How to be a better tourist in Europe’s most visited cities

'Obviously don't stand on the left of an escalator. But beyond that, be aware that London has a thriving Crap industry, designed to separate tourists from their money. Crap restaurants, crap tours, crap pubs, crap shops, none of which deserve a minute of your time. If you chance it with some shabby centrally located cafe in Barcelona or Lisbon, it might well be excellent. The equivalent places in London are all bad and simply entering them will make you depressed. Without any planning you might well pinball from one of these places to the others, becoming increasingly disenchanted with London, and eventually life.' – Joe Mackertich, editor at Time Out London

'There's a Portuguese saying – ‘comer gato por lebre’ – which translates to ‘to buy a pig in a poke’. It means being tricked into thinking you've got something high-quality, but it's actually common, fake, or just plain bad. If you want to be a savvy tourist in Lisbon, don't fall for the traps of supposedly traditional restaurants proudly offering Spanish paellas, English breakfasts, and Porto's francesinhas as if they were local delicacies.' – Vera Moura, editor at Time Out Portugal

‘Here’s a simple trick to be a good tourist in Amsterdam: treat it as you would your hometown. Would you drink and yell and smoke weed on your city streets? Refuse to speak any of the local language? Spend all your time at chains and tourist traps? Unlikely. Instead, you’d be respectful. You’d put a little effort in, treat it as somewhere you want to preserve and honour, not like a hedonistic Disneyland. After all, home is about being part of a community, not separate from it.’ – Callum Booth, writer at Time Out Amsterdam

‘Yes, they look sehr Berlin. But don't film people in the German capital for your holiday reel! Berlin residents are very photo-adverse, and you should ask permission if you are desperate for a shot. Plus, it’s just kind of… creepy? A friend of mine caught a tourist filming them the other day and asked why they were doing so. ‘You look so pretty!’ was their reply. We’re not animals in the zoo – it’s just weird.’ – Kate Bettes, writer at Time Out Berlin

‘Walking around without thinking about updating your Instagram story or capturing content for reels changes your life. You will appear as a person open to encounters and exchanges, not someone looking to stage their existence. And – magic – you will meet people! Isn’t that the goal of a trip?’ – Antoine Besse, restaurants and bars editor at Time Out Paris

‘Choose unknown dishes from the menu. Why travel the world if it's to end up eating the same dishes as back home? Travelling means putting yourself (a little) at risk. Ask locals what they recommend and try some regional specialties. Don’t photograph your plate – taste it, enjoy it. At worst, if you don’t like it, it makes for a good story to tell.

‘My second tip? Take a step aside. Dare to leave the highly touristic areas and – with modesty and respect – explore more authentic neighborhoods, older shops, and less ‘trendy’ bars.’ – Antoine 

‘An easy way to be a better traveller? Visit popular locations in the ‘off-season’. Not only will you have a better experience thanks to fewer crowds and more affordable accommodations, but you’ll put less strain on local businesses who are overworked during peak periods. In Italy, this means visiting Rome in early December, Venice in November and the Amalfi Coast in April (just be mindful of Easter holidays).’ – Livia Hengel, writer at Time Out Italy and founder of The Italy Edit

‘I highly recommend travelling slowly, or regionally, through Italy. This means focusing on one key destination (like Rome) and then visiting smaller towns surrounding it rather than trying to traverse all of Italy’s highlights in one week. In just one hour drive from Rome you can reach beautiful seaside towns, a mini Pompeii, volcanic lakes, garden villas, Etruscan tombs and more. Italy is dense so you don’t need to travel far to have an incredibly fulfilling cultural experience.’ – Livia

‘The reality is that most tourists who visit our city are respectful people. Of course, some rude individuals litter the streets, some drink and shout excessively, and others occupy public spaces without considering the inconvenience they might cause to locals. However, the main complaint about visitors – beyond choosing chain restaurants over great places to try our food like Time Out Market Barcelona – is that there are simply too many of them. Last year, 15.6 million people visited Barcelona, while we Barcelonans barely exceed one and a half million. 

‘The problem isn’t just the physical pressure of this saturation in certain neighbourhoods and points of interest; it has also had negative economic repercussions, such as a 68 percent increase in rents over the last 10 years. Tourists need to take this context into account when planning their visit consciously: where they choose to stay, where they will eat, what attractions they will visit, how they will interact with locals, what souvenirs they will buy… whether their visit has a positive or negative impact will depend on these considerations, and will likely allow them to enjoy a much more authentic Barcelona.’ – Maria José Gómez, editor at Time Out Barcelona