Walking tours to explore the United States are exciting.

Of all the ways to explore a tourist city, nothing beats a free walking tour for me. Visiting historical landmarks, learning about the street culture and hearing advice from locals, or discovering local food only known to the people – this "freedom" of sightseeing, without being tied to a pre-planned itinerary, allows you to gain a broader perspective and broaden your knowledge of the destination in just a few hours. Of course, the most important thing is that most of these tours are free or not prohibitively expensive.

Therefore, in my road trip programs across the United States, I often prioritize walking tours to visit major city centers, especially those with picturesque rivers flowing through them.

The city of Chicago (Illinois) greeted me with a rather stifling atmosphere in the early summer sun of the American Midwest, with chaotic road repairs and crowded buses jostling for space as they made their way into the city center. Streams of people rushed into the towering skyscrapers, their heights too great for my camera to capture in full view.

The crowds of people emerging from the underground subway system and descending from the elevated train cars made my sense of direction shaky. Therefore, I changed my idea of ​​taking a double-decker bus tour to walking around the city center to admire the skyscrapers and attractions. This way, I avoided traffic jams and could take photos from any angle I liked.

When visiting Boston (Massachusetts), tourists shouldn't miss walking to the gates of one of America's most prestigious universities - Harvard, shopping at the massive department stores on Newbury Road in Back Bay, enjoying panoramic city views from the Prudential department store, or taking their loved one to explore Boston's chocolate scene and choose the perfect sweet gift.

Because only when walking around the city to each tourist attraction will people get to sample a type of chocolate product given away by the shop. So everyone gets to enjoy these cute, chubby, round chocolate cupcakes, and then no one can bring themselves to eat them, and once they've eaten them, they don't want to go anywhere else!

There was a time when I took a walk exploring Miami (Florida) and had the chance to see dolphins swimming along the coast, enjoy Cuban bread, stroll through West Palm Beach to admire the beautiful murals under bridges, make friends with many locals to learn more about their country, including the homeless, and eat famous New York-style pizza in Florida, hidden away in a little-known alley.

Of course, don't forget to join the free "walking tour" with Charles, a guide from the Louisville city tourist information center, to see everything for almost two hours.

We set off at 10:30 a.m., mostly with older couples, including a married couple from Australia. They moved quite slowly, so I had plenty of time to run around and capture the perfect shots...

Charles taught us how to pronounce the city's name correctly in seven ways: Looavul, Luhvul, Loueville, Looaville, Looeyville, Louiville, and Louisville. Then he showed us how to drive at exactly 26 miles per hour along Main Street to avoid getting stopped at red lights.

After stopping next to a billboard advertising Kentucky specialties, we walked to a vantage point overlooking the city near the Galt House Hotel. He told us the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his connection to the Seelbach Hotel. Fitzgerald began his classic novel, "The Great Gatsby," on napkins at the hotel's basement bar, first published on April 10, 1925.

Charles also spoke proudly about the history of bourbon whiskey, the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, the largest baseball bat factory in the United States. This is how I learned that bourbon is an American whiskey, even though its name originates from the Bourbon dynasty in France.

Then they went to a winery showcasing Jim Beam, the world's number one best-selling American bourbon brand.

In popular tourist cities in the United States, there are many "walking tours" that sell tickets at a relatively low price or provide free maps for visitors to explore on their own.

So when you travel to the United States, remember not to miss the opportunity to explore the destination on foot!

Vinh Phan