[zarzavat]

The corollary of this is that if you are a local you should do some more touristy things.

I don't mean to go to a tourist trap and get scammed, but just enjoy your city a little more and do some things that usually only tourists do.

For example, despite living most of my life in London, I've never been to the Tower of London. Why would I? It's for tourists. Except it's probably quite fascinating, especially for a local.

[WorldMaker]

I've been exploring related feelings in the related "For me, this is just a Tuesday" space. I had started to feel like a food tour group was stalking me personally. My usual Tuesday lunch. My usual Friday dinner. So forth. The first "gut feeling" was irritation. It's a lot of people showing up in a small space with random lectures distracting from whatever I was doing while eating (such as often reading a book).

It took a couple weeks, but I realized that I was the spoiled one and the other side of "For me this is a Tuesday" should be "I'm glad my local businesses are interesting to tours" and "It's easy to forget how impressed I might be with this lunch if I was visiting some other town, isn't it great it can be my 'usual Tuesday'?"

I started listening to some of the lectures. I could easily mock some of them and/or clarify/edit/fix mistakes in them, but also they can still be an interesting bit of perspective, including the way that tourists respond to them. It's fun to have that tourist perspective of the local area.

It's also a fun reminder to do and try more of the tourist things locally. When your "usual Tuesday" is someone else's exciting and desired vacation experience, what else are you seeing with the somewhat dulled eyes of being a local but would greatly enjoy if you thought like a visitor to your own city?

[kstrauser]

I’m routinely surprised by native San Franciscans who’ve never been to Alcatraz, seen Pier 39, or gone whale watching. Yes, they’re touristy things to do. They’re also very interesting and lots of fun!

[mncaudill]

Agreed! I routinely cycle around the city and one of my favorite loops is along the Embarcadero and up through Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf.

We live in a beautiful city that people come from all over to see and there are good reasons for that. I’ll also offer to take pictures of families taking their photos with the sea lions (which I also always stop to watch) and chat them up a bit. Fun times.

[randycupertino]

Have you seen Chonkers yet? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chonkers-the-massi...

He is a Stellers Sea lion (2,500 lbs and 11 feet) while generally the other sea lions are Caldiornia Sea Lions (850 lbs and 7 feet).

[mncaudill]

I didn’t catch him but did look for him every time I rode that way.

[alsetmusic]

I have to comment on this because it's so relevant to this moment. My partner has been telling me how much I would enjoy Alcatraz (I've never been because tourists in airports wear Alcatraz tshirts; what a dumb way to single yourself out). I finally agreed to go see it sometime, but you have to understand that being around a bunch of tourists is offputting when you're in your own space.

I remember someone telling me how much she hated tourists taking photos in the middle of the street at the top of hills and blocking traffic, then we saw someone doing exactly that. Her response: "This is a working city!" I understood the frustration.

Whale watching, hell yeah. We are going at the end of June around Monterey Bay. That doesn't feel touristy to me at all.

[mapmeld]

I finally went to Alcatraz after years where I've either lived in SF or visited for work. It was worth spending some time out there! Great views as well.

[rgmerk]

Alcatraz or whale watching? Sure.

But Pier 39? I’d rather poke my eyeballs out with a stick. I can eat shitty fast food at home, thanks.

[kstrauser]

I don’t necessarily eat there, but it’s fun to look around and flow along with the crowds sometime.

[blululu]

I go there routinely to inspect the sealions. They always cheer me up after a rough day.

[xadoc]

In case you don't know:

"Tower Hamlets residents visit for just £1

Local residents within the borough of Tower Hamlets can visit the Tower of London for only £1.00."

It's worth a visit being a tourist or a local.

[eltados]

This comment resonnate with me and in the last few months that is why I have been working on a side project to "be a tourist" in your own town.

https://www.izeria.com/en

Where you can discover places near you and connect to their history, I have also added some check-in mechanics and quiz to gaming the experience and for to actually go see the place in person.

Think Pokemon go but for Wikipedia places.

[evil-olive]

it looks like you are violating Wikipedia's copyright by using text from their articles without attribution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights#Reusers'_...

[sebmellen]

Absolutely love this! Are you live pulling from Wikipedia for each search?

Also worth checking out Atlas Obscura. Kind of similar, kind of different.

[raddan]

Yes, this is amazing. I would love to know where the data is coming from.

[master-lincoln]

it looks like you wrote the texts but they seem to be copied without attribution. Shame on you (and lawsuits)

[tonyedgecombe]

Wasn’t this the original definition of staycation. That you would stay at home and make day trips out to local destinations for a week.

[saltcured]

For some, it means you break out the tiny paper umbrellas to put in a drink and sit on your own balcony or sofa instead of a tourist beach...

[AntiUSAbah]

Tower of London is not a touristy thing its a culture thing.

I know quite a lot of all the cities i lived in. I have been a good tourguide to friends and family because you just learn stuff about your city.

I will not go to that one ferris wheel because some company build it, i saw them building it, its in a location which is weird, and why would i go on a ferris wheel in my city?

But everything else? The main castle, yes! The residence, english garden, white rose, german museum, Shirker's Alley, old michael, etc. yes! Have been plenty of times.

[peterlada]

100%. I've lived in Paris well over a year and finally walked up on the Eiffel Tower and I enjoyed it. But of course not in July or August! But being local means you can go on an unexpectedly sunny March weekend.

[throw-the-towel]

I took a trip to the Château de Vincennes this weekend, a nice place and not crowded at all.

[Steve44]

I've lived in London, various places within the M25, for about 40 years now and still walk around looking up and enjoying exploring both new and old places. We do the Hidden City treasure hunts which is a great way of finding new spots.

Tower of London is good, there is so much history in there and a number of exhibitions well worth seeing.

I've done most of the "tourist traps"[1] and really enjoyed them. The London Eye gives you great views, especially at sunset; The Shard (cocktail bar, not done the viewing platform) is a bit expensive and style over substance but still worth doing once; Buckingham Palace is a world class historical living building; The South Bank has a lot going on and also gives great views of London; The Royal Albert Hall is a stunning concert venue; most of the big museums are free.

The one place I've not done as it really doesn't appeal to me is Madame Tussauds.

[1] Compared to other cites apart from the pedal rickshaws and the find-the-lady on Westminster bridge I don't think London is inundated with rip-off tourist traps like many other cities appear to be.

[jhbadger]

I live in the DC area and it is kind of sad that a lot of people here haven't been to the various Smithsonian museums (which are free) here, or haven't been since they were children.

[esseph]

> For example, despite living most of my life in London, I've never been to the Tower of London. Why would I?

Why wouldn't you?

Note: It's great, you should go.

[gib444]

Not the parent but it's lowbrow to do touristy things in London.

And if you aren't going on holiday or an expensive weekend away or to an expensive restaurant, you're poor and your career is failing.

I only half jest

[roryirvine]

It's mostly paid-for touristy things that are sneered at, in my experience. No-one's going to look askance if you spend a day in the BM, V&A, or National Gallery even though they're listed in every guide book and are always rammed with tourists.

Madame Tussauds, The London Dungeon, The Clink, The Sherlock Holmes Museum, though? Ugh.

The ToL isn't entirely contrived like those, but is paid-for so you can see why people might feel awkward about it. As others have noted, though, Tower Hamlets residents get in for £1 which makes it pretty much acceptable - especially if you go on a rainy Tuesday in February when queues are at their shortest...

[gib444]

Yeah that's accurate. Some of those touristy things are very expensive and could buy a few pints instead

> No-one's going to look askance if you spend a day in the BM, V&A, or National Gallery

Askance! Love that word! I digress. People rarely do that though (except real youngens, students etc). They all lie to themselves they're in London for the culture and art etc but they're so exhausted from climbing the ladder and networking, they don't have time.

People turn extremely capitalistic in London. If you're not displaying your wealth or working to improve it, it's a waste of time.

Those in zones 4-6 especially spend all their time there, and just hang around for after work in central drinks. If they venture in, it's undoubtedly for food/coffee/drinks and not much else

[esseph]

Sounds exhausting

[jsmith99]

As a fellow Londoner I can confirm it's worth visiting and the crown jewels are also nicely presented. Don't be fooled into queueing for the bloody tower torture chamber, anything you can see seemed to be a Victorian fantasy.

[mbirth]

What’s even better is that thing with memberships here in the UK. While the single admission price for these “touristy” sites might appear quite steep, usually for not much more (and sometimes even without paying extra) you can become a “member” for a year and return as many times as you wish. This removes the pressure of “making the entrance fee worth it” and made several attractions much more enjoyable for us. Often, it even allows free entry into partner venues.

[legacynl]

I've heard online from (American) immigrants to the Netherlands that Dutch life can seem pretty boring. But I think this just signifies a major cultural difference between the US and other more traditional cultures.

For a dutch person (and I suspect many other countries), life is not measured in the amount of 'cool' stuff you have or do. To me life is about friends, family, health and purpose. If I have that, I'm perfectly happy for every week to be the same as the last, for the rest of my life.

[thenthenthen]

They have been fracking oil like 15 minutes walk from my previous house since 1986… I just found out after seeing a curious sign on a fence around a pretty secluded terrain when taking a stroll. It only became public knowledge a year or so ago when the government announced publicly that they would continue operations for another x years. Protests are still ongoing. Take more local strolls!

[raddan]

More importantly: future tourist trap! You should set up a lemonade stand.

[dyauspitr]

I lived in Manhattan for a decade and never went to see the Statue of Liberty. And it’s not like I wasn’t doing lots of things and I would go out three or four times a week and I’ve been to all sorts of places in NYC. Just never been to the Statue of Liberty.

[Agentlien]

I have a lot of friends from other countries so I've ended up doing a lot of tourist stuff together with them when they've been visiting.

It has been great, gave me another layer of appreciation for my hometown Gothenburg, Sweden.

[wincy]

My grew up on Long Island and not once did she go to a Broadway show. She's a bit regretful about it now that she's moved halfway across the country.

[m463]

I liked ripley's believe it or not in san francisco. Total tourist thing, but fun.