I personally make sure I stay in a good neighborhood and check Wikivoyage for details like transportation and safety, but that’s pretty much it. If I land in a good neighborhood (not touristy, lots of amenities and restaurants around, easy connection on foot or by public transport to the major areas), then I’m pretty much golden.

It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but I think not enough research is much better than too much. Any tourist information will draw you to overpriced and/or overhyped places. The desire, say, to “eat the best X” or “visit the most famous Y” is making your travels crappier.

Instead, I recommend cultivating normalcy. Visit your neighborhood by foot, and take chances on unknown places. You can check Google Maps to get the sense of a place, but if the reviews are good and they’re mostly local reviewers, and the place is crowded, you’re in good hands. Check out what other people are eating and order that. (Just point if needed.)

My partner and I have what we call our “grounding ritual.” We set out by foot in our neighborhood and spot what we’ll need: a convenience store for late-night snack runs, a supermarket or fresh market for food, etc. We check out public transportation options nearby. Then we find a nice, no-frills local restaurant and have a meal there. If the place is good, we make a point of returning there over the next few days. Doesn’t matter if we’re there for a weekend.

We just returned from a few days in Warsaw, a city I had never been before. Besides the Old Town, none of the places we visited were stuff I had read about online. We just let our feet, eyes, and noses lead us to interesting places.