with £265 GBP when it should have been closer to £320 GBP. A $65 dollar robbery! Plan ahead, it’s worth taking the time so this doesn’t happen to you.
I hope these tips can serve to help make your next vacation the greatest one yet! Spend your time experiencing and enjoying on your own time as opposed to waiting in lines and throwing your hard earned cash down the drain. The last thing you want after a trip is a sour taste in your mouth. There are so many beautiful places in the world, all ready for you to discover and waiting for you to come. Let’s turn these vacations into the memories that make your lifetime!
Happy travels!
Joe
Read about our 3 day Paris itinerary HERE!
Read about the London Pass HERE!
