Recommended Area Order

This small guide gives a recommended order for clearing the areas. This is light on spoilers (map, areas, some NPC companion locations).

When exploring an area, be sure to click to leave in each direction (north, west, east, south) in order to unlock routes to all adjacent areas. Don't actually go to those areas, cancel leaving your current area after the map is updated with the new area(s).

Earlier listed rules are more important than the later rules:

1. The areas for the city of Baldur's Gate do not perfectly follow the other rules. They are too intertwined to come up with a perfect order, and there is no distance or traveling time between them, so no time is lost and there is no chance of random encounters
   
2. Only areas adjacent to areas that have already been completed are valid options
   
3. Area order is selected in a way to maximize content from quests. If there is a time limit for a quest that spans multiple areas, the first area might be delayed and/or the last area might get bumped up in the order. Areas with optional quest content will be done before the quest is completed
   
4. Areas are selected in increasing order of difficulty. Difficulty is determined by using the maximum experience points awarded from a single non-random enemy in each area
   
5. Areas closer to the most recently completed area are chosen before further areas

The numbers are the order to complete the areas

W Baldur's Gate and NE Baldur's Gate are each split in two by the old city walls, and so each of those areas is split into two separate areas in the order.

The # column corresponds to the numbers in the earlier map and is the order to complete areas.

The nearest town column lists the nearest town (with a store and inn) that has already been completed (and can be returned to) or is the ultimate target of the current explorations. This is to help find the area on the map, to inform on the fastest place to sell loot and rest, and the best towns to rest in before attempting an area so that fatigue is delayed as long as possible.

The order of the areas for the city of Baldur's Gate aren't extremely important. The main thing is you probably don't want to go to the eastern side of NE Baldur's Gate (meaning you would only want to enter it directly from N Baldur's Gate) until you've been to most of the other areas of the city and are familiar with where things are.

I have another Baldur's Gate guide here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3605620587