Local Guides
Every pick verified and hand-selected. Filter by category, city and budget to plan your trip.
Every last friday of the month “Karin” folk dance group organizes free traditional dance lessons. The event takes place either outdoors at Cascade Complex (warm months, May-Sept) or indoors at “Naregatsi” Art…
Central Park South
Sustainable luxury a block from Central Park, with farm-to-fork dining.
★ 4.7
$$$
Obchodna
A big, buzzing pub on the main shopping street, loved by students for hearty, affordable Slovak cooking – much of it from the owners’ own organic farm. Eleven rooms each tell a chapter of Slovak history; don’t leave without trying bryndzove halusky, the national dish.
★ 4.2
$
Pantang Village, Liwan
Why it matters: architecture graduate Liu Erxi opened 1200bookshop in July 2014 – Guangzhou’s first 24-hour bookstore – after walking 1,200km around Taiwan on the kindness of strangers, and he paid it forward by keeping a small room of free beds for backpackers, who write in with their story and reasons for wanting to stay. He called himself the city’s night watchman, and in the first two and a half years more than ten thousand people slept here: students, backpackers, people struggling with depression, homeless kids, elderly waste-pickers. Daytime sales covered the nighttime losses, and Liu said he would keep the lights on even if only ten people showed up after dark. The Liwan Lake Park flagship, 1200book&bed, is the one to visit – a bookstore, cafe and hostel in Pantang Village, a 15-minute walk from Changshou Lu metro and the best base for wandering Liwan’s craft workshops and second-hand shops.
Charlottenburg
A playful, jungle-themed design hotel by the Zoo and Ku’damm, with a superb rooftop bar-restaurant (Monkey Bar) overlooking the animals and the Tiergarten. Fun, central-west and full of character.
★ 4.5
$$
Neubau
A playful, circus-themed design hotel right by the MuseumsQuartier, with a buzzy rooftop bar (great sunset views), a good restaurant and free bikes. Fun, central and full of character.
★ 4.5
$$
Zurich West
A playful design hotel in the buzzy Zurich West and Langstrasse district.
★ 4.4
$$
Ballygunge
Classic Bengali home cooking in a restored colonial mansion.
★ 4.5
$$
Prenzlauer Berg
A low-key, small-group alternative to Berlin’s rowdy pub crawls – a local guide leads you through the city’s most unusual underground venues: a ping-pong bar (the iconic Dr. Pong), a horror-themed rock bar, an absinthe bar, squat and beach bars and burlesque clubs, ending at a techno or hip-hop party. ~5 hours; free shots and venue entry included. Bring ID and an AB transport ticket.
★ 4.7
$
Centro
A warm, design-led boutique on the edge of Malasana, themed around the Canary Islands, with a good restaurant and a relaxed, local feel just off the Gran Via. A characterful mid-range base.
★ 4.5
$$
Financial District
A moving, essential timed-entry museum at Ground Zero.
★ 4.4
$
Centre
A world-ranked restaurant celebrating pork in every inventive form.
★ 4.7
$$$
Príncipe Real
Chef Kiko’s tiny, octopus-hung room serving inventive Peruvian-Portuguese ceviche.
★ 4.5
$$
Downtown
This locally run walking food tour is a smart first-day move, pairing bites at independent spots with genuinely useful context on Nashville’s food and music history. Small groups and knowledgeable gui
Bairro Alto
A cornerstone of Lisbon’s fado circuit since 1993 – a tiny former tavern framed by paintings, posters and packed benches, drawing established fadistas and hopefuls alike. Come Monday or Wednesday for fado vadio (amateur fado). Tip: don’t be alarmed by the flaming chorizo – taste it once the flames die.
★ 4.6
$
Chiado
A beautiful shop reviving classic Portuguese-made soaps, ceramics and pantry goods.
★ 4.6
$$
Amsterdam-Noord
A rooftop observation deck across the IJ with a 360-degree panorama – and “Over the Edge,” a swing that dangles you out over the city 100m up. Hop the free ferry behind Centraal Station.
★ 4.6
$$
Centre
A guided stroll through the half-timbered old streets.
★ 4.4
$