Do you visit the Tourist Information (TI) when you travel?

There have been a few times when the TI was indispensable. Finding rooms for three of us in Zagreb over 15 years ago, and on Inishmore island in Ireland, when rough seas cancelled our ferry back to the mainland, and the TI found us a B&B on a totally different part of the mainland, where a different ferry was going instead. A few places had extremely helpful, interested staffers, and others might have well have been unstaffed, with just a rack of brochures. But there, there’s no one to provide opinions on sights.

Rick Steves has always stressed how vital a TI is - its location is usually about the first thing he tells you about a place. And that’s how he likely found out about destinations, pre-Internet, and pre-Rick Steves guidebooks. With Rick’s information in tow, one probably doesn’t need as much information as a TI could allegedly provide. Even maps are getting harder to come by.

No TI’s have been really essential to me in the past 10 years or so, although a few have been nice to have available. Some were totally unnecessary (or totally unhelpful), but there is always a good TI that has a TI WC.

I think I’ve visited one once in the last 20 years of travel and it was because the TI was the most convenient place to buy the city sightseeing pass in Salzburg. It worked fine for that, but I knew I wanted the pass, what it covered, how to use it, and how to get to the further afield sights on my own. I simply bought it at the TI and then left.

Guidebooks and internet maps/research, as well as my own sense of exploration works for me so I’ve just never seen the need.

I haven't visited any since they came up with this new fangled invention called the internet.

Funny you should ask!

I stopped by the TI in Colmar a few weeks ago. I had been on their website and thought I saw where they offered a city walking tour in English. I went by the day before and spoke with a very nice lady who said the tours were all in French. She did give me a DIY walking tour brochure which was really helpful and then when I got into the tour realized there were QR codes on each point of interest which, when scanned, gave even more information plus your walking route. I had NOT discovered that on the website nor did she tell me about it but she looked like she was even older than I am so maybe less tech savvy than I.

On a Rick Steves tour a few years ago the guide had us all go in to the TI in Delft to purchase tram tickets and that created a buying frenzy because they had cute stuff, hahaha.

Maybe 5-6 years ago I stopped by the TI in Salisbury UK and signed up for a free walking tour they offered of that city. It was excellent.

I do often use the TI sites before I visit a new location too.

That's a good question. Except to slip in to use the WC in Rome, I can't recall ever dropping in while in a foreign country. Ironically, I dropped in twice last summer during a staycation when we went to Banff and Jasper; two places I'm very familiar with. Both times to grab a paper map.

I used to use them when I was cycling since I couldn’t plan in advance where I would end a day’s cycling. I’ve used them in recent years for city walk maps, some souvenirs, booking certain events, and general questions about the towns. Gengenbach, Bacharach, limburg ( Lahn ), Lichtenfels, Tuebingen

Depending on the location of the TI, I still do visit them...very valuable, would certainly not ignore them, and one sees lots of other foreign tourists. Three of them I always check out to inform myself as to what is available:

1. the TI in Potsdam Hbf....whenever there I always check out the TI looking at the literature, brochures, the wall map, listening to the staff answering questions, especially those in German and among themselves.

2. the TI in Vienna located across from the Albertina, always lots of visitors at this TI.

3. and usually, the TI in Berlin Hbf. by the Invalidenstrasse exit. and if I am there, the TI at the Brandenburg Gate, just before Pariser Platz.

Yes, I use them. Not as frequently now that there's ubiquitous access to the internet. But therein lies the irony. The internet provides unedited and frequently uninformed information. Whereas the folks at the TI provide insight into what is more useful or relevant depending on your interests. My last trip to Ireland I stopped in at the TI in Kinsale to ask whether (1) it was worth going to Cobh (for me, no) and (2) on the drive back to Dublin whether I should stop at Cahir Castle or Kilkenny Castle (for me, Cahir). The nice person discussed the pros and cons of each.

I haven't visited any since they came up with this new fangled invention called the internet.

Internet? Is that thing still around?
- Homer Simpson

The tourist office is nearly always my first stop in town, sometimes even before I drop off my luggage at my hotel. I primarily use the T.O.s for:

• Paper maps (sometimes better than what the hotel provides); I mark them as I walk around the historic area to be sure I don't miss any streets. And they prove a far better big-picture look at the layout of the city than a tiny smartphone screen can.

• The latest hours of operation for the city's sights (more updated that a guidebook and a good cross-check on what I've found online).

• Info on current museum exhibitions and other special events I might not have stumbled on during my Internet research.

• Info on weekly/monthly markets in the area.

• Suggestions for out-of-town side trips.

• Info on public transportation for those out-of-town side trips.

• Sightseeing passes in the smaller cities where they can actually save me money.

• Guidance on which local sights are in such demand that I need to get tickets before arriving at the door.

• Tickets (in some cities) for those tough sights.

• English-language assistance when something goes wrong and I need more help than my (budget) hotel desk staffers can provide.

Thanks all. Sounds like not a bad idea to keep in mind.

I ran into Rick in the TI in London in 2003. I do still visit when I can, and always find something that didn't pop up in the internet search (very often current local events or festivals).

Heck yes. Some TIs run their own tours in English. The ones I've taken in Barcelona (at least 2) were excellent. Often they have info on other tours as well. In villages in France the TI's had very good maps and sometimes self-guided walking tours in English. In Reims they helped me book champagne tours. Recently the TI in Florence was the best place to get correct info on local transportation - which bus/tram to take and exactly where the stops were.

It depends on the location. If it's in a major tourist destination, then I probably already have 1-3 guidebooks with me covering everything in great detail, and the internet is overflowing with more info than I could ever use.

But if it's in a less popular destination, then it can be incredibly helpful. For example, on a trip to the Azores last summer, the TI office in Ponta Delgada was super-useful, with free, very detailed maps of hiking routes, which we would have had a hard time finding anywhere else. The maps were great, and the staff were even better, giving us tips on how to get around, where to eat (even the name of the restaurant owner we should ask for), how to find someone in a tiny town who would pick us up where we parked our car and drop us off at the trailhead. We have had similar experiences in other places that did not get major tourist crowds. We like hitting the TI for any place we do not "know" (either from prior visits or through excessive tourist exposure).

Seems like every time we try and use one, it’s closed. This has especially been the case in small towns.

It is usually the first place I seek out when I arrive at a new destination. Here in Europe many are closing down due to travelers using the internet these days. Rather sad but unstoppable I guess.

Nope, maybe they’re still out there, but that definitely seems like something that died with the smart phone era

Remember a key rule: Never pass up a free toilet.

justsweetjs, did you talk to him?

I did not, as I was with my Father. But, the husband went over, guidebook in hand, and said hello.

50 years ago, they didn't have internet to find places to stay. We'd pay a buck or two at the "Big I" across from a train station or at the airport and they'd book us into inexpensive accommodations.

These are different days. Now, the Tourist Information booths seem more like a commercial business pushing certain hotels and tours, etc. We sometimes might pop in to get a map, but that's about it.

Now I research the neighborhoods where our hotels are, and I know the metro stops, bus/tram locations and restaurants before getting there. It makes for efficient travel without assistance.

In Germany the TI are most definitely in existence, not to mention France.

I saw them in big urban centers, ie, in Hamburg, Berlin, and in smaller places, Lüneburg, Weimar, Eutin/Holstein, Potsdam, etc . Interesting are the people visiting it at the same you are, where they are from.

In France those TI I always check/have checked out when I'm in town are: Arras, Fontainebleau, Beauvais, Chateau-Thierry,

For those of you who DO visit the TI, do they usually have a WC?

We usually stop in them briefly if we happen by them or if we are in a less prominent city. I remember stopping in the one at Grosseto, Italy and finding out about the Night Festival. She didn’t speak English, and our Italian was basic, so it included some charades to find out about it. : ). Last time I was in France, I purchased some tickets at the TI in Angers, France.

I am planning to be in smaller Italian cities, and I marked where their TI’s (if they have one) are located to find out about any local events.

Many decades ago, I would visit them in every city - to get maps and book rooms (before Internet). I was younger and tended to travel more on the fly back then. Does anyone remember going to a TIC after hours and they would post a list of rooms available outside for travelers? So handy!

Now I only go if I happen to be near one or need something specific. For example the TCI in Bamberg had a guided tour to see the torture chambers in the Rathaus, so I stopped in.

For those of you who DO visit the TI, do they usually have a WC?

@roubrat, some do and some don’t. I used to always rely on them for a toilet but not any more.

In new places - yes. Have had good experiences and gained good local knowledge. I highly recommend new travelers visit the TI the first or second day.

Over the years I’ve used them for maps, pamphlets and many offer walking tours. Every tour I’ve taken was in English. We recently went to the TI in Lyon to buy a Lyon City card and they booked several tours for us. We later went to Nice and Montpellier and did walking tour through the TI’s there. We had the same experience that Pam did in Colmar as far as French only tours. I wish I had known about those QR codes. I was most surprised that the TI in Haarlem didn’t offer walking tours in English since it seems most people there speak it. They did have self walking tour pamphlets that they charged for.

I use them occasionally and they are usually really helpful. In Colmar in March I got excellent advice on taking the bus to the wine villages. I’ve gotten town maps, hiking maps and sports tickets at others. It would be a shame if they go away.

It’s also helpful to know how recent your experiences have been. The smartphone era from 2010 onward and especially the ease of international roaming really has made them obsolete. Most of the ones I’ve seen since about 2016 have been kiosks which are mainly sales offices.

Admittedly, I am a city traveler so things may be different in more rural and remote areas.

I've visited TI's several times. In Vienna, I was walking around by myself and got totally lost. I popped into the TI for a map and directions. They were very helpful! In Amboise, I stopped in to get a map and info about nearby chateaux.

Except for the TI in Chateau-Thierry (1999) , all the other visits to them have been in the 21st century. The most recent visits to the TI were in Berlin, Potsdam, Eutin/Holstein, Kiel, Vienna, Beauvais and of course, Arras, Fr. From the attendance they have in the summer, these TI in Berlin, Vienna, Potsdam are certainly not suffering from the lack of business.

Go to the Potsdam TI on a Sat. morning in the summer, chances are it will be full of Germans, some inquiring about the boat rides from Potsdam.

I didn't see the TI in Weimar but encountered a guided walking tour given only in German when they and I happened to be "am Theaterplatz," the site of the famous statue of Goethe and Schiller together. That was either in 2010 or 2012.

I popped into the TI in Bayeux 2 days ago. They didn’t have anything that I hadn’t seen on the internet and it was full of Americans!

I used to use them years ago for accommodation, but now use the internet. I can’t recall any having toilets.

I used a TI in Barcelona in 2015 to confirm my understanding of getting public transport to Montserrat and to also purchase the combined ticket for train and funicular. They were very helpful but I don’t recall if there was toilet facilities at this TI.

Estimated Prophet, wow. Noted.

Thank you all!

Only go into a TI if we want to get a pocketsize city map (easier than messing with a phone) or some info on sights ... I'll usually have everything we need before we get there.

For buying day tours to places that you can only reach by car the last time 8 years ago since everything is now online. Hey Alexa..

My trips to France didn't take me to Bayeux until 2011, so I have most likely been there , always as summer day trips when crowds could be expected, three times from 2011 to 2017. Each time I checked out the TI, noticed on one of the visits, the Information woman always asked her interrogator where s/he was from and would record that. Maybe that was policy. I said Calif.

As pointed out, the Bayeux TI was full of Americans, unlike those I had seen in Germany, which were almost exclusively German since these were towns totally or basically off the American tourist radar.

I'll pop in to a TI now, if I am looking for specific information, such as a local tour, detailed instructions on how to get somewhere, etc. If I was still traveling the old unplanned backpack/railpass way, yeah I'd prefer talking to a human than extensive googling.

Fred, we recently returned from a 6 week trip and we were asked each time we went to a TI where we were from, I assume for statistical purposes. California is always my response.

when using a TI, as a famous American used to say, trust but verify. The "advice" and "suggestions" you get may not always be impartial or the best. After all the people at the TI have to live in the town where you're visiting.

My mom worked in a TI for a while near an Interstate and let me assure you, she definitely played favorites. They weren't bad suggestions, mind you, but they weren't unbiased.

@ Andrea...Exactly, glad you had an enjoyable trip in France ! In France , since my experiences don't really apply as much to those TI I've been to in Germany, what I find curious and interesting relative to travel style are the varied visitors checking out the TI as I'm doing. Since it's in Normandy, the Bayeux TI did have the most American visitors. Who are the others more apt to ask at the TI? Other Europeans, Indians, Chinese. The TI in Vienna ( opposite of Albertina): there I watched which language was used to provide the answers, aside from German, since the TI staff are multi-lingual. Obviously staff used English the most, since that is the lingua franca. Then there also were the French asking in French...bravo !

All these replies have made me more curious about the TI now.

When I was planning a xmas markets trip pre-covid, I had difficulty finding legible maps and info if the city wasn't in the RS Guidebook. Yes, there are dozens of maps on the internet, but most wouldn't print out legibly on our home printer, which is not state-of-the art. I emailed the TI's for info, and by US Mail I received the the most helpful packets of info, in English. Many of the info brochures had been personally highlighted & marked with post-it notes. It warmed my heart to have received such individualized service!

I've never thought of doing that, Pat. That's a cool idea.

Three examples of the obvious usefulness and advantage of visiting a TI come immediately to mind. In all three I saw or just happen to see new information on historical sites, ie, a new museum, or cultural event, or the location of military memorials.

Had I not checked out the TI in Potsdam Hbf, I would not have learned of the existence of a new museum that had opened up some months prior. In the Potsdam TI among the brochures I saw was this one about a new museum focusing on Prussian history, located not in Potsdam but in a different small place called Wustrau/Brandenburg . That was the site of "Das Preußen Museum." This meant I had tweak my schedule on staying in Berlin to make it out there and track this place down. That I owe to the Potsdam TI.

Likewise, one year in Vienna when I found out from a brochure in the TI across from the Albertina that the Blasmusikfest was happening on the Saturday during my stay...what luck ! Culturally, this event is certainly an eye-opener in seeing how large is the crowd, who is in attendance, ie, exclusively Austrian, only a sprinkle of tourists, saw absolutely no anglophones in the crowds. Only German is spoken, welcoming announcements, speeches, etc.

The last example is the TI in Arras inside the City Hall, lots of brochures in French on WW1 memorial sites. All these three TI had the pertinent information requiring a good reading level of the target language.

I used to find Syndicat D' Initiatives were very useful for booking accommodation when on a cycling holiday in the French Alps
Just roll up into town and if no obvious hotels and the office was open they could point you in the right direction and sometimes book rooms for you.

A1 Unless you know everything, if you walk past or near one, it might be a bit presumptuous to avoid it.

Rick's videos used to always mention a stop at the TI but it doesn't seem like he mentions them in his newer videos.

I used the TI pretty often in Spain while walking the Camino the past 6 weeks. They were usually quite helpful, but yes, they close for siesta.

The ones in Germany are not consistent. The ones in Dresden, Worms, Speyer, and Heidelberg were helpful. The one in Frankfurt is run for profit and they only sell and advertise their own tours where they are making all the money or a commission, like from the HoHo buses (but only because they threatened to sue the TI if they didn't) Maps are not free, it is not handicap accessable, it has no WC, and you may or may not get a friendly employee. They may not have any idea about what is going on in the city, as they frankly don't care. They aren't making money from it. They have very limited hours, especially on weekends and they are never open on holidays when one would expect a lot of visitors to be in town. I watch puzzled people walk up to the closed doors during the biggest fest of the year, when a couple million people descend on Frankfurt, yet, they remain closed. I fail to understand their marketing or business goals or plan as they make no sense to me. They are not tourist/guest oriented in any way. For me, they are not a good tourist info and I wish they were.

I arrived in Edinburgh today, and because of the OP's post I stopped at the TI, it had nothing that I hadn't found in my hotel lobby.

Thanks for reporting back, Allan.

I use to never think of going to TI but last year on a trip to Poland, I used them 3 times, each one was very useful. First was how to visit Zalipie and info about the town as there isn’t a ton of info online, second time was in Torún where I learned their office did luggage storage for only 5 zloty an item (much cheaper than lockers) and last was in Warsaw when the lockers at the train station were full, the TI informed me of lockers in the basement of the museum which was a life saver. So now if I cross one, I at the very least pop in and grab some pamphlets

In 2016 I went to the Ravensburg TI. It was closed during lunch, but they had city maps in a holder outside for the taking

My memories of TI's are of them being closed when the most people were needing them, and wondering what the business model was. Probably not a business without government support.

Allan, was there a WC?