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All this summer, I’ve been trying to play tourist in my own city, exploring new areas and revisiting old favourites. It wasn’t as successful as I thought. It started off excellent. I was going out every weekend, going to new places, doing new things. I dragged my family along with me too. But somewhere along the way, between the hot summer and long days, I lost a bit enthusiasm for it.
As summer comes to an end, I’m looking back at this summer’s adventures. While I didn’t see everything I wanted to do in Vancouver, that just means I have more to experience as we head into the fall and winter. Along the way, I picked up a few tactics on how to play tourist in your own city.
Plan it out
If I were going to visit you this weekend, what would we do? Where would we eat? Where would we go? Write this down and then go do it yourself. Go to all the typical tourist spots. Hit up all the museums. Do all the quintessential things a tourist would do and that you normally wouldn’t be caught doing.
Explore new areas
Even though I’ve technically called Vancouver home all my life, there are definitely lots of places I haven’t visited or explored. Some I’ve done when I was a kid or as a part of school, but seeing these same things would be a completely different as an adult. Others are area that I’ve just previously ignored or never even knew existed. Pick areas where your normal day to day life doesn’t take you.
Take a tour
On a Forbidden Vancouver Tour
See your city how the tourist see it by signing yourself up for a local tour if your city. If you normally walk, try taking a biking tour. If you’re a cyclist, try walking. Or perhaps pick a themed tour. Most cities offer food tours or underground tours. Do a little Googling and you’ll be surprised to find random, but cool sounding tours of the city. Vancouver for example, has plenty of food tours and the Forbidden Tours of Vancouver have a great ring to it.
Change it up
Keeping in line with exploring new areas, be sure to change it up every week. If you’re exploring one neighbourhood this week, try heading to the mountains if you have some nearby. Near the water? Perhaps go to the beach or a lake the next. Maybe there is a nearby national park you could explore. The more variety you add, the less bored you’re likely to be with it all.
Try new things
Sometimes being a tourist in your own city isn’t just about exploring it. It can also be about new ways of seeing it. Try new things like paddle boarding if you’re near water, or perhaps zip-lining if you have mountains nearby. Perhaps you’ve discovered some new activity while traveling abroad. Revisit those memories by doing that same activity at home.
Get up high
The NYC skyline from the Top of the Rock @ Rockefeller Center
One thing most people like to do when traveling is getting a high vantage point of the city, and yet, they don’t do it when at home. Most cities have a tall building open to visitors where you can enjoy the city skyline. Don’t want to spring all that money for just a view? See if there are any restaurants or lounges that offer something similar, or if you have friends in high places (ha ha, see what I did there? Sorry, puns are my specialty), maybe it’s time to pay them and their rooftop a visit.
Go back in history
One aspect of travel is learning about the area’s history so do the same for your own home town. Dust off your history books and see how your city came to be what it is today. Then go visit all those spots. Plus, you get to look super smart and show off when you do have friends or family visiting from out of town.
Check out local events
Summer is a great time to be a tourist in your own city. There are plenty of outdoor activities, exciting festivals and interesting events to participate in. Look up local blogs and check out local newspapers for event details.
Charge up your camera
Hurray for cheesy photos!
You’re not on vacation unless you’re taking needless photos of everything. Charge your battery. Empty your SD card and get click happy. Take all the cheesy shots you want. No one is judging. You’re on holiday remember?
Utilize local promotions
Many cities offer promotional programs for their own citizens to explore the city they call home. This this opportunity to explore your city. Plus, often these promotions some with huge savings and discounts which makes it even better. Victoria, BC, for example, offers a savings passport for a weekend of activity.
Day tripping
Okay, so technically this isn’t exactly being a tourist in your own city. Take the opportunity to explore the surrounding area and visit random towns or attractions that you’ve never been before. Are there nearby parks to explore? What about hikes? Make it extra special by finding a hotel for a night and make it a weekend getaway.
When you love traveling but can’t travel due to other commitments, then playing tourist in your own city is a great option. You get a tourist experience while fulfilling your day to day life. You get the experience without paying money to take a flight or pay for accommodation. It adds variety to your day to day, with something to look forward to. Plus, it’s so much fun!
How do you discover your hometown? Do you like playing tourist at home?
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love these ideas!
Then you could do – how to look like a tourist in your own city! Walk around with a big camera around your neck, a bumbag and a giant map! 🙂
Haha, you can turn it into a game. See how many people you can trick into thinking you’re from out of town!
Some good tips! We have so many things left to do in SF, and we just need to actually get out more often to do things around the city. We spend so much time traveling that we tend to just relax when we do have free time around home.
Ohh SF has so many fabulous things to do. One of my favourite cities for sure! I understand why you want to relax and not go out much though. I get the same way after a trip away. You just need time to chill out and rest up for the next adventure.
I just adore this concept. I am going into my third year of living in Taiwan. Last year, I had this realization that I was kind of squandering my time in Taiwan. I was working M-F and then spending a lot of my weekends/holidays in my PJs reading on the couch. I decided that I did not want to look back and have regrets: I never saw this…, I never did that…, I didn’t expend the effort… So, now, every weekend I try and find one way to be a tourist in my city or Taiwan in general. Now, being a foreigner, that’s not really hard to do. Do I always feel as rested come Monday morning? No. But I have never once regretted getting out and doing/seeing something!
That is so true. Sometimes it can be hard to get yourself out the door, especially if the weather is crap, or you’re feeling lazy, or a book seems more interesting. But like you, I’ve never regretted going out and doing something, but sometimes I do regret a wasted evening in.
Your post gave me to a lot to think about, Adelina. I live in one of the most extraordinary cities in the world, Los Angeles, and I explore it so seldom.
Ohh I feel like LA would have so much to see and do. I lived there when I was really young and I haven’t been back since. Hopefully you get a chance to go out and explore more!
I have been thinking about this myself lately. What I would show people who came to visit – where would I suggest eating? It is so easy to just get stuck in a rut, doing the same “I live here things” as opposed to “Let’s Explore kind of things”.
Exactly! It’s hard to make that mental switch and sometimes it seems so strange. My friends think it’s weird that I’m wanting to do and take photos of such “normal” things.
As an Expat I will always be a tourist in my own city until we move back I guess, I love these tips! 🙂
Definitely! It was a lot easier to be a tourist in my own city when I was living abroad. Everything while somewhat familiar, was still really exciting.
Adelina, It’s true. It’s so hard to always think about your home. Luckily, I have changed mine so frequently that I seem to never run out of things to see that are new!
So lucky! Doing something new is always exciting.
Definitely agree with these tips – sometimes it’s really hard to see the potential where you live, but when lack of money / time make it hard to travel, it’s always worth exploring a little closer to home!
When I visited Barcelona the first time, I met a girl who had never seen La Sagrada Familia. She had lived in Barcelona her whole life! I couldn’t believe it when she told me!
Wow, I find that so shocking. How is that even possible?!
Great tips, Adelina! I especially like the suggestions of getting high up and trying a tour. The daily grind in a city and other routines always seem to result in missing a lot. A new vantage point is definitely a good start.
I love this! I love being a tourist anywhere…even if you can’t travel far, you can still travel! 🙂
Ohh, I love that! “Even if you can’t travel far, you can still travel” <-- perfect.
This is one of the biggest things I’ve learned from traveling! When I left Chicago I was so sad because I felt like I hadn’t done half the things I wanted to do in the city. Now, even at home, I’m going to make it a point to experience my own city as fully as possible. Thanks for the great tips!
Great idea. I am always lost when friends want me to show them NY. There’s so much we bypass right in our own backyard
These are such good tips for looking at your home area differently. For a writing class I took, I had to submit 50 things a tourist should do or see while visiting where I live. After the class ended I posted the list on my bulletin board and started crossing off all the things I hadn’t yet done. It’s been very fun.
Oh wow, that is a great idea + exercise. More people should do that. There are definitely iconic must do items in Vancouver that I haven’t done yet.
It’s amazing how we’re always so eager to explore other cities and yet hardly take time to do stuff in our backyard. If I ever do settle down near LA again, I want to spend more time playing tourists there. Good tips!
I love this and I’ve blogged about how to do this in my city of San Diego. Couldn’t agree more. 🙂 Great tips!
We’re always encouraging our friends back home to do the same and have a ‘staycation’ when they tell us that they wish they could travel as we do as it’s so easy to do, you discover so much you never knew before hand, and it’s fun too!
Exactly! It’s all about approaching it with an open mind and trying out new things right at home.
I need to do this wear I live. I’ve blogged about so many places… and not so much about my own town. Weird how we do that huh!
Yea, its too easy to forget about the places that are familiar to us, but not so much for the rest of the world.
Hello, on behalf of Christa, host of The Sunday Traveler, I was stopping by to check out your article ‘How To Be A Tourist In Your Own City’. What a great idea for a ‘Staycation’. I really like the tip to check with your City for local promotions. I think it’s really great that Victoria offers that weekend savings passport. I have a lot more to dive into right here in my own backyard, so to speak, and now I’m excited about my next Staycation. Thank you for your post it was a very inspiring read. 🙂
I love all of your ideas about this! I really agree with exploring places that you may have been as a child but hadn’t visited since, as you definitely have a new perspective as an adult on a particular museum, for example. There are so many places to explore right in our own backyard!
Exactly! It can be too easy to forget what there is to do close to home during the search for someone more elsewhere.
Sometimes we tend to overlook our home city, but it is so great when we realize that and take the time to explore more of it! So glad you shared this – great suggestions!
So true! Thanks Marissa.
Last fall, I moved back to the States temporarily after living abroad in Shanghai for two years. But rather than dread moving home, I was looking forward to it! Not only did I get to catch up with friends and family, I got to see my home through new eyes. I made a list of all the places I wanted to explore and tried to check as many off as I could. Like you, I lost some enthusiasm during the long, cold winter months, but still managed to do quite a bit. Now I’m living abroad again and am thankful my time back home was positively spent.
Exactly! That is the prefect attitude and way to approach it when you’re somewhere familiar and still want to maximize your time and have fun.
Great ideas! I especially love the history one. So often we go to museums and historical places in other cities and forget about the ones right under our noses!
Yes exactly! There is so much to learn in the world, you just need to look!
Great ideas! We often eager to explore the world forgetting about our hometowns. When I’m back in Warsaw from time to time, I love to wander around and discover new places. Even though I spend 20 years of my life living there, there’s always something changing!
So true! Especially if you leave home and then go back, things change so rapidly, sometimes you could feel like you’re in a completely new place.
I love this article! What you describe is an important part of my “travel like a local” philosophy. I don’t think you can fully enjoy travelling the world if you can’t see your home town with different, eager eyes.
The “oh, it’s close so I can go see it any time” excuse is a dangerous trap. I lived 6 years in London and I’ve seen most of it only in the last 3 months. I won’t be doing the same mistake in my new adoptive city… I might use some of your tips as well 😉 thanks!
Thanks Rick! I agree – I’ve definitely fallen into that trap and when it comes time to leave, I start scrambling to fit everything it. So jealous you lived in London. I would love to be there now.
London is still there if you want 😉
I think there are always new things to see in a big city! We will never see all that London has to offer and I’ve lived here nearly my whole life!
For sure! London especially, I feel, has just so much to offer and with more popping up with each passing day.
I just did that the past weekend. I took a tour of San Diego. Was really fun to see hear all the facts I didn’t know about.
It’s a great way of seeing your home town! Glad you were able to learn something cool about home.
I think doing a guide tour is a great idea I never thought of before!
You can learn so many new and cool things about your own place that you never knew!
And it will make you appreciate some things around you like a visitor would!
I’m definitely doing this!
Exactly! All fantastic reasons to be a tourist in your own city every so often. There is always something new and different to check out.