Hi Reader,

The more popular a place is, the less culture you'll probably find there and the more gimmicky it will be.

The Eiffel Tower is incredible to see in person, but you don't get much of a chance to experience what Parisian life is like while you stand underneath it.

The colosseum in Rome is an iconic site, but there are a ton of vendors outside selling mass produced souvenirs geared toward tourists.

Big Ben is super cool to see in person, but if that's all you see on your trip to London, have you really experienced British culture?

So how do you find balance between seeing iconic sites and experiencing culture?

🚲 When planning your trip, choose activities from Get Your Guide or Airbnb Experiences to do early on in your trip. Activities through these providers are typically led by local guides and have options that usually include more cultural activities like cooking classes, textile workshops, and farm visits.

Your tour guide can be the inside scoop to finding out other local experiences, shops, and restaurants to enjoy later in your trip. When Amanda did an e-bike tour of Rome that took her to the colosseum at sunrise, there was hardly anyone there because of the early time, and she got to learn some local recommendations from her tour guide in the process. She got to see the big attraction without the crowds AND some culture because of it.

📅 Look at local event calendars and keep an eye out specifically for weekly markets, festivals, live music, and workshops/hands on experiences geared toward locals. When we visited one of the world's largest book festivals in Wales, one of our favorite experiences was going to a campground that had food trucks on the weekends with local bands playing live music. We found out about it by looking at the town's event calendar!

🍽️ Avoid restaurants where menus are pasted on the windows and people trying to wave you in to eat. This screams that the restaurant specifically caters to tourists. Food in places like this is usually mid at best.

🏘️ Research what neighborhoods offer the vibes you are looking for before booking your accommodations. Being near all the big attractions usually means the area will be more touristy. Staying just one neighborhood over though could offer a whole different experience in the best way.

🫱🏾‍🫲🏼 Stay in locally owned accommodations. Airbnbs and VRBOs can put you in residential neighborhoods that give you a local feel while still being close to big attractions. Plus, your host can be a great resource in suggesting activities, restaurants, and shops that are off the beaten path.

There's also something more personable about staying in a local's home compared to a hotel. Like for our 4 day Belfast itinerary, we stayed in a bed and breakfast where the host walked up multiple flights of stairs to surprise us with wine and toys for Kayla's daughter to play with. She also gave us an excellent recommendation for the best fish and chips in the area!

In Amsterdam, we stayed in an apartment in De Pijp - a lovely residential neighborhood where our apartment had pet rabbits on the back terrace that we got to feed. And that's how we learned that rabbits are an incredibly common pet to have in Amsterdam - We would have had no idea otherwise!

🛝 If you're traveling with kids, don't just take them to museums, take them to playgrounds to play with local children. When we were in Paris, we took Kayla's daughter to a playground every single day that was across the street from where we were staying. All of the children spoke French, and Kayla's daughter only spoke English. But she had a grand ole' time playing with them and this created a local experience for her to enjoy too even though she was only two at the time.

There's certainly nothing wrong with visiting tourist sites. But you can learn so much more about a place by delving in a little deeper.

Let us know if you have any other ways to experience culture on a trip!

From our suitcase to yours,

Kayla & Amanda

​The Stickered Suitcase​

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