For starters, get good walking shoes. And, not to sound crude, but it truly helps to start walking to gear your body and mind for the endurance needed to handle a walking holiday.

A walking holiday is just that: You walk everywhere. To the shops, restaurants, sites, parks and gardens, and even when you get to the sites, you’re still walking. Plan to hydrate—and plan for good bathroom access when that’ll inevitably be needed.

But I preface this when saying it’s mighty helpful to walk in training prior to a walking holiday. You won’t see as much if you’re out of shape, winded and overtaxing your body it truly wasn’t prepared for. And, you’d only be lagging your group behind and making it a poorer holiday for all involved. Best bet: Walk regularly to ready yourself for the holiday.

Now the body and mind are ready for the sites and strolls, London, New York City, Washington D.C. and San Francisco are great sites for walking holidays. San Fran is a hilly venue to visit Fisherman’s Wharf, to check out Oakland’s BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system, and the city’s—and America’s first—Chinatown. In New York, where most of the Gothamites walk as a rule anyway, Walking holidays can consist of seeing the city’s churches (St. John the Divine on 5th Ave. and 13th Street; St. Patrick’s on 5th Ave/53rd Streets; and St. John the Episcopal on 5th Ave/110th Streets) to sticking to one venue of museum (the Museum of Natural History’s massive gallery is impossible to cover in one day, so plan for a several day’s visit of that spot).

London’s Harrod’s and Picadilly Circus are two venues to visit but plan on being on your feet for long hours. And, touring Big Ben, Kensington Palace (Buckingham Palace, where the Queen resides and works, isn’t open for tours after September 11th) and the changing of the guard at the Palace, and waiting in line for a cinema are a few highlights of the walking tours. America’s capital offers the Washington Monument, Capital Hill, views of the Potomac River and White House tours—but these are restricted. Check for times and hours for this venue.