Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
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Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
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Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#2This is probably one of my favorite activities in foreign cities - walk or take public transportation aimlessly for a few hours. Buy a snack that catches my eye, or find a cafe or pub to linger at long enough to see the ebb and flow of foot traffic.
Directed tourism is fine, but seeing a few randomly sampled slices of a culture and place gives the experience 'roots' for me in some intangible way.
Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#3This nearly induces a panic attack for me - I need routes, a plan, a map, a goal/end location, and a task. Aimless walking stresses me out big time!
Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#4This is probably one of my favorite activities in foreign cities - walk or take public transportation aimlessly for a few hours. Buy a snack that catches my eye, or find a cafe or pub to linger at long enough to see the ebb and flow of foot traffic. Directed tourism is fine, but seeing a few randomly sampled slices of a culture and place gives the experience 'roots' for me in some intangible way.
Great idea... in a safe city
Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#5Aimless strolling + a certain kind of meditation (concentration) = a pretty good wishing machine.
Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#6[deleted]
Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#7This nearly induces a panic attack for me - I need routes, a plan, a map, a goal/end location, and a task. Aimless walking stresses me out big time!
[deleted]
Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#8This nearly induces a panic attack for me - I need routes, a plan, a map, a goal/end location, and a task. Aimless walking stresses me out big time!
Listen to an audible book while you do it. Treat it as meditation time. Treat it as exercise. Use the time to call your mum or dad.
Lots of things can be done while aimlessly walking.
Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#9I really like this way of exploring! Also a way to just have time to think, I feel like walks are well suited to just to flesh out ideas or reflect on things that I do not have time to reflect on normally.
I love this article from 2012, reflecting on how the web turned from flanerie and aimless surfing to a more controlled experience: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/the-death-...
Re: Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling
#10This is probably one of my favorite activities in foreign cities - walk or take public transportation aimlessly for a few hours. Buy a snack that catches my eye, or find a cafe or pub to linger at long enough to see the ebb and flow of foot traffic. Directed tourism is fine, but seeing a few randomly sampled slices of a culture and place gives the experience 'roots' for me in some intangible way.
Great idea... in a safe city
The same behaviors will get you mugged in safe cities and unsafe cities.
Wonder like a local. Look casually disinterested just like you're walking home from work.