Every city has a version of itself that appears in guidebooks, and another that only shows up when you stop following directions. The second one is usually more interesting.

My method is simple. Pick a neighbourhood you have no reason to visit. Walk there without a phone in your hand. At every corner, take the street that looks quieter. When you are hungry, eat wherever the people who live there are eating.

You will find a market that is not on the map, a park where old men play cards, a bakery that sells out by ten. You will also find dead ends and wrong turns, and those are part of it.

When you have had enough, ask someone the way back. Most people are delighted to help a stranger who is honestly lost, and the conversation is often the best part of the day.