What’s the best way to explore a new city?

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Just a week ago, I reached 150 countries visited and celebrated by running a half marathon in Almaty, Kazakhstan, only my second ever! So I have quite a few cities to compare, but the way I explore them has changed a lot over time.

Over the past year, my favourite way has been to get up early, put on my running shoes and go for a gentle jog. I usually check beforehand where the pedestrian streets, nearest park and post office are, so I can work them into my route. Cities are wonderful in the early morning. I love watching them wake up, with hardly any tourists around and local people heading to work. Ideally, the run ends with takeaway coffee and pastries, if I find a bakery already open.

One of my recent morning adventures was in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, where I discovered that the enormous Ark fortress was already open. With a history stretching back many centuries, it was a whole city within a city. I had heard a story that cooks, musicians and other people serving inside were once forbidden to leave, to prevent secrets from escaping and betrayal from within.

I had no cash with me, and card payments weren’t possible. The guard looked at me for a while as I stood there, then waved me in anyway. The museums were closed, he explained, so I might as well have a look around. What a fortress, and what a view! Fortunately, they let me out again.

That is my ideal way to get a first feel for a city. In practice, it happens far too rarely.