5 ways to discover offbeat spots in your city

Have you been to all the well-known touristy places in your city and often wonder how else you can revisit the place without going back to the same places all the time? Here are five ways of discovering the offbeat spots in your own city that no one tells you about. Bookmark them and start seeing your city in new light.

How to discover local offbeat spots and enjoy sightseeing in your city like never before?

There are several ways to chance upon new places that you might not have considered visiting or have simply overlooked. Follow these five steps so that you can get the best of the places in your own city. And next time a friend comes, show them the real essence of your city.

The 1 km rule:  This is one of the most effective rule to explore any place, whether your own city or a new destination. All you have to do is roughly gauge a 1 km circumference from your starting point and take a walk. This leisurely walk will actually open your eyes to spotting the everyday objects under the lens of the extra-ordinary. You may be able to spot beautifully painted doors and windows in folk art, lamp-posts that tell a story, houses which reflect art deco in the purest form and discover other small aspects about the neighbourhood which you had previously overlooked.

Join a local sightseeing group:  One of the emerging ways to explore your own city better is by joining local sightseeing groups which takes you through lanes and alleys which are off the regular path. These include curated trails like a walk through the art lanes, or a walk through a famous footpath that revels in local craftsmanship, or deciphering the history of a particular space in your city. What more, you also get to meet like-minded people and befriend them.

Talk to locals: Remember the local people of the area know their place like the back of their hand. They will be able to offer you anecdotes steeped in facts and oral histories which no books or maps can offer. It is great to befriend local shopkeepers to know the secrets of the area. You might be surprised to know maybe a particular house, hidden in plain sight, was once the seat of a great ruler; or the local park has an interesting history which you were not aware of.

Use social media wisely: Instead of doom scrolling on social media, put it to good use. Remember, many like-minded people prefer to visit the offbeat places and capture it for their social media pages. Using trending terms like #offbeatplaces #offbeat [city name] #hiddengems may land you onto their pages and you will be able to know more about your city. Further, try and check vlogs and blogs on the same to collect as much information about the place before actually visiting it.

Let history be your map: Move over your regular standard map and create your own by joining bits and pieces of history together. Read up about your city’s history and start creating an area map – in your mind or on actual paper. Now trace that area map in actual land, speak to the locals and you will be able to discover hidden aspects of your city.

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