How to Explore a City Like a Local

Whether you’re visiting a city for the first time or the hundredth time, planning what to see and do can sometimes feel like a huge challenge.

What neighbourhoods do you want to explore?

How can you see the top attractions without falling into the tourist traps?

Where can you find the best vintage market or artisan roasted coffee?

That’s where the helpful people at City Unscripted come in. After launching in London in April 2016, City Unscripted also now operates in major cities across Europe, Asia and the Americas! From Berlin to Bangkok, from Stockholm to San Francisco, you can get a unique look at a city from a local’s perspective!

So How Does It Work?

City Unscripted is a personalised travel service that connects you with a city’s locals.

It’s like your own private tour that won’t just take you to every overcrowded hotspot.

In essence, it’s a service that fights back against tick-box tourism and steers you towards authentic city experiences. Through an insider community of locals in more than 30 cities, you can get advice or be shown around by a like-minded host who knows the city intimately and shares your interests.

Get to Know a City Through a Friend Who Lives There

The best city breaks are often those to visit family and friends who know both you and the city inside out, meaning they can offer advice and show you places they know you’ll love.

It was from this concept that City Unscripted was born. The only difference is it’s a like-minded local and not a family member who’ll be showing you around!

Their inspiring community of vetted locals have a wide range of backgrounds and ages, and are collectively fluent in over 25 languages so travellers can connect with their local host culturally as well as with their personality.

There are two distinct ways of connecting with a local:

1. Choosing one yourself after browsing the profiles on the website
2. Letting the City Unscripted team match you with a local who they feel would be a good fit!

Maybe you’ve been to London before but this time around you want to visit the local neighbourhood of Brixton.

Only you don’t really know where to start!

Or maybe it’s your first time in Barcelona and you want to see La Sagrada Familia but don’t want to have to eat some very sorry looking (and overpriced!) tapas afterwards.

This is where your local host comes in.

Based on your likes, dislikes, interests and passions, your host will create a bespoke itinerary for you and show you the very best of what the city has to offer, whether it’s the most authentic local tapas bars in Barcelona or loved by locals independent stores in Brixton.

It’s up to you whether you’d just like advice, in which case you can meet up with a local for an hour or two and pick their brains, or you can opt to be shown around the city by them!

Meet Proud, Enthusiastic Locals

The service is hugely popular, not only with guests, but with the locals themselves.

Each host is passionate about sharing their city and helping travellers discover the best of what’s on offer, whether it’s the iconic attractions or more secret, off-the-beaten-path spots that only locals in the know could share with you!

Yorick, one of City Unscripted’s Amsterdam locals described being part of the community as “the best job I have ever had!”

Who could argue with that?

And traveler Callum said of his experience, “I treated my girlfriend to a private trip around Barcelona which is how we met David. He tailored the tour to our needs and we absolutely enjoyed spending time with him as his passion for the city shines through.”

A Proven Hit

The service is completely trustworthy, safe and secure as each local is individually vetted, verified, insured and trained by the City Unscripted team.

If you’re still a bit unsure, check out the City Unscripted review page, as well as the company’s Trip Advisor for completely unbiased takes on the service.

Bookings start from as little as £30 an hour, so there’s something to suit every budget. For more information about City Unscripted’s exciting and innovative concept, please visit www.cityunscripted.com.