How to make the most of short trips: three rules that work anywhere in the world
Is a one-day trip worth it?
“One day isn’t enough time to really see Rome/ Paris/ Boston, so we may as well not even go.”
I understand why people say this. You don’t want to deal with the work of packing, leaving home, and traveling all the way to a destination if you don’t have enough time to really explore and enjoy it. Yet as much as we travel for pilgrimage and pleasure, we also travel often for work. When we’re in charge of the itinerary, we build in as much time as we’d like for proper exploration and encounter. But work trips are for work, so they often leave us tantalizingly close to amazing places with only a few hours to dive in.
The hidden gem of a short trip
I will always prefer traveling somewhere for two weeks instead of one week, and one week instead of just one day, but there are some hidden benefits of short trips. You can pack very light, sometimes even into nothing more than a backpack. You can treat yourself to an upgraded hotel since you’ll be paying for fewer nights. And best, you can deeply enrich your life and memories without the disruption of a full-scale trip.
But how?
How to make the most of a short trip
Over the years, I’ve developed unofficial rules for making the most of such really short trips, and found that they work anywhere in the world. These rules are simply a framework for focusing your time when you can’t do everything. When you’ve got a long layover, an event that ends with dangling time before departure, or even a missed connection that strands you overnight, these situations can become opportunities.
For a genuinely impactful, enriching encounter, here are the three rules I follow for short trips:
Visit something sacred.
Wherever there’s a church, there’s a story. Churches offer an immersion into history and beauty, almost always for free and without lines. Because churches serve real people in city neighborhoods, they’re an authentic slice of local life. Many house incredible works of art from oil paintings and stained glass to tapestries and sculpture. You might also get lucky with a free concert, choir practice, or organ recital.
While you’re there, pick up any literature on display or do a quick search about the church. Every saint went to church—maybe there are saints or significant events connected to the church you’re visiting. I have stumbled upon some astonishing places just by seeking churches. And of course, visit churches to make any place a pilgrimage.
Do or see something locally iconic.
Most cities have a local icon: the Gateway Arch in St Louis or Buckingham Palace in London. Icons help anchor you in the place. There’s a certain “we’re really in Paris!” excitement when you stand under the sparkling Eiffel Tower. You don’t always have to enter or take a guided tour to appreciate iconic landmarks, but if there’s an iconic experience available, consider it. In New Orleans, for $1.25 and an hour on the St Charles Avenue streetcar, you’ll see some of the city’s most beautiful architecture and trees, and probably encounter some unforgettable characters.
Eat and drink something delicious.
Food always and forever carries us into the heart of culture. Local cuisine reveals the story of a city’s people and development. Poboys came from Italian immigrants surviving in the French Quarter. Pizza Bianca in Rome first developed as “test dough” for checking an oven’s heat. Wherever you are, ask a local where to eat or stop in for a drink. How to find a local? Duck into a grocery or shop and ask the employees (people who live there). Ask a taxi, bus, or rideshare driver. You could also try my “follow the dogs” strategy of asking recommendations from people walking dogs (they likely live in the neighborhood).
Bonus tip: walk
Whenever possible, walk from place to place. An entire city looks and feels different on foot. You’ll notice bits of life—a balcony garden, a niche with a statue of Our Lady—that otherwise fade into a blur from a taxi.
Time is a treasure we can never save, only spend well. Even short windows of time can become rich encounters with culture, people, and even grace.
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