The life of a traveler is a wayward one, which is why it can be hard to stay in the same place for too long. With so many countries to visit and landmarks to see, backpackers sometimes opt to go for the “quick tour” route. That is to say, they choose to visit more cities, but spend less time in those respective cities. Sure, this is helpful because it means they get to see more places. But the question is, can one really get to know a city in only a few days?
The Case For Yes
A few days may be a short amount of time, but you can get so much done in that time. With strategic planning, there’s no reason why one can’t see most of a city’s best landmarks in that timeframe. Heck, there are even tour busses specifically designed for the purpose of navigating the entire city in one day.
The Case For No
Sure, you can see all the important areas, but did you actually experience what the city is all about? You might’ve walked to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but did you internalize what it truly means to be an average citizen of Paris? There are some intangible things in a city that one can only learn if they’ve lived there for long periods of time.
The Consensus
On the surface, you can certainly learn everything there is to know about a city in a few days. However, our belief is that this is only one piece of the puzzle. To truly understand what drives the heartbeat of a town, you need to live there for an extended period of time.