00:00:00
Speaker 1: On the BBC website, I learned about a travel philosophy which was new to me. It's called tiny tourism, and apparently it was a term coined earlier this year by a UK based creative platform called It's Nice That. It's what they call a counter trend, and the idea is that it snubs overcrowded hotspots and bucket lists in favor of seeking out small, hyperlocal experiences. The principle can be boiled down to one rule. If it feels like a tourist would do this, then you, as a tiny tourist, don't do it. Andrew Thompson is a travel writer and joins us Now, Andrew, are you attracted to the idea of tiny tourism?
00:00:45
Speaker 2: Yeah, John, I didn't know it had a name, but I realized when I read the article earlier today that I've actually been doing a version of this for years. But I think where I differ a little bit from the hardened definition of tiny tourism is that you don't necessarily need to deprive yourself of the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty to sort of prove your sophisticated traveler. I think there's space for both, and I like to do both of those and find a mix that kind of leaves me with a more rounded idea of a city. So I love the idea of the smaller, lesser visited attractions. I hate those cliches like hidden gems and bucket lists, but I do think sometimes there's a case for both.
00:01:28
Speaker 1: I would hate to go to a big city or a fabulous region and miss out on the things that have made that city attractive and that region attractive. And as one of the nice things about having the good fortune to be able to go back to cities. I think I've been to Paris probably ten times now, and the most recent time I was there was with my seventieth birthday last March. And yes I did not redown because it had been refurbished. And yes I did suck recur because I just love that cathedral and I love them or more region, but I mean for the rest, didn't take public transport, didn't go to any of the big galleries, didn't do any of the sites. Basically walk the streets and said, oh, that's a nice house. Oh, actually des Ga once painted a picture there. Let me go in and see what that's like. And that's an interesting cafe, lots of cats in that cafe. Oh it's called Cafe Leschat. That explains it and doing it that way. But I'd hate to go to any place that is famous as a tourist attraction and not explore at least one or two of the things that helped put it on the tourist map.
00:02:41
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, I think the sort of the kicker for me is that place has become famous for good reasons, and those reasons for Paris that you've listed be absolutely the reasons. And I think Paris is probably the number one city where I would, especially for a first time visitor, tell them to tick off the hotspots. But if I'd never been to I'm not going to sort of nobly refuse to visit the rain Assia, you know, just to say I refuse to go where the tourists are going. And I think the concept of it is a little bit flawed. Of tiny tourism is a little bit flawed in that I almost guarantee you that every local parision, although they might turn their nose up, I think now it's been to the News Museum at least once. So to go there as a visitor and say I'm not going to go there on a point of principle is flawed. But I've had many experiences similar to what you've described. They're going for an early morning run through Lucern because I couldn't afford another night in the hotel, and thinking, let me just see what the streets are like, and running through markets as they've been set up in the morning, or even the joy of sitting on a metro or the New York City underground and just sort of observing and watching people go about their daily business. I think leaves me with a far deeper understanding of a city that actually, oftentimes those moments have sat with me far longer than sort of the que for the generic museum. So I think it goes back to finding that balance. And often it's those those kind of unique experiences that are are devoid of the massive tourist cues that leave me feeling a little bit more sort of connected to a city.
00:04:15
Speaker 1: And one of the things that tiny tourists is supposed to do is visit pharmacies and supermarkets. And I love visiting supermarkets in countries that are not my own, you know. I love walking into a country in a country supermarket in Tuscany somewhere, or in Dublin. When I was in Dublin last year, found this, just this most extraordinary supermarket were the most wonderful and bizarre fruit and vegetables, and a bakery that was doing it. The smells were divine, and I could comfortably spend a couple of days going into places like that and avoid I mean, I've been to Dublin a couple of times and I've never been to Temple Bar because the idea of it just, I don't know, there's just too many people and the pursuit of drunken hedonism is just unattractive.
00:05:07
Speaker 2: I agree. I think my favorite is often the bakery as well, but not the ones where there's a massive line of people standing outside to get the latest crasslin or whatever. But it's sort of the one where there's a there's a woman who doesn't speak English, and you put your euro coin on the dirty counter and she sort of wraps up a Pam chocola and throws it in your direction. And those are the sort of the moments that are the real sort of friction and excitement and a trip. So that and supermarkets as well, just standing in front of a wall of cheese in Switzerland, or sort of filtering through the chocolate that's every day chocolate in a supermarket in Swuitzerland, but is a massive treat for us here. To me, it's it's it's sort of a wonderful experience and a wonderful way to experience a city and often the whole country in a pretty cool little snapshot.
00:05:57
Speaker 1: Forty five seconds. I've never seen the attraction of the sitting pharmacies in foreign countries.
00:06:02
Speaker 2: You no, no, And usually when I have, it's because I'm unwell and desperately need to be cured, so it's not a huge thing. But I do think American pharmacies are something to check out. They far less pharmacies and far more more sort of attractions in the products that they sell. So maybe that's the exception walking to a New York City pharmacy for something unusual.
00:06:24
Speaker 1: Thank you very much. Travel writer Andrew Thompson
Speaker 1: On the BBC website, I learned about a travel philosophy which was new to me. It's called tiny tourism, and apparently it was a term coined earlier this year by a UK based creative platform called It's Nice That. It's what they call a counter trend, and the idea is that it snubs overcrowded hotspots and bucket lists in favor of seeking out small, hyperlocal experiences. The principle can be boiled down to one rule. If it feels like a tourist would do this, then you, as a tiny tourist, don't do it. Andrew Thompson is a travel writer and joins us Now, Andrew, are you attracted to the idea of tiny tourism?
00:00:45
Speaker 2: Yeah, John, I didn't know it had a name, but I realized when I read the article earlier today that I've actually been doing a version of this for years. But I think where I differ a little bit from the hardened definition of tiny tourism is that you don't necessarily need to deprive yourself of the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty to sort of prove your sophisticated traveler. I think there's space for both, and I like to do both of those and find a mix that kind of leaves me with a more rounded idea of a city. So I love the idea of the smaller, lesser visited attractions. I hate those cliches like hidden gems and bucket lists, but I do think sometimes there's a case for both.
00:01:28
Speaker 1: I would hate to go to a big city or a fabulous region and miss out on the things that have made that city attractive and that region attractive. And as one of the nice things about having the good fortune to be able to go back to cities. I think I've been to Paris probably ten times now, and the most recent time I was there was with my seventieth birthday last March. And yes I did not redown because it had been refurbished. And yes I did suck recur because I just love that cathedral and I love them or more region, but I mean for the rest, didn't take public transport, didn't go to any of the big galleries, didn't do any of the sites. Basically walk the streets and said, oh, that's a nice house. Oh, actually des Ga once painted a picture there. Let me go in and see what that's like. And that's an interesting cafe, lots of cats in that cafe. Oh it's called Cafe Leschat. That explains it and doing it that way. But I'd hate to go to any place that is famous as a tourist attraction and not explore at least one or two of the things that helped put it on the tourist map.
00:02:41
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, I think the sort of the kicker for me is that place has become famous for good reasons, and those reasons for Paris that you've listed be absolutely the reasons. And I think Paris is probably the number one city where I would, especially for a first time visitor, tell them to tick off the hotspots. But if I'd never been to I'm not going to sort of nobly refuse to visit the rain Assia, you know, just to say I refuse to go where the tourists are going. And I think the concept of it is a little bit flawed. Of tiny tourism is a little bit flawed in that I almost guarantee you that every local parision, although they might turn their nose up, I think now it's been to the News Museum at least once. So to go there as a visitor and say I'm not going to go there on a point of principle is flawed. But I've had many experiences similar to what you've described. They're going for an early morning run through Lucern because I couldn't afford another night in the hotel, and thinking, let me just see what the streets are like, and running through markets as they've been set up in the morning, or even the joy of sitting on a metro or the New York City underground and just sort of observing and watching people go about their daily business. I think leaves me with a far deeper understanding of a city that actually, oftentimes those moments have sat with me far longer than sort of the que for the generic museum. So I think it goes back to finding that balance. And often it's those those kind of unique experiences that are are devoid of the massive tourist cues that leave me feeling a little bit more sort of connected to a city.
00:04:15
Speaker 1: And one of the things that tiny tourists is supposed to do is visit pharmacies and supermarkets. And I love visiting supermarkets in countries that are not my own, you know. I love walking into a country in a country supermarket in Tuscany somewhere, or in Dublin. When I was in Dublin last year, found this, just this most extraordinary supermarket were the most wonderful and bizarre fruit and vegetables, and a bakery that was doing it. The smells were divine, and I could comfortably spend a couple of days going into places like that and avoid I mean, I've been to Dublin a couple of times and I've never been to Temple Bar because the idea of it just, I don't know, there's just too many people and the pursuit of drunken hedonism is just unattractive.
00:05:07
Speaker 2: I agree. I think my favorite is often the bakery as well, but not the ones where there's a massive line of people standing outside to get the latest crasslin or whatever. But it's sort of the one where there's a there's a woman who doesn't speak English, and you put your euro coin on the dirty counter and she sort of wraps up a Pam chocola and throws it in your direction. And those are the sort of the moments that are the real sort of friction and excitement and a trip. So that and supermarkets as well, just standing in front of a wall of cheese in Switzerland, or sort of filtering through the chocolate that's every day chocolate in a supermarket in Swuitzerland, but is a massive treat for us here. To me, it's it's it's sort of a wonderful experience and a wonderful way to experience a city and often the whole country in a pretty cool little snapshot.
00:05:57
Speaker 1: Forty five seconds. I've never seen the attraction of the sitting pharmacies in foreign countries.
00:06:02
Speaker 2: You no, no, And usually when I have, it's because I'm unwell and desperately need to be cured, so it's not a huge thing. But I do think American pharmacies are something to check out. They far less pharmacies and far more more sort of attractions in the products that they sell. So maybe that's the exception walking to a New York City pharmacy for something unusual.
00:06:24
Speaker 1: Thank you very much. Travel writer Andrew Thompson
