How not to be recognized as a tourist in ...
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
If you live in an area that is sometimes crowded with tourists, you may feel the irresistible desire to run away and go somewhere else. But be aware: The old saying goes that everybody is a foreigner almost anywhere. And no matter where you go, you will be the foreigner, the intruder, the tourist, the one who has to be trapped. Native folks will sometimes change their usual behaviour dramatically as soon as you are identified to be a tourist. You may like that. You may even be able to romanticize all those folklore routines that are inevitable performed. But maybe you prefer to 'blend in', not to intrude, not to lose your incognito. Be warned: This is hard. It is sometimes impossible due to ethnic reasons. There are, however, some rules that might help you to avoid the worst mistakes, and maybe even to be mistaken for a native person by other tourists or even by native people (this is the holy grail).
Italy
- Do not walk on the sunny side of the street. Only tourists do. All others will try to stay in the shadow.
- If you are male, wear suit jacket, necktie and sunglasses. This will set an additional limit to the amount of 'typically tourist' gadgets you might otherwise be willing to carry. Do not wear sandals and white socks.
- Avoid to go out during the 'siesta'. You may be anxious not to 'waste' a single moment of your more or less expensive holiday by sleeping during the mid-day / early aftermoon hours. But especially during the holiday season you will notice that lots of places that might be of interest (churches, museums, ...) are closed anyhow.