Here comes a sentence that is sure to come back and bite me in the butt someday if I ever decide to run for political office…

I’m a street walker.

By that, of course, I mean that when traveling I very much enjoy discovering a city using my two feet, as opposed to taking some form of motorized transportation everywhere. I’m sure many of you reading this are similar in this way. And I’m even more sure many Business Traveller forum members are the same too, as they share their love of walking in this thread.

Looking ahead to this year’s travels, I already know that the cities I am most excited about visiting are those I imagine will be good for exploring on foot. … Sunrise on Lake Léman in Geneva, the French Concession in Shanghai, Nevsky Prospekt in St Petersburg, the Tiergarten in Berlin or, a personal favourite, the English Garden in Munich. ~Anonymous

Any spare time when travelling I walk. … The local ways of life can be seen so much better from 2 feet rather than 4 wheels. ~MartynSinclair

I’ve had some of my best wanders in Bangkok, KL, Hanoi, Saigon, Berlin and Istanbul. Invariably they have ended up finding things to eat that were superb. I still say the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten was in a soi close to the Tha Chang river express stop sitting on a plastic stool at a plastic table and a lady cooked up the most amazing feast for me, I was never able to find her a second time. ~Henkel.Trocken

MartynSinclair also writes, “Who needs a hotel gym to keep fit.” How true. Despite making every attempt to eat my weight in cream and butter on most trips, I find that I usually arrive back home at the same weight, or perhaps even having dropped a couple of pounds due to all of the walking.

What about you? Are you a street walker when you travel (if you happen to be a street walker when you are home you might want to keep that bit of information to yourself)? If so, do you map out your walks or let the road take you where it may?

Any other tips you would share with fellow street walkers or would-be walkers?

My tip: Don’t count on the “organizers” of the “organized” walking tours you will see advertised in San Francisco to actually show up and conduct the tour. Perhaps I have just had bad luck, but I’m two for two on arriving at the scheduled tour starting point only to be left wanting – along with several other walking tour wannabes.

Fortunately, San Francisco can be explored quite agreeably by foot with no guide required – though you will want a good pair of walking shoes and some pre-trip hill work in preparation.

Read the thread in its entirety: Frequent traveller: Street walking