Four Apps To Use For a Well Rounded Time in Paris

For first timers, Paris can seem like an overwhelming dream. While good looking, historic, cultured, stylish and lively, the City of Light isn’t always the easiest to tackle, specifically on one’s first day. While you could dive into Paris blindly, you can always have a team of helpers on your phone to guide you through the city. Here are four apps that will round out your Paris experience, from the quirky sites to the mouth-watering food to be had.

For The Food: Some come to Paris to see it. Others come to Paris to taste its legendary food. While there are dozens of food apps on Paris and France, if you want a tried and tested source, the Food Lover’s Guide to Paris will point you to the right plate. Derived from the book by New York Times journalist and cookbook author Patricia Wells, the app features over 450 of the city’s best culinary destinations. You can search for restaurants by neighborhood, category, price and even cuisine. The source provides overviews of the many restaurants, cafes, wine bars, bakeries, pastry shops, chocolate shops, markets and cheese shops. In addition, the app is traveler friendly with its map to guide you to the right spots along with its A to Z glossary of French culinary terms when you need help translating menus. The app costs $4.99.

For The Museum Tour: Even if you only have one day in Paris, you have to include a visit to one of the most famous museums in the city and tin he world. The Musée du Louvre app provides a comprehensive look at the renowned museum. It holds 100 Louvre masterpieces right in the palm of your hand. You can learn about the history of the palace along with the works that it contains. The app also helps you stay up to date with any events of exhibitions going on at the Louvre at the time of your visit. The Musée du Louvre app also provides practical details for visiting with maps, admission information and operating times. The app is free to download.

For Transportation: If you need to get around Paris in a short amount of time, you will probably take the Metro. To help with the confusion that can be foreign metro systems, there are plenty of apps for that. One of the easiest to use for English speakers is the Metro Paris Subway app. It provides a comprehensive guide for traveling on the Paris Metro, the Paris Bus and the RER. With subway maps, route stops and help with locating stations closest to you, the app helps you stay on track while in Paris. It costs $0.99.

For The Quirky: A day in Paris should not go by with merely visits to the regular attractions in the city like the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre. If you want to add a little quirk to your day in Paris, the Hidden Paris app will point you in the right direction. The app features a listing of unusual places to visit in the city including the oldest tree in Paris, secret symbols in the Louvre and even a man who can walk through walls. The offbeat app is free to download, but it does have a paid version without advertisements.