One of the best ways to explore a new city or holiday destination is on foot.
Walking gives you the freedom to discover places you might otherwise miss, stop at interesting attractions and explore at your own pace.
But when you’re visiting somewhere unfamiliar, it isn’t always easy to know which streets to take, how far apart attractions are or how to fit everything into one day.
That’s where planning a self-guided walking tour can make a big difference.
Instead of following a fixed tour schedule, you can create your own walking route, choose the places you want to visit and decide how much distance you’re comfortable covering.
With Map My Distance, you can plan your walking route online for free, measure the distance, check the elevation and save your route so you can return to it later.
Here’s how to plan your own walking tour for your next trip.
What Is a Self-Guided Walking Tour?
A self-guided walking tour is simply a walking route you follow independently rather than joining an organised tour with a guide.
You choose where to start, which attractions to visit and how long you want to spend exploring.
Your route might include:
- Historical buildings and landmarks
- Famous tourist attractions
- Local markets and shopping streets
- Parks and gardens
- Museums and galleries
- Scenic viewpoints
- Cafés and restaurants
- Waterfronts and promenades
- Interesting neighbourhoods
The biggest advantage is flexibility.
If you discover somewhere interesting along the way, you can stop and explore without worrying about keeping up with a tour group.
And if you decide you’ve walked far enough, you can shorten your route or head back to your accommodation.
Why Plan Your Walking Route Before Traveling?
Exploring a city without a plan can be fun, but it can also mean spending more time walking between attractions than you expected.
For example, five attractions might look relatively close together on a map, but the actual walking route between them could be much longer.
Planning beforehand with a route distance calculator helps you:
- Measure how far you’ll actually walk.
- Decide which attractions you can comfortably visit in one day.
- Avoid unnecessary backtracking.
- Find a convenient starting and finishing point.
- Include breaks for food, drinks and sightseeing.
- Check whether your route includes steep climbs.
- Share your plans with friends or family.
You can even use the MMD pace calculator to work out roughly how long your walks or runs in a new place will take.
It also helps you make better use of your time, especially if you’re only visiting a city for a day or two.
How to Plan a Self-Guided Walking Tour
Creating your own sightseeing route doesn’t need to be complicated.
Here are six simple steps.
Choose Your Starting Point
Start by deciding where you want your walking tour to begin.
This could be your hotel, holiday apartment, a train station or a central landmark.
If you’re staying within walking distance of the main attractions, starting from your accommodation can be convenient.
Otherwise, consider starting near a public transport stop or a central location that’s easy to reach.
Open the Map My Distance Walking Route Planner and search for your starting location.
You can then begin creating your route directly on the map.
Choose the Attractions You Want to Visit
Before drawing your route, make a list of places you’d like to see.
For example, you might want to explore a historic part of a city, visit a museum, stop at a market and finish at a scenic viewpoint.
Try to group attractions that are reasonably close together.
This can help you avoid spending unnecessary time walking back and forth across the city.
You don’t need to visit every attraction in one day.
Sometimes a shorter route with more time to explore is much more enjoyable than trying to fit too much into your itinerary.
Create Your Walking Route on a Map
Once you’ve chosen your stops, it’s time to connect them into a walking route.
With Map My Distance, you can add points along the roads and paths you want to follow.
As you add points, the route takes shape on the interactive map.
You can adjust the route to include interesting streets, parks or viewpoints along the way.
Try arranging your stops in an order that avoids unnecessary backtracking.
For example, instead of visiting attractions on opposite sides of a city one after another, plan a route that gradually moves through each area.
Measure the Total Walking Distance
This is one of the most useful parts of planning a walking tour.
A route that looks short on a map might actually involve several kilometres of walking.
MMD calculates the total route distance as you plan, making it easier to decide whether your walking tour is realistic.
As a general guide, a sightseeing walk of around 3–5 km can work well for a relaxed outing with several stops.
A route of 6–10 km may suit a longer day of exploring, depending on your fitness, the terrain and how much time you spend at attractions.
These distances are only examples. Choose something comfortable for your group.
Remember that sightseeing takes longer than ordinary walking because you’ll probably stop frequently.
Check the Elevation and Terrain
Not every city is flat.
Some destinations have steep streets, hills, long stairways or attractions located at higher elevations.
A 5 km walking tour through a flat city centre may feel completely different from a 5 km route through a hilly coastal town.
Map My Distance lets you view an elevation profile for your planned route, helping you see where the major climbs and descents are.
This can be particularly useful if you’re traveling with children, older family members or anyone who prefers less demanding walking routes.
You should also check local access information, pedestrian crossings and any restrictions that may affect your planned route.
Save and Share Your Walking Tour
Once you’re happy with your route, save it to your free MMD account.
This allows you to return to the route later, make changes or use it when preparing for your trip.
If you’re traveling with other people, you can also share the route link so everyone can see the planned walking distance and where you’ll be exploring.
With MMD Pro, you can export saved routes as GPX files for use with compatible GPS watches and navigation apps.
Keep in mind that a planned route is not the same as live turn-by-turn navigation. Always check local conditions and use suitable navigation tools while exploring unfamiliar places.
Should You Plan a Circular Walking Route?
A circular walking route, also called a loop route, begins and ends at approximately the same location.
This can be particularly convenient when traveling.
For example, you could start at your hotel, walk through a historic neighbourhood, visit several attractions and return to your accommodation without needing additional transport.
Circular routes can be useful for:
- Exploring city centres
- Walking through parks
- Visiting waterfront attractions
- Sightseeing around historic neighbourhoods
- Planning morning or evening walks
- Exploring areas near your accommodation
However, a circular route isn’t always the best option.
If the attractions you want to visit are spread along a waterfront or through different neighbourhoods, a point-to-point route may make more sense.
You could finish your walk near a train station or another convenient transport connection.
How Long Should a Sightseeing Walking Tour Be?
The ideal distance depends on how much time you have and how many attractions you want to explore.
Here’s a simple example of how walking distance can affect your plans.
| Walking distance | Approximate walking time | Suggested use |
|---|---|---|
| 2 km | 25–35 minutes | Short neighbourhood walk |
| 3 km | 35–50 minutes | Relaxed local sightseeing |
| 5 km | 1–1.5 hours | Half-day sightseeing route |
| 8 km | 1.5–2.5 hours | Longer city exploration |
| 10 km | 2–3 hours | Full-day walking adventure |
These are approximate moving times and don’t include sightseeing stops, meals, queues or extended breaks.
A 5 km walking route could easily become a half-day outing if you plan to visit museums, stop for lunch and spend time exploring attractions.
When traveling, it’s often better to allow extra time rather than rush from one location to another.
Planning a Walking Route From Your Hotel
Your accommodation can be a great starting point for exploring a new destination.
Before your trip, open a map and look for interesting places within a few kilometres of where you’re staying.
You might discover a nearby waterfront, a park, local cafés or a historic neighbourhood worth visiting.
With MMD, you can create a walking loop that starts and finishes at your hotel.
You can also save several different routes for different days of your trip.
For example:
Day 1: Historic city centre and main attractions.
Day 2: Waterfront and scenic viewpoints.
Day 3: Parks, local neighbourhoods and markets.
This gives you a collection of planned walks without needing to work everything out after you arrive.
What About Running While Traveling?
Walking isn’t the only way to explore somewhere new.
If you enjoy running, traveling can also be a great opportunity to discover new running routes.
Instead of running the same familiar roads every morning, you could plan a route along a waterfront, through a large park or around a scenic neighbourhood.
With MMD’s Running Route Planner, you can create a route that matches the distance you want to run.
For example, you might plan:
- A short 3 km morning run near your hotel.
- A 5 km loop through a local park.
- A scenic 10 km route along a waterfront.
- A longer training run while you’re on holiday.
You can measure the distance, check the elevation and review the route before heading out.
Running in unfamiliar areas does require extra care. Check local safety advice, pedestrian access, traffic conditions and the suitability of the route before leaving.
If you’re traveling with friends who prefer walking, you could even create separate walking and running routes around the same area.
Tips for Exploring a New City on Foot
Planning your walking route is useful, but a little extra preparation can make your day much more enjoyable.
Wear comfortable shoes. Even a relatively short sightseeing route can involve several hours on your feet.
Check the weather. Heat, rain and strong winds can affect how enjoyable a long walking tour will be.
Carry water. Especially if you’re visiting a warm destination or planning to spend several hours outdoors.
Allow time for breaks. Cafés, restaurants and viewpoints can become part of the experience rather than interruptions.
Check opening hours. Make sure attractions, museums and other places you want to visit will be open.
Research local safety and accessibility. A mapped street or path isn’t automatically suitable or safe for pedestrians.
Keep a backup plan. Public transport, taxis or shorter walking options can be useful if your plans change.
And most importantly, don’t feel you need to follow your planned route perfectly.
Sometimes the best discoveries happen when you take an unexpected turn.
Create Your Own Walking Tour With Map My Distance
You don’t need to join an organised sightseeing tour to explore a new destination on foot.
With a little planning, you can create your own route around the places that interest you most.
Map My Distance makes it easy to plan walking routes online, measure distances, explore elevation profiles and save routes for upcoming trips.
Whether you’re planning a relaxed city walk, a sightseeing adventure or a morning run while traveling, MMD can help you prepare before you head out.
Start with the free route planner, explore the map and build a route that works for you.
