What’s the wackiest guided tour you’ve ever taken?

Being a food tour guide has opened my eyes to a whole new world when traveling.

When that realization set in — that a whole slew of other types of guided tours besides food tours existed — a light bulb went off. So when I set out to find just what some of those other guided tours might be, well, mind blown.

But first, I asked the Savor team what other types of guided tours they’ve taken and here are some of their favorites:

Shawna said, next to food tours, bike tours are her favorite way to see a city. She and her husband especially liked two tours in Germany: Munich and Potsdam. She said: “In both, there are enough lanes and streets in nice condition to easily accommodate a group, plus the cruisers were so stable. No helmet? No problem. We covered a ton of ground in an afternoon, going through sprawling urban parks and ornate royal grounds. In both cases, our group stopped for snacks and drinks about half-way.” Shawna had a radler style beer which is a German term for cyclist, it’s a half-beer, half-lemonade that’s perfect on a warm day. At the end of the tour, Shawna and her husband felt that they had earned a hearty German dinner, too. “It was great!”

Amanda shared about an arts tour they took in Philadelphia when they visited the summer of 2017. She and her husband both love cities, and exploring. Amanda said: “one lovely afternoon we joined the Mural Arts Philadelphia walking tour around several Philadelphia neighborhoods, learning about the city-sponsored program that gives mural artists a platform to express themselves in partnership with some of the most important community institutions and groups. From a mural celebrating local LGBTQ activists to a huge installation tracing the history of the nursing profession, we covered a lot of ground (literally and in subject matter) and I loved running across the murals again and again, unexpectedly, in our remaining days exploring the town. My favorite murals were ones where the artists worked in conjunction with the building owners to incorporate the art into the actual history or design of the business or agency housed there.”

As for me, I’ve also taken a couple of guided bike tours that I thoroughly enjoyed and agree with Shawna, are a great way to see the city. One was in Bangkok at night, to tour the temples and night flower market. While taking some of the more discreet back streets, it was an exhilarating way to see a still-bustling city while enjoying and learning about the temples without the crowds. Another one was in Portland, where you can find bike + food tours — combining two of my favorite things.

Now, without further ado, here are some of the more interesting tours I discovered:

• Ghost Tours, whether you’re in New Orleans, Savannah, San Antonio, or a few other select US cities, this might be the outfit for you: https://ghostcitytours.com
• In London it gets a little more gruesome than ghosts with this Murder Mile Walks tour. If that’s not quite up your alley, there are alternatives, such as street art, bike tours with this outfit.
• Don’t want food? Well, there’s a coffee tour in — where else — Seattle.
• It wouldn’t be San Francisco without hippies, art, Chinatown, free love and more. This outfit covers them all with its tours.
• Find out how Chicagoans get around in the winter without going outside (much) on this tour.
• Love the play Hamilton? Then the next time you’re in D.C., you’ll want to take this tour.
• Las Vegas wouldn’t be the same without its history of the mob influence. Of course there’s a tour for that.
• From the beautiful to the devastating, this outfit offers slum tours and Bollywood movie tours while you’re in Mumbai, India.
• And last, if you think you’re not one for tours, maybe this place, that claims to not be a tour company in Portugal is for you: http://wehatetourismtours.com/

We could go on and on, from urbex (urban exploring) tours in Detroit to the catacombs in Paris, Jamaican ganja tours and more. If there’s a site or oddity somewhere in the world, there’s probably a guided tour for that.

Happy travels!