Exploring a City
 

I was wondering - how do you find new, fun, and exciting activities, sites, or really just anything to do in a specific city?

For example: Last weekend my plans fell through and I live in Los Angeles. I don't know what I want to do, but I know I want to do something fun and different. What tools do you guys use to find new places to go, especially if you have no clear direction of what you are looking for? Do you have different ways of finding things to do when you are home verses when you are out and about?

I go on the Destination Forum for the city on Trip Advisor and ask what's up.

I usually grab a copy of time out or stranger. Or back issues of sunset. Or I check out the local coffee shop's bulletin board for performances. Or I figure out what category of activity I want and then start googling. I don't generally run short of new bike routes or hiking, though.

Using the local alternative press is a great idea. If you can't find something you are interested in to do in Seattle in The Stranger...well...

If I'm going on a trip I look up the destination cities on the Internet. If there's a recent trip report here on Fodors I will look at it. If there's a destination forum on TA I will take a quick look. Sometimes I buy a guidebook.

I usually arrive in a city with a list of things I really want to do and another list of things that "sound sort of interesting if I have time for it". I also pre-book some things like daytours and concerts or shows.

If I get exhausted or bored I can always go back to my hotel room and sit and read a few hours.

Reddit is often a good daily updated source for user submitted and reviewed events and things to do. There is a reddit for virtually every city with lots of subreddits that focus on various topics. For LA, this link provides a good overview: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskLosAngel...es_megathread/

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