Cool Tool: Dwell Walking Tour Podcasts

I don't know about your bank account, but between the current economic meltdown and my woeful underemployment as a freelance writer, ours isn't exactly overflowing. So any kind of travel that involves more than a tank of gas and a picnic basket is pretty much out of the question right now (and with gas prices, even that doesn't come cheaply).

But my thirst to explore different parts of the country and the world -- and even to discover some hidden corners of my own figurative backyard -- hasn't diminished. I find that I'm ripping travel articles out of magazines like never before and relishing TV shows that provide a glimpse into other places and other lives. (Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and HGTV's House Hunters International are two current faves. After a recent episode of HHI, for instance, Nick and I became convinced that a move to Buenos Aires -- where one can apparently score a gorgeous apartment in the most exclusive sector of the city for as little as $130,000 -- was in our future.)

Anyway, I recently stumbled upon the podcast walking tours on Dwell magazine's website. Although they're intended to be listened to on an MP3 while actually hoofing it through the various areas featured, I've found that they're nearly as effective as brief armchair escapes that can be enjoyed from the comfort of one's own couch.

Hosted by local experts, the podcast tours highlight attractions that won't be found in your standard guidebook: The strange, exotic foods available on San Francisco's Clement Street; Manhattan's best design-focused bookstores and newsstands; Brooklyn's cutting-edge home shops; Berlin's architectural curiosities.

Other virtual destinations include New York's Soho, Chicago, Venice Beach, Prague, and Southern Italy. There are even podcast tours of major museum exhibitions and designers' ateliers. Photo slideshows accompany many of the tours, too, so you listen and scroll simultaneously while you imagine yourself wandering through some delightful, faraway place.

So, yeah, I'm not likely to board a plane anytime soon -- but there's nothing to stop me from dowloading and dreaming, right?

Check out all of Dwell's podcasts right here.