Savor the scene, slowly

Get somewhere — by car, train, or plane — and then proceed only on foot. See things slowly. Encounter a place intimately. This works at a cabin in New Hampshire’s White Mountains or at a beach cottage in the Caribbean. Such exploration can be particularly rich in a city. Hunker down in the Paris neighborhood of Canal Saint-Martin, for example. Wander shops and cafes on Quai de Valmy, crossing over the footbridge to have a drink at a table outside Hotel du Nord. Follow the Rue de la Grange aux Belles northeast to the Avenue Mathurin Moreau until you reach the Parc des Buttes Chaumont and stroll with the Sunday crowds. Or walk south, past Place de la République, and settle at a table for couscous at Chez Omar, on Rue de Bretagne. You may be tempted to continue to monuments and museums along the Seine, or mysteries in Montmartre. Or not: Take a seat at the MK2 Quai de Seine, a cinema just past the Jean Jaurès metro station, and stop altogether.