ADVICES FOR TOURISTS BEFORE ARRIVING TO A CITY.

In fact everything has to do with getting the right information, so about INFORMATION, things like:

- Try to bring with you a guidebook in order to know in advance and afterwards in situ what you can see and visit in that city: places like main squares, interesting parks, museums and their timetables, main streets, important buildings, how to arrive from one place to another (public transportation), map of the city, etc.

- Your first visit should be to the tourist information to know if, apart from the typical visits, there is something new happening on that moment in the city. For example, if you are interested in theatre (plays, street theatre, puppet theatre, etc); in operas house; in a travelling exhibition being showed at that moment; conferences that you could be interested in; etc.

- Accommodation.- In order to choose the right hotel, search on internet a hotel which is close to the center or at least a good connection between city center and the hotel. Depending on how big the city is, you may go walking which is the best means of transportation! I am not very in favour of this touristic buses, which shows you the city in a couple of hours, but if you don´t have much time it can be a possibility. But the point sometimes is how can I choose a good hotel in the sense of being acceptable and not very expensive? Of course by internet there is a lot of information, some comments of users, but are they trustworthy? We thought it would be a good idea, a good business, to create a website with information about the quality of the hotels. A website independent from the hotel´s website so that every tourist can leave his/her comments on it. This information would be very useful in countries like Italy where tourism is older than here in Spain and for example a three stars hotel does not correspond with a three stars hotel in Spain. Here it is a good one but in Italy is almost sure that it is inferior. People get quiet disappointed about it.

- Language.- The best thing is to know the local language as Sir Richard Francis Burton used to learn in his travellings. When you don´t speak the language of the locals you lose information, knowledge, the local culture and also the feeling of being a part of the city. So try to make yourself understood by using a dictionary or these books made for tourists with useful expressions of the daily routine and even with the pronunciation. Don´t feel ashamed to make mistakes when you talk to people. They will help you for sure. On the other hand, a good proposal for the city council would be to place signs and pictures which tell you how far a location is and their directions.

- Transport.- Be informed about the different public transportation the city has such as trains, buses, underground, etc, and if there is an unique ticket to be used for all of them. You will save time and money!