La Mouche: Visiting a city

This is a post of interest for two kinds of travelers.

You're landing in a very new city you don't know anything about.

You've been around for too long in the same city and want to have a new sight on it.

Finally, this post seems to be for anyone who's seeking for a curious way to walk around.

In the first case you're far from home. You knew you had to prepare this trip. You bought several guides, but you just read a few lines, because you know that you don't feel like following their advice. You don't like to have the feeling you're a stereotyped tourist. Obviously you will visit the most important spots, but you didn't need the guides to tell you they were important places. Restaurants, shops? You'll find yours on your way. You want to see the great places everyone told you about but you also want to get a great sense of the city.

So you have a few days to feel the spirit of this city you're about to discover. The real question is : Where are you going to start, and how? I mean after the taxi, the hotel, and your first meal and shower...

In the second case, if I ask you for how long you've been living in this town, you would give me as an answer "good question! ". If you recognize yourself in this quick description, I tell you, you don't need a plane ticket for this summer (and anyways, this is more than a good piece of news, you're totally broke). Isn't it a bit weird that this tourist from the other side of the world knows more about your hometown than you do? So take a few days off because it's time to set up a new deal! But how?

You could just get out and walk! You feel like you would roam about Daedalus' labyrinth and you definitely need the help of the Ariadne thread to find what will make you fall in love with the city.

Some people will just walk from one "place of interest" to another, and won't have the feeling they are missing something. Don't worry, if you're reading these lines on Been-seen, you're not one of them.

One interesting project is to draw yourself a path through the web of the streets following one criteria. A common one, when it is possible is to follow the river if there is one. It works for Paris and a lot less for Moscow. Another one is to go take a deep breath in the suburbs, always forgotten and often interesting to see. You can also jump in the atmosphere of the parks and gardens. That's really great in New York and Paris too. Let's see how it would work in Paris.