Especially in a major city. Usually I’ll pick a place based on one event/location then figure out the rest once I’m there. Then I typically talk to locals, service workers and general internet to find more interesting things to do. What about all of you?
Atlas Obscura, though some countries (or just my specific cities) don’t have many entries. Neat to see some alternative, often non-commercial attractions. If I had a shilling for every scale solar system walk it’s led me to, I’d have two shillings. Sometimes it’s just a recommendation for a good view. Sometimes it’s a secret vampire bar. Sometimes it’s a famous grave. Sometimes it’s a little plaque that even the locals forgot about. It’s not like these things are really life changing they’re just very unique memories tied to only those locations.
Aside from that, if it’s a chain restaraunt I have at home, I avoid it entirely. If it’s novel to me, I might go for it, but it’s usually not worth repeat visits. I don’t spend much either, so I try to see what’s rated well and locally busy. If a city is known for a cuisine, I’ll probably try a different version of it each night - and they’re usually all great because they wouldn’t still be open if they weren’t. This extends to local beer, though again, most countries just don’t do artisan beer. I used to log them all in an app, but I never actually seek out my past favorites, so I’ve successfully converted to just living in the moment on that one.
I’m big on astronomy, even if it’s just looking at the sky. If I’m traveling somewhere near dark skies, I’ll do a night excursion and spend maybe 2hrs out there. If you check some light pollution maps, class 2 or lower is something I’ll travel an hour to go see. The closest class 2 sky to my home is currently 3 hours away. Obviously, weather-depending.
I hate the touristy bullshit surrounding them (and the prices), but I do have a hard time resisting rooftop bars. It’s OK to be a tourist, but I wish they’d stop lying abouthow classy their fried mozzarella is.
Walking tour. Get your bearings, insider knowledge and always some fascinating history I definitely was never going to know.
+1 if it is a food tour. That’s my go-to for a new country.
(I’m talking about international travel mainly, although my process also works for longer domestic trips.)
My longer answer is “it depends on what sort of traveller you are and how long you’ve got.” Want to catch the main sights quickly? A hop on hop off bus loop can get you past the big ones with commentary in an hour or two and help you orient yourself in a new city, which can be a good way to fill a layover. For a longer visit, I like to start with a food tour, as you tend to pick up all sorts of local knowledge. For example, visiting Hanoi a few years ago we did a food tour on the first night there and our guide got us comfortable crossing the road on foot.
When we do a walking tour we look for the slightly oddball or themed ones because we’re not that much into mass market tourism and prefer to get more of a local experience that way. I find sites like Viator, GetYourGuide or WithLocals good places to start.
For longer stays in a single place I’ll research the main attractions and build an itinerary around those I want to visit. I’m old enough that I prefer buying some old fashioned guide books and starting there with highlighters and post-it notes before heading online to dive deeper. Mainly I value someone collating and editing the content and I find the blogs, forums and travel sites a little too hyper focused or promotional when I’m broad brushing at first. Sometimes I find gems that I add to the list.
I plot what I want to see on a map, then work out how and when based on transport links and proximity where appropriate. When we did a lap of France it started with a big old paper map pinned on the wall, when we did Singapore and Malaysia I used a list in Google maps.
Once I have the rough outline done I dive into the details online and build myself a detailed run sheet, with the hard points, like flights and hotels and booked tours, useful stuff, like currency and time conversions, reminders for things like e visa applications due, and pick lists of possibilities for filling up in between. About once a week or so I include a do nothing day.
I am not a sit on the beach doing nothing traveller, so that process works for me. I find if I don’t have at the very least a list of things to pick from then we tend to procrastinate and end up doing absolutely nothing, which to me always feels like a waste after paying for the airfare and accommodation. YMMV
I look at blogs and travel sites like TripAdvisor for ideas. Larger or more popular destinations will have books like Frommer’s or Fodor’s guides.
