When in Rome. So why not ... when at home?

You know what they say. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

We're planning a trip to Rome in early July, and when I say planning, I mean planning.

It's a long time since we visited the Eternal City, and as we have only a few days in this most romantic and historical and inspiring of cities, we're really putting the time in to make sure we get the most from our visit.

We contacted the Italian Tourist Board, who sent us a pack of maps, guides, details of festivals, walking trips and cultural events. We've checked the location of our hotel (near the Piazza Navona) and looked at walking tours and metro journeys we can take to the top attractions.

I've even used Twitter and Facebook to ask "What should we do in Rome" and had answers from friends who have been there, and more impressively, from locals living in Rome.

Which makes me wonder - why don't we do this for our home town?

Can we honestly say we spend time planning our time off at home? Looking for the best sites, the new recommendations, the 'inside knowledge' from others who live here?

Probably not. And yet, as I've said before, the best way to keep your creativity high is to continually look for new stimuli, new experiences, new places in which to immerse yourself.

Imagine you were visiting your home town as a tourist for a couple of days. What pre-planning would you do? Whose advice would you seek? What tourism resources would you investigate?

OK, now do it! And visit some new places next weekend!