Maps tell you where things are. Walking tells you what they are like: where the shade falls, which corner smells of bread, how the street changes after the bridge.
Pick a loop, not a destination
Without a goal, you notice more. Choose a direction, turn left whenever something interesting appears, and trust that you can find your way back.
Stop somewhere ordinary
Skip the landmark. Sit outside a neighborhood bakery or on a park bench and watch an hour of ordinary life. That is the city.