Why You Should Take Walking Tours When Visiting New Cities

[Tegan Groombridge]

Baltimore Heritage


There's nothing quite like going somewhere new with a complete clean slate. Other than maybe a few searches on Instagram to see what photos people have taken and shared in that location, everywhere you look is fresh and brand new. But where to start? You may be aware of some of the most iconic sights. You may have done a ton of research. But there really is no better place to start than with a walking tour. In fact, it should be on everyone's itinerary when exploring a new place.

Gain Local Perspective

When it comes down to your tour guide, you'll likely be taken around by someone from the area, whether the city itself or the country its in. This is not always the case, but the majority of the time you can expect a real authentic passion from your tour guide, who can really paint a picture of where you're visiting. Your tour guide will be a great indication of the general mood of the people, as well as offering ample enthusiasm for their country.

Learn Detailed Background Information

As tour guides, by nature they'll be fonts of information. Unlike the bare minimum you'll get from a guidebook, your tour guide will be able to go into great depth about the city. From its colourful history to important figures that have lived there, down to the buildings they lived in, and who had a heavy influence. They'll be able to take you through time and give a real insight into the importance of certain landmarks.

Tick off Essential Sights

Walking tours are fantastic for ensuring you see the sights that pull in visitors year on year. Though you may not see all of them squeezed into a few hours, you'll definitely see the most important ones and it'll give you a good indication of what to do next. Whether you want to re-visit and spend more time at certain spots or desperately want to go elsewhere. Walking tours really can shape the rest of your trip.

Choose from a Variety of Walking Tours

From budget to itinerary, there is a real variety from walking tour to walking tour. If you're looking for a standard walking tour that takes you around the top sights, you can even find ones that are completely free. Tip only as much as you want at the end. You can find a selection of other walking tours with great discounts at city specific retailers like The Paris and Berlin Pass. Save up to 12% when shopping through My Favourite Voucher Codes for attractions, as well as other essential holiday extras. Don't want the bog-standard tour? Find bar crawl walking tours, or in Berlin they even have one that takes you to private raves as well as the sights.

Seek Recommendations for the Destination

Not only is your tour guide a great source of information, teaching you everything you need to know about your destination. They'll also be in the know on how you should be spending your time and money. They can point out the best restaurants and bars, some of which may be off the beaten track of tourism. It goes without saying they can also tell you what to avoid, if certain attractions aren't worth it or the best timings to avoid the crowds. They're experts, so why wouldn't you make use them as a great source for guaranteeing you the best holiday.

Find Your Bearings with Walking Tours

It's clear walking tours are great for supplementing our knowledge of new places meaning we can wow with our amazing new source of trivia. They're also useful in giving you a real feel for the place you're visiting. Walking you around the most common tourist spots and likely the city centres, walking tours are ideal to do on your first day, not only to help determine what you do with the rest of your time, but because it'll help you gain your bearings and start to familiarise yourself with where you are.

Whether you're the type of traveller who meticulously plans out what you're doing down to every hour of the day on your holiday, or you're a bit more on the spontaneous side, walking tours are great for all kinds of travellers. No need to get flustered on what to do, this is the perfect way to kick off your city escape and get to grips on whatever gorgeous destination you've found yourself in.