1. How to choose the main topic of my tour?

• What’s the typical free walking tour?
• What topic should I choose for my tour?
•  Topics beyond the typical free walking tour?

What’s the typical free walking tour?

• Overview of the city: free walking tours are not used to go in-depth on a particular topic, but to show what the city can offer to the traveler.

• Most important sites, stories and topics: the tour includes the most important and emblematic monuments, topics (gastronomy, architecture, art, …) and stories about the city.

• Historical evolution: the evolution of the history of the city is usually explained, from its foundation to the present day and it’s the common thread of the tour. 

• Curiosities, legends and anecdotes: travelers don’t want to hear again what they read earlier on the Internet. It’s important to surprise them with lesser known but curious and interesting stories.

• Fun and entertaining: travelers expect to have fun and have a good time.

• Personal touch and recommendations: travelers expect to receive good recommendations, both for places to see after the tour, as well as restaurants, …

• Adapted for everyone: it’s a basic tour, that everyone can enjoy: families, young people, … regardless of their personal interests or their country of origin.

What topic should I choose for my tour?

• Look at the free walking tours offered in your city. They can give you ideas of what you could do. But you also have to think about how you could stand out. If there are already several free tours about the historic center, perhaps it would be interesting to choose another theme. But you can also stand out in another way: offer a tour in another language, schedule at a different time than the rest, or choose your own approach, … Here you can search for your city and see all the tours that are offered in your city.

• What is your city famous for? Apart from the old town, your city is perhaps famous for something else. Think about what travelers have in mind about your city, what are they looking for and they would be interested to know? It can be a famous person, a neighborhood, an era, an artistic style, a typical food, … In the next part, we explain it to you in detail.

Topics beyond the typical free walking tour?

Street art tour

After the typical free tour, it’s one of the most popular. In a couple of hours, you go through the area of your city with the greatest number of urban art works. Not all cities have an urban artistic heritage, but if yours does and if you are passionate about it, it might be a good tour idea for you. This is what many gurus who live in the 13th “comuna” of Medellín decided to do. So did our guru Magda in Athens or Susana in Porto.

In this case, you explain the different art works, their interpretation, their stories, their author, etc. Keep in mind that the route is changing, since the art works are not eternal and new ones can appear, so you have to be aware and constantly update your route.

Food tour

The food tour is another very popular free walking tour topic. The common thread is to discover local food with travelers and it can be organized in different ways. If you are passionate about food, this is the main topic you have to choose!

For example, our guru Benardo in Amsterdam takes travelers to different shops and restaurants where he made agreements to receive a free sample of food for each traveler. During the tour, many travelers end up buying products in these places, which makes everyone happy. It’s also what the Balkan Bites agency does in Sofia.

Another example is Can in Istanbul or the Hanoi Free Tour agency. They have another approach, in which they take travelers to places where there is a lot of street food or markets and each traveler pays what they want to try.

In this case, you can explain the typical and traditional dishes, the stories behind these dishes, how they are eaten, how they are prepared, where to eat like a local, …

Alternative neighborhood tour

Alternative neighborhood tour

After seeing the old town and the most essential of the city, there are often other very interesting neighborhoods to discover! Maybe you even live in one of these neighborhoods?

For example, the Free Walking Tours London agency offers several tours in different neighborhoods of London, such as the financial center “The City” or the alternative neighborhood “Camden Town”.

It can also be another kind of place, not only a neighborhood. For example, in Moscow, our guru Cesar has created a metro tour! Another example is the famous Colosseum in Rome that has an exclusive tour.

Dark Legends and Ghosts Tour

They are usually done at night, to better appreciate the dark stories and legends that scare travelers. It’s a very popular kind of tour, and each city has its dark side and ghost legends.
For example, in Edinburgh, we have various gurus who have chosen this topic for their guided tours.

Tour of a period or a famous person

Is there a famous person in your city that you are passionate about, and is there a possibility to create a route? Don’t waste a second and start creating your tour on it!

This is what our guru Belen did in London with her tour of Jack The Ripper! In Florence, we have an agency that has dedicated a tour to the powerful Medici family! Another example, in Rome, with the tour about the artists Bernini and Borromini.

In addition, it can be about a particular period, such as the tour of the Spanish inquisition in Madrid, another of the Soviet period in Moscow or this tour of the medieval period in Valencia.
But it can also be from an artistic era, touring the most beautiful examples of modernism in Barcelona or art nouveau in Brussels.

Based on a book or movie

Based on a book or movie

Perhaps your city was the star of a famous book or where a famous movie or series was filmed.

For example, our guru Aurora from Madrid offers a tour based on the scenarios where the Netflix series ”Money Heist” was filmed. The same with the famous Harry Potter stories, which have tours in London and Edinburgh and which are one of the most reserved guruwalks by travelers visiting these cities.

Social awareness tour

This is an example that we love and through which we can make known subjects that really matter: the reality that exists in many countries so that we all become aware of it and what better way to do it than with the help of a local?

We have for example a feminist tour of the forgotten women of the history of Madrid. But it could also be a tour of awareness of the environment, LGBT, local entrepreneurship, or the social reality of people “homeless” or living with few resources. The traveler could be brought closer to these and other realities through the favelas in Rio de Janeiro or the Bronx in New York.

Other main topics

There are thousands of different options depending on your passion and the city where you live.

• We have tours that focus on nature or the most beautiful urban parks, talking about local fauna and flora or the history of these places.
• We have music tours, like a British rock tour in London.
• There are also tours about mythology in Greece, or of the Viking gods. You could even do a tour about the Loch Ness monster.
• They can be tours at night, at sunset or taking travelers to different viewpoints to appreciate the city from another angle.
• …

2. Itinerary: how to plan the tour route?

1. Make a list of places of interest

To identify them, you can search for other similar tours on Google and GuruWalk and see the key places featured in their itinerary. Also, researching and reading about your topic in your city will give you more ideas about the  places you can include.

Example: in Brussels, some of the most emblematic places to see are: the Atomium, Cathedral, Royal Palace, Town Hall, Grand Place, Manneken Pis, the Stock Exchange, Delirium Bar, Royal Galleries Saint Hubert, the King’s House, Monts des Arts, Royal Park, Parliament, European Parliament, Place du jeu de balle, Courthouse, the Fiftieth Anniversary Park, Royal Theater of La Monnaie, Martyrs’ Square, Central Station, the Sablon, the old defensive walls, gate of Halle, the canal, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart …

2. Highlight the 10 most important places

If you do a general tour, search on the Internet for the city main landmarks (TripAdvisor, blogs, …). In addition, you can ask the tourist office, since they know what travelers are most interested in according to the main topic of your tour. Moreover, check out the itinerary of other tours similar to yours.

Example in Brussels of a general city tour: Atomium, cathedral, royal palace, town hall, Grand Place, Manneken Pis, the Stock Exchange, Royal Galleries Saint Hubert, Courthouse and Mont des Arts.

3. Define the area/neighborhood for your tour

You will then clearly see that you may not be able to visit some of the places as they will be too far from the other landmarks. However, if this happens with one of the most important places, don’t scrap it and try to find a way to include it. 

In the case of the general city tour of Brussels, the most important places are located in the old town. We have to remove the Atomium and the Courthouse as they are located too far from the rest. 

4. Define a first itinerary with the main stops

Now let’s go back to the list you created on Google Maps and try to create a tour. Put the first place and you just have to click “how to get there” and add the second, then the third etc. (If you don’t know very well how to create a route in Google, take a look at this post).

You will also have to put these places of interest in order. Do it by taking the following things into consideration: 

• Minimize distances to the maximum. Travelers want to see places and hear stories and walk as little as possible! Don’t go through the same place twice! 
• Think about the structure of your tour. If you do a historical tour, it’s better if you start in the oldest part. Your tour must have a coherent common thread.
• Think about a flat or downward route. This way you avoid travelers getting tired. Google Maps even puts this information on your itinerary. In the lower left corner of the map above, you can see it says “mostly flat”. If you click the down arrow, you can even see all the leveling. It’s better to start in the upper part of your city. Going down is always easier than the contrary.

The first place should be well known, as it will be your meeting point (we have a post dedicated to the meeting point here). The last place also has to impress travelers. Both have to be well-connected so that travelers can easily carry on with  their visit of the city. That’s why we recommend circular routes.

So there you go, you have just created your first itinerary! It’s not perfect, and it still needs to be improved, but it has already given you an excellent idea on how to plan your tour’s route. 

For example in Brussels, we have an almost circular itinerary of the 8 highlights we had on the list. We chose the Grand Place as a starting point as it is the historical heart of the city, a well-known and well-connected place and one of the oldest (which is important on a historical tour). We ended up at the Mont de Arts, which offers one of the most beautiful views of the city.

5. Add extra places and topics

• Related to a place: what’s important here is the monument or the building. You already have an itinerary with the main ones, but let’s now go back to the first list you made to see if other places of interest are close to your itinerary: zoom in on Google Maps to see what you will find along the way and get outside and do the route yourself to explore the area and see for yourself what it’s like.
• Related to a topic: aside from the places, think about the different topics you want to cover. Your tour has a main topic, which can be divided into different sub-topics that are not always related to a particular place. For example, on a food tour, these different topics could be about the history of some dishes, the interesting ways of preparing them, special celebrations, etc. On a general city tour, you could speak about the country, an important time period, gastronomy, famous people who are from your city, … This kind of explanation fits well when you have to walk a lot between 2 places of interest.

It’s time to think carefully about the order of the different places and topics in order to create a common thread. Since you can’t change the places from where they are, think carefully about how to add explanations based on sub-topics to create a coherent structure.

In the end, for a 2h-2h30 tour, you should have about 10 stops.

For example, on the Brussels general tour, we optimized the route with these additional topics and places of interest:

1. Grand Place: here we added several places of interest that can be seen in the square.

——> The statue of Everard t’Serclaes: a landmark that is also in the Grand Place and where we explain the legend behind it. 

2. Town Hall

——> Tintin Mural. On the way to the Manneken Pis, you pass a mural representing Tintin and we take the opportunity to talk about its history and the importance of comics in Belgium.

3. Manneken Pis

4. Stock exchange

——> On the way to the stock exchange, you pass by an area with restaurants, and here we take the opportunity to talk about typical Belgian food and beers. We also stop to see the “peeing girl” statue on the way and one of the most famous bars in the city.

5. Royal Galleries St Hubert 

6. Cathedral

—–> As the walk to the Royal Palace is quite long, you can stop in the Royal Park to explain its history and talk about the Belgian revolution.

7. Royal Palace

—–> As the walk to point 8  is a bit long, we make an extra stop to rest and do a small quiz about famous Belgians. This is a fun and easy stop, which is perfect as you can tell travelers are already a little tired.

8. Mont des arts.

In addition, you can always mention curious and fun facts that we see on the way.

6. Try out your route to improve the itinerary

• Perhaps Google showed you a route that can no longer be used or is under construction?
  
• Maybe some places are uncomfortable to make your explanations: lots of people, lots of traffic, …)?
• Perhaps a store along the way sells something that could help you introduce one of your topics?
• Where could you go in case of rain or if it’s very hot?
• Is your itinerary accessible to everyone: the elderly, families with baby carriages, …)?
• …
  

For example, on the Brussels general tour, we optimized the tour this way:

1. Grand Place:

——> The statue of Everard t’Serclaes: It’s a protected place in case of rain.

2. Town Hall

——> Tintin mural and comics.

3. Manneken Pis: As the place is small and full of tourists, we will first give time to take photos and then explain the spot out of the crowd.

4. Stock Exchange

——> Gastronomy stop

5. Royal Galleries Saint Hubert: There are also restaurants, so in case of rain, I would rather introduce the typical food here.

6. Cathedral

—–> It has also been adapted to go through a street that goes up to avoid the stairs, although it is a bit longer.

7. Royal Palace

—–> Quiz about Belgian celebrities.

8. Mont des Arts.

3. How to write the script for my tour?

Before creating the tour script

1. Make sure to have identified all the places of interest (ex: town hall) and topics (ex: gastronomy) that you want to introduce throughout the tour.
2. Make sure to have ordered all the places and topics to create your tour itinerary, taking into account a coherent structure and the shortest distance between each stop (max. 2-3 minutes).

If you have any questions about that, we strongly advise you to read this post first to define the itinerary of your tour.

1. Create a great introduction

Your tour introduction has several goals:

• Captivate your travelers: you have to show travelers how special this experience will be with you and that it was worth booking. Make it clear that you will exceed the expectations they have.

• Break the ice: travelers don’t know you yet, they don’t know your city, or the other travelers in the group. It’s important to reduce this tension from the beginning.

• Give confidence: You must show your professionalism and credibility so that travelers can trust what you explain.

This introduction is usually short (5 minutes) and is normally structured like this:

1. Say hello, welcome them, thank them for booking with you, introduce the tour and get the travelers’ interest.
2. Introduce yourself to the group (and sometimes the travelers among them): here you have to show your credibility (experience, studies, time spent in the city …) so that the travelers know that they made the best decision booking your experience.
3. Tour structure (key sights) and practical information (duration, if there will be a break to go to the bathroom, the payment concept, …). You make sure travelers know what to expect from you and to show them your professionalism.
4. Get travelers’ interest and give time for some practical questions.

Then, in the same place, gurus usually start with their first explanations (most of the time, it’s an historical introduction of the city and the country). This explanation is normally a bit longer than the others (10-15 minutes) and serves to put the context for the rest of the tour. It’s also important to start at the meeting point so late travelers can still join.

2. Balance the types of content 

It’s important to find a balance between the different kinds of content to include in your tour so it’s easy for them to follow you. 

These are the different types of content that your tour must include:

• History: it’s usually the main focus for the content of your tour and helps to introduce the rest of your explanations. In many cases, travelers have already read part of the story before joining the tour in their travel guide or online but it’s important to explain it as travelers expect it and to put everything in context. It can be both the history of a building or monument, as well as the history related to a topic (specific period, important social movement, gastronomy, …).

• Anecdotes and curious legends: that’s what makes the difference for travelers and what they will remember, since it’s usually something that surprises them and that they don’t usually know about. It touches travelers’ emotions and keeps their attention. This kind of content is usually explained after the historical context.

• Customs and recommendations: Travelers who participate in a free walking tour don’t just want to listen to stories. They also want to be able to understand the city as a local, live as a local and go to places that are not as touristy. That’s why it’s important to include some local customs and personal recommendations in your tour.

You can balance the content both from one spot to another and within the same explanation of the place! (Ex: have a moment to talk just about recommendations or include recommendations after an historical overview). 

3. Find the content and write the tour script

While doing this research, also consider the following things:

• Keep only the most essential and relevant information: you can talk for hours about some places, so it’s important to select only the most interesting part for the traveler. 

• Open your search beyond the content of the tour: If you read more than the content of your tour, you’ll be able to show to travelers that you are a true professional by answering all their doubts, which often go beyond what you explain on the tour.

• Verify the data: you can’t trust just one single source of information. Cross-check the data to ensure your script’s content is reliable.

• Write in an understandable way for everyone: sometimes travelers don’t know anything about the topics you are dealing with on your tour, so you have to explain it in a simple and clear way and avoid technical words.

• Think of practical information: free walking tours give travelers a general overview of what the city can offer, so they can then visit some places on their own. That’s why it’s important to know the practical information of the most important places in your city and to include them in your tour: opening hours, ticket prices, how to get there, …

4. Think of the best way to explain your stop

Just as you did by selecting the type of content for your tour, you must also balance the different ways of transmitting this content, which will create a much more enjoyable experience.

Maybe you can explain a personal story, or perform a historical event with travelers, even teach them how to prepare a traditional recipe, or make a quiz … You can find more information on this topic by consulting this post on how to create a more interactive tour and in this post on how to create amazing explanations.

In addition, you can include your travelers better by asking them questions, as we explain in more detail here.

5. Create natural transitions in your itinerary

Maintaining the logic between your explanations can be achieved when you have good transitions, because it gives a common thread to the whole tour. Your experience is not just going from one place to another, you have to see it as a set where each explanation tells a story that supports the overall idea of your experience, like a movie with different scenes.

Good transitions allow travelers to better remember key facts and will help make the journey more meaningful. It also helps you memorize your speech better and will keep travelers interested to follow the whole tour.

You have to add these transitions at the end of the stop or when starting the next one. It can also serve to get travelers’ attention and surprise them, as we explain in this post.

6. End the tour with style

The final part of the tour has to be the cherry on top. Like a good movie, the final part is essential and will be the last impression travelers get before paying you. It’s important to make an emotional ending, so travelers realize how awesome this experience has been with you.

Many gurus achieve this by choosing a very special place to end their tour, such as a vantage point with a spectacular view of the city. Others choose a site that is relevant to the common thread of their tour, because of the history of that place.

What is usually said at the end:

1. Summarize the most important elements of the tour, show travelers that the experience was amazing and that they have learned a lot with you.
2. Give options on things to do after the tour.
3. Remember that they will receive an automatic email from GuruWalk to leave a reviewon your profile and explain why it’s so important they do so (it allows you to get more bookings).
   
4. Thank them and wish them a good stay.

If they give you an applause, it means that the tour and its ending have been a success. 

7. Control time, practice and improve the tour script

Remember, the best free walking tours last between 2 and 3 hours. Shorter than that, travelers will feel that the experience was not complete and longer, you will tire them out too much and they will end up bored.

With Google Maps, you can approximate the time you will need to walk. In this example of an itinerary in Brussels, which is a 2-hour tour, you walk about 40 minutes, leaving 1h20 to tell stories. Only the main stops are represented there, but there are about 10 stops, which makes 10 minutes per stop, taking into account that the first stop is usually longer, so it’s fine.

So, you can put a timer so that each stop on your script is no more than 10 minutes. It is not an absolute rule. There are places that require more time and others less.

Now that you’ve added or removed content from the tour script, it’s time to practice it at home and learn it well.

Once you have it ready, practice it with a friend or family member in real conditions. This person can also give you valuable feedback to improve your speech. Look at the time before starting the tour and halfway through the tour, verify your progress at the halfway point to make sure you are on target. If not, you will have to add or remove content.

You have to constantly review your tour script. With practice, you will realize what is more or less interesting to travelers.

However, keep in mind that the speed of the group is always different. So you have to identify less important explanations or places that you could skip or add to meet the duration of the tour.

It’s important to memorize the tour script perfectly. In front of the group of travelers, you can’t doubt or read something from a notebook. Otherwise, you may lose all your credibility (and money… ).

4. The most common mistakes of new guides 

But the worst thing is, we don’t even realize them.

Now that you are learning your script, please review this post carefully to avoid these mistakes before you receive your first group of travelers. 

We wrote it talking to over 100 new guides. 

Bonus: best tips from an experienced tour guide (English subtitles available)