Beyond Sightseeing: The Art of Exploring Cities

By Alexander Garvin

As vivid as it is practical, Beyond Sightseeing distills the considerable insights Alexander Garvin has acquired through a lifetime of traveling the world over in his career as one of the nation’s most notable urban planners. With historical context, personal stories, and photos from his own travels to locales as far flung as Moscow and Seville, Paris and Havana, Garvin generously invites the reader to view cities through his expert lens. Far from a travel guide, this book is a beguiling invitation to the joys of slow travel—transporting readers while equipping them to transcend tourist destinations to create their own unique experience of the places they visit.

Garvin is the author of six other books on cities including, The American City: What Works, What Doesn’t, winner of the American Institute of Architects book award in urbanism and What Makes a Great City, published by Island Press in 2016. Unlike his other professional books, which are devoted primarily to American cities, Beyond Sightseeing deals with tourist destinations around the world to which Garvin travelled. The principles it sets forth are applicable to places and cities anywhere in the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9780795300882

Book preview

Chapter 1

FINDING & EXPLORING TOURIST DESTINATIONS WITH A SLOW TRAVEL APPROACH

People travel to cities and tourist destinations for two reasons: to encounter new and unfamiliar places, or to return to old favorites in order to explore recent changes or see something they missed previously. And if you currently live in a great city, you too might want to slow down and see it with a new perspective. Whatever your reason, you will need to prepare for the visit, acquire the necessary equipment, and adopt a schedule that maximizes what you can accomplish during your stay while also allowing you to slow down and enjoy your vacation.

You should begin with the obvious, by spending a few minutes exploring the internet to find out about the places you wish to visit. I say a few minutes because I don’t recommend spending a lot of time researching tourist attractions. Don’t be tempted to see everything. Instead, you should choose just a few destinations and identify the different aspects of a city discussed throughout this book that you will want to explore in depth. You’ll want to brush up on some history by picking up a good history book or recent biography or even an interesting blog or magazine article. Browse light-weight guidebooks that are easy to take with you on walks. Then purchase the one you like best. Do the same with maps of your destinations. Yes, a printed map! Having a map will allow you to plan your excursions in advance, learn the names of streets, and create a mental layout of the city to help guide you without the distraction of technology. Slow travel means daring to leave your phone in your hotel room so your head stays up and your eyes search for the unexpected, not following a moving blue