About

Welcome– and thanks for visiting Downtown Traveler!

Leslie and Jake, the founders of DowntownTraveler.com.

We’re an online magazine for urban travelers who crave arts, culture and adventure. We’ve made it our mission to uncover exciting destinations and cultural attractions around the world.

We believe downtown is a state of mind, not a point on the map. Our contributors hail from Chicago, Kuala Lumpur, Kampala and beyond.

Downtown Traveler launched in November 2010 and is run by Leslie Koch and Jake Semmel. We’re a New York couple who left our corporate jobs in June 2008 to backpack around the world.

After visiting 17 countries and five continents in 12 months, we returned to Manhattan with a new perspective on life.

Who is the ‘downtown traveler’?

The downtown traveler is not a specific person but describes a group of urban adventurers who are independent, stylish and artistic. Whether we hail from Buenos Aires, Brooklyn or Seoul, we’re drawn to offbeat destinations and seek out cultural experiences.

We snap photos of street art on our iPhones, find deals at local markets and explore foodie destinations. From art openings to hiking trails, we seem to find adventure everywhere we go!

Care to join us?

We invite contributors to submit articles, photos or video posts that relate to our main topics: art, culture and adventure. We don’t pay for guests posts but will prominently feature your photo, bio and a link to your website. We  promote all of our guest posts on Twitter and Facebook.

If you’d like to contribute a guest post to Downtown Traveler, please visit the contacts page. If you are interested in contributing a sponsored post on behalf of a company, please visit our advertising/PR page.

For more info

Check out Leslie Koch’s first letter from the editor to learn more about our mission and launch.