This December, become a tourist in your hometown.

Every December, your city is transformed. The streets you rush through every day suddenly light up. Buildings you barely notice are decorated with wreaths and garlands. But when was the last time you explored your hometown the way visitors do?

Audio tours VoiceMap — an ideal occasion to slow down the pace and look at familiar places with fresh eyes. Some cities offer holiday-themed walking tours, such as the Chicago Christmas Traditions Tour or Rovaniemi: Santa's Family, but the real magic begins when you take a tour during the December holidays.

Download the architectural tour that you always wanted to visit. These historic facades tell completely different stories when illuminated, and you finally find out why the building you pass by every day has such unusual gargoyles. Take a walk through the history of the area that you have long bookmarked. Local legends and forgotten events take on a new meaning when they are told among festively decorated and improvised carols.

Tourists who spend time in their backyards in December have unique advantages. You know when the morning frost makes everything sparkle, but there are no crowds. You've learned which squares host pop-up markets, where food trucks offer seasonal delicacies. You can choose to stroll during the "golden hour," when the decorations sparkle but the streets are devoid of shoppers.

The GPS-activated format is perfect for winter walks. No need to fiddle with frozen fingers on your phone screen—stories play automatically as you approach each point. Peek inside when you need to warm up; the tour patiently pauses. Return another day to finish, or start over to show visiting relatives the secrets of your city while everything looks festive.

This approach allows you to see what local residents overlook in the pre-holiday bustle. A department store window? It probably hides the centuries-old history of retail trade. The area where the Christmas market takes place? It stores stories from pre-electrical times. Even in modern areas, there are stories that take on magic when told amid flickering lights.

The upcoming Hans Christian Andersen-themed Copenhagen tour perfectly illustrates this concept: explore the storyteller's city when it most resembles his tales. But you don't need themed tours. Any stroll becomes special when familiar streets appear in their December best.

This holiday season, while neighbors bustle with shopping and tourists flock to famous markets, discover stories hidden in plain sight and see home as visitors see it—magical, mysterious, and full of untold tales.

Find tours near you - and walk through a winter wonderland