What are your 3 favorite city walks? Let us know. Enter to win a pair of Kuru shoes.

We (obviously) love to walk around a city, any city. We’ve made audio tours of some of our favorites – but these amount to a mere drop in the bucket of all the great walks in all the great cities in the world. So let’s hear about some more!

Enter our “Favorite Walks” contest and you can win a pair of Kuru shoes. (If you don’t know Kuru, you should. They make super comfortable shoes that are great for walking and traveling.) All you need to do is send us an email listing your top 3 Favorite Walks – along with a little explanation. We’ll publish the highlights in an upcoming blog. And one lucky entrant will be chosen at random to win any pair of Kuru shoes. Let us know which Kuru shoe you’d pick, too.

There’s no catch. Just send us some ideas about your favorite walks. And, as a thanks, we’ll pick one lucky winner to pick any pair of Kuru shoes they like. So, what are you waiting for?

We’ll get the ball rolling here:

Exploring Central Park – OK, sure, we had to choose something in New York – but, honestly, I never grow tired of a walk in Central Park. An oasis of manmade nature nested in the heart of the urban jungle always brings with it a few surprises.
Hiking up to the Acropolis, Athens – Walking from the city streets up to the Acropolis is like a walk through time. A truly inspiring journey. Despite the volume of tourists, this walk and the Parthenon itself are very conducive to a deep, personal connection with the past.
As for the third, plop me down in the South of France – Arles or Aix en Provence or a little town like Carpentras – and I’ll be thrilled to explore the winding streets, happen upon a farmers market or age-old structure before stumbling upon a surprisingly delicious little café.
(Though, ask me tomorrow and I may have 3 different answers for you.)

HOW TO ENTER:
Send an email to Contest@CityListen.com –with your answer to the following question: What are your top 3 favorite walks in any city in the world? In addition to your answer, please include your name and city of residence. One contestant, selected at random, will win a pair of Kuru Footwear shoes of their choice. Give it a shot. And have fun with it.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. To be eligible, entries must be completed and received by September 6th, 2009 11:59pm EDT. Contestants must reside (and accept shipping of prize) in US or Canada.
1. The winner of the contest will be determined by random drawing. To be eligible, contestants must submit an answer to the contest question. Each entry must also include the contestant’s full name, email address and city of residence. Multiple entries are permitted. 2.The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded. Decisions of the contest judges are final - no substitutions will be available. 3. Employees of CityListen Audio Tours and Kuru Footwear and their respective affiliates, agencies and associates are excluded from this contest. 4. By claiming the prize, the winner authorizes the use, without additional compensation, of his or her first name and city of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium which CityListen Audio Tours may deem appropriate. 5. Fulfillment of the prize will be handled by Kuru Footwear. Winner will be able to choose one pair of Kuru shoes from any in the Kuru catalog. Approximate value of prizes range from $80-$100.6. In accepting the prize, the winner acknowledges that CityListen Audio Tours may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with using this prize. 7. All entries shall become the property of CityListen Audio Tours. CityListen Audio Tours is not responsible for lost, misdirected or delayed entries.

You don’t need to be a tourist to take an audio tour. Wherever you live, I’ll bet you’ve walked by plenty of plaques, plazas and parks and never really thought twice about them. Somewhere in the recesses of your mind, you’ve wondered: Why is this street named Waverly Place and how come it intersects itself at the corner of Waverly Place and Waverly Place? (true, in NYC’s Greenwich Village). The best way to find this stuff out: walk the streets with an expert guide filling your head with history, story and lore.

1. Take the time to soak it in
Buildings, shops, street signs that you pass everyday have a back story that will quite simply just surprise and delight you – and you’ll never walk by them quite the same way again.

2. Impress your out-of-town friends
Have out-of-towners coming to visit? Know your stuff. Show them where Hendrix used to busk on the street. Or where to find a great “secret” view of the city.

3. Impress your local friends
Surprise your friends with some great local lore about George Washington or Jack Kerouac or Andy Warhol. (It really depends on your friends. And where you live.)

4. It makes a great date

Walk hand-in-hand with your better half as you both see explore your city together. Use two iPods, or share one with a splitter (it’s kind of like sharing a soda with two straws) – and the two of you will be walking in your own little universe together. Very romantic.

5. Talk about bang for the buck…
Not only is it a great date, it’s a cheap date. As memorable activities go, a two-hour tour for under $10 is a pretty good deal.

6. It’s like the DVR of activities
Once you download a tour, it is there for the taking. No scheduling necessary. No guides to wait for. No groups to meet up with. Just you and your iPod hitting the streets. And you can stop and start as often as you wish.

7. You’ll be inconspicuous as a “tourist”
Feel odd about doing the tourist-y thing like taking a tour just a few blocks from where you live? No worries. With an audio tour, you’re just taking a walk with your iPod and no one’s the wiser.

8. Where’s the downside?
You take a walk outside. You gain a new appreciation for a local neighborhood. You learn something new and arm yourself with some great cocktail chat at the next summer barbeque. What could be bad?

9. Give yourself something to blog about or tweet about
A good tour is packed with great material that we’re sure your readers and followers would enjoy. And, while we can only speak for CityListen, we’d bet that any of our fellow publishers would be happy to have you blogging about them.

10. It’s fun
Give it a shot. Leave work a few minutes early and get a tour in before dinner. Wake up before your usual time and take a mentally stimulating walk before you head to the office. Or make a day of it: stop along the way for lunch or to sit on a park bench and watch the “real” tourists; or follow it up with a night on the town. Simply put: it’s a great experience. It’s different, it’s enlightening and it’s fun.

Search Google or Bing for audio tours in your city. You’ll be glad you did!