Lies to tell tourists

By Sean O'Neill
October 3, 2012
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Courtesy <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/s-t-r-a-n-g-e/4928289425/in/photostream/">Victor Bezrukov/Flickr</a>

For years, Time Out London has been publishing Lies to tell tourists, a weekly series of "cheeky misdirections" for locals to say to visitors. The city magazine recently invited Twitter users to chime in, and the response was enormous.

A sample lie: "When on the Tube, it's customary to introduce yourself to the people sitting next to and opposite you."

The Economist got into the fun by inviting its readers to share their ideas, expanding the concept to destinations worldwide. More than 300 readers chimed in with their own. An editor then picked his ten favorites. These are a couple of them:

davidovada: Here in Italy it's smart to order a cappuccino with your meal. It alerts the waiter that you know what you're doing and you won't get the "tourist treatment".

Robert Acquet: When visiting the Bernabeu [football stadium] in Madrid, don't forget to wear the national colours: blue and burgundy vertical stripes.

It's worth it to click through to the full list. Ditto, for Time Out's original one.

But don't stop there. Why not get it on the fun? Share with us the worst tourist advice you can imagine. Extra points for humor.

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