How not to look like a tourist!

Everyone will know you're tourists, so what you and the kids should focus on is being GOOD tourists. That means being polite, respectful, friendly, patient and kind. This will be a wonderful adventure for your family if you go into it with the right attitude (knowing that things will be very different than they are at home, and enjoying those differences; expecting little glitches in transportation or hotels; trying to interact with the locals as much as possible, with a friendly smile and curious nature). Have fun!

I'm not sure how you pull that off with a whole family. Your 18 year old and 21 year old may be able to if they are on their own at any time. The only way I can do it is because I'm in business attire or night on the town clothes and not with a herd of tourists. I'm not a parent, but if it were me I'd embrace my tourist family identity, maybe get some berets with your name on them, and just have a good time. Maybe save the blending in thing for another trip without the kids....but you will have to get 10 lbs underweight and chain smoke too :) Have a great time! Sounds like a great list of cities.

If you want your kids to blend in with Europeans, buy them jeans that are entirely too tight and have them wear half a bottle of gel in their hair. And anyone who's paying attention will know they're tourists anyway. I suggest not worrying about this and just allow the family to dress as they see appropriate. My wife (Belgian) once told me a perfect analogy. American tourists in Europe trying to "blend in" are about as convincing as she would be in a cowgirl suit in NYC.

Deeanna, As the others have said, everyone (including the locals and other tourists) will know that you're tourists anyway, so it's not worth the effort to try and "hide" it. Dress comfortably, be respectful of the local customs, try to manage a few words in the local language and enjoy your holiday. Cheers!

We get this question frequently, it's a good question. And the answers already given above are the replies always given here, which is: They will know you're a tourist, no matter what you do. There's nothing wrong with being a tourist: everyone here is a tourist when they're in Europe.

I think the real question is "how do I NOT look like an easy target?". If you are unaware of your surroundings, are easily distracted, have a lot of easily accessible belongings and generally look like a bunch of "rubes", you may attract unwanted attention. If you are organized, confident and aware, you'll still look like a tourist but just not hapless and vulnerable.

Here's a link to photos of people on the streets of Paris last summer. Can you pick out the tourists? http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=paris&thread=4183&page=1#82204

I pretty much go along with what others have said about being a good tourist. After all, a group of five people walking along speaking to each other in English are not very likely to be taken as locals in any of the cities you have mentioned. On the subject of language, learn a few words of French and Swedish concentrating on things like: Please Thank you
Excuse me, my ______ is terrible do you speak English? Also as Rick says in France greet the shop people when you walk in. As for clothes, clothing is mass marketed around the world so just dress casually and relatively neat, there is no absolute rule. The last guy I saw wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey in Germany was a local. Generally people want to be good hosts if you let them Have a good trip.

I agree with Charlene. Just try to be good tourists that will leave others will a favorable instead of unfavorable impression of Americans. The whole concept of trying to not look like a tourist is pointless unless you are also planning on undergoing an intensive CIA level foreign language training as well and not only master the language but the regional dialect as well. Otherwise the first time you open your mouth folks are gonna know, "you ain't from these parts" However, not wearing a camera around your neck, dressing as other do, not having a backpack, or carrying a water bottle will delay the discovery until you open your mouth.

Don't wear Nike's, or similar, sports shoes.

Thanks everyone. We will enjoy ourselves and be aware of our surroundings. Au revoir.

Don't go into any tourist areas. Stay in the suburbs. Don't take any clothes to Europe; buy them locally, at stores in the suburbs. Learn to speak French, German, and Italian fluently, without an accent. Really, get over this silliness. You will instantly be spotted as a tourist when you go to tourist areas in any city. You will give yourself away as soon as you open your mouth (not only by language, but often by being too loud). Stop worrying about looking like a tourist and have a great time learning about everything you see.

To state the obvious, I would say, don't point at stuff all the time. It works just as well to turn to your group and say, "Look at that fantastic building across the street." Seems very obvious, but when I lived in New York City, I couldn't believe the number of tourists that walked along the streets pointing at everything; taxis, restaurants, buildings. They looked like little windmills. If you don't want to stick out like a sore thumb, don't do this. Believe it or not, you will have the urge to do this constantly.

Everyone looks pretty much the same in Europe in dress, but it's body shape that defines Americans. We are the fattest people in the world (it seems) and really stick out (pun intended) among Europeans who don't eat as much, eat fewer calories and less junk food and get much more exercise. You can't do anything about body shape on short notice but few Europeans wear baseball caps and tee shirts imprinted with sports logos and other types of designs. That you can change.
Have fun.

"Everyone looks pretty much the same in Europe in dress, but it's body shape that defines Americans." Reminds me of an incident in Italy a few years ago. I asked a shopkeeper how Italians always knew who the Americans were, even from a distance. She said, "Americans are bigger than everybody else."

I remember hearing somewhere that Americans show themselves as tourists the minute they open their mouth and show off all that expensive dentistry!

I remember hearing somewhere that Americans show themselves as tourists the minute they open their mouth and show off all that expensive dentistry!

Please let me put a few of the suggested notions about what NOT to wear in Europe into the trash can. All of them date from about 25 years ago and are no longer true at all. They just keep getting revived. * Nikes, Adidas, Puma, Converse, etc. are extremely popular and everyone wears them, so this will not make you look like a tourist. * T-shirts, sweat shirts with sports logos on them also will not make you look like a tourist, as these too are popular with young people. Now, if you are a senior and are wearing these, that might look a tad odd, but so what. No one is going to snicker or refuse you service. * Back-packs are worn universally, and do not mark you as a tourist neccessarily. Messenger bags though, are a bit more popular and to be honest, a lot easier to use, especially when riding public transportation, or if you want to keep your camera inside. You don't have to take the back pack off every single time you want something out of it, and then put it back on, repeat as needed a dozens times a day. Messenger bags stay put. * Baseball caps may not be worn as often, but they don't make you stick out like a sore thumb. If you like them, wear them. That Tilley hat is more noticable, as well as the safari vest with 20 pockets. * Europeans are as fond of taking photos as anyone else and you will see lots of people wearing cameras that may or may not be tourists. * Bad fashion exists everywhere, no country has the market cornered on this. * How one walks is often a give-away. Clutching your purse for dear life as you walk through a downtown street as though you fear someone will snatch it off of you is one way you get marked. Check out the rest of the people, they are casual about it. Look at some Google street views, away from tourist areas as well as tourist areas and you will get a good idea about what folks are wearing, both tourists and residents.

Chani- I noticed when she started turning red and she covered up in time to avoid it becoming a real bad case of sunburn and she also used lotion afterward to avoid having it get too bad. She never complained of itching and she would have if it had bugged her. But for a couple of days she decided if would be more comfortable to go braless which she never did at home but was more acceptable in France. I would mention how much I enjoyed helping her apply the lotion but Jo would probably consider that TMI. :-)

The only sure-fire thing is to stay at home. It constantly amazes me that people actually worry about "looking like a tourist." Go. Be nice. Be polite. Smile. Enjoy.

Yes, everyone will know you're a tourist but there are distinctions. You can be either an appropriately dressed tourist or a disaster. In a city I'd think something that approaches business casual. Long pants, leather shoes, dark socks, button-up shirt for men; decent capris, skirt or pants and somewhat nice top for women (coordinating shoes, belt, purse). Out of the city, you can be more casual. Kids can go casual anytime (except maybe a nice restaurant). I try to pack clothes that mix and match (generally neutral colors), offer some flexibility to dress up or down, and travel well (fast drying, wrinkle free fabrics). Disaster tourist clothing (not confined to American tourists) is something most people can identify and wouldn't ever wear in public. Unfortunately "most people" doesn't mean everyone or we wouldn't have these questions. :)

I think Jacquie hit the nail on the head. It might help to remember that Europe entertains millions of visitors every year, from all over the world. If you people-watch in any European city, you'll see every variety of clothing & dress you can imagine. Europeans are used to this. Just wear whatever you'd wear at home, no one over there will bat an eye.

Not possible. It's not about dresss or appearance-it's a matter of different cultures.Different languagess,mannerisms...
Even if you followed someone's idea of what say a Parisian looks like in dress or style, you will not blend in-you will then look like a wannabe. Be polite. Learn how to communicate in these different countries.

On our first trip to Germany, we wanted to "blend in." Our clue was whether the locals we ran into spoke English or German to us. Guess where was to only place they spoke German to us? The bath house. Turns out we had to be buck nekkid to blend in.

Maureen - I would think that your tanline would give away that you were American with non-tanned breasts as oppose to the Europeans who sunbath topless. I remember the first time we went to a topless beach in France it was pretty obvious my girlfriend was not French as her breast were as white as a sheet as oppose to the rest of her being tanned. After the first day she decided to keep her top on, not out of modesty but because despite using plenty of sunscreen, the skin that had never seen sun before got burned and she did not want to deal with the pain again.

Yeah, I saw a German guy yesterday, walking down the main shopping street in Frankfurt with hot-pants denim jean shorts on. Cute as a button he was! TMI ed, TMI.

Ed, the sunburn isn't the worst. After that comes the itching and if you scratch, it really looks . . . . . Okay, just got back (4 hours ago) from 19 days in Germany. The country is chock-a-block full of tourists, all speaking German and taking photos. Most of them thought I was just another German tourist with a camera around her neck (after I ditched the Chicago Bulls t-shirt). Mostly I just smiled and nodded. When pressed into conversation, I was forced to admit that I spoke no German. More smiles and nods on all sides. Then back to taking more pictures all round.

Jo is right on the money. I've lived in Germany for 6 months now and traveled throughout Germany and France, and she's totally right. I don't go out of my way to "not look like a tourist" - I tend to dress like I do at home. In Germany I apparently pass for at least a German tourist, because Germans ask me for directions all the time, in German, before I open my mouth and vis a vis my horrible accent reveal myself to be American. It's a little different in Paris, because natives do tend to be better dressed (than anyone, not just Americans - anyone!) but there are so many tourists in Paris, "looking like a tourist" is more likely to help you blend in than stick out, really. My first time I made the mistake of attempting to wear heeled boots because I almost never see french women my age in sneakers, but I regretted that within 20 minutes. Dress nicely but comfortably, behave politely, and you'll do just fine.

We just went to Europe. My rule is "No tee shirts with stupid messages written on them". Of course, all the natives wear those, and regardless of country the messages are in English. My wife and I always dress slightly on the formal end - I wear a sport coat, she wears pants suits. In some cases, there are issues getting into churches with bare shoulders, although I saw none of that in our recent trip.

One other point: I nearly got clocked by a moron with a BMW who believed that I was a native. Sometimes it is good to be considered a tourist, since then your faux-paix are accepted.

I grew up in a resort town.. we know you are a tourist but be proud of it! Europe is not another planet in the solar system - they wear alot of the same clothes US people do. Just be friendly , mind you manners , and tell them how much you love their city. If you say that to a local, they will open up and tell you about the good places. =)

"My rule is "No tee shirts with stupid messages written on them"" That's a rule I can support.