Jon Chase, CNTraveler.comThough there's certainly no shame in it, no one likes to feel like a tourist. And unless you're staying with a local (or have made travel research a full-time job), it can be hard to unearth the hidden sites, lesser-known haunts, and authentic flavors of a given city. That is, it used to be: Apps to the rescue! These standouts put visitors on the inside track to the best food, music, historic sites, and culture in cities around the globe.
*Chefs Feed, free *
There's no shortage of eat-and-drink apps, but few are as compelling as this 2013 Webby winner, which is like a star-chef social network. Visit a U.S. city and browse the reviews of signature dishes that have been singled out for greatness by other chefs. And these aren't just run-of-the-mill players but literal Top Chefs: Batali, Boulud, Chang, Keller, Vongerichten, et al. It's a fun way to stumble upon new restaurants while being assured a surefire meal.
*Like a Local, $1.99 per city*
In theory, all guidebooks aspire to treat readers to the insider experience, but Like a Local is assembled by hundreds of local writers with a no-nonsense attitude. (Skip the tourist traps!, they cry.) Guides offer hotel, restaurant, and bar options across a couple dozen European cities, sending visitors to sites that aren't packed to the gills with wide-eyed visitors. We especially like that you can use Like a Local without an Internet connection: Just remember to download a city guide ahead of time (the app is free, but you pay for individual guides) and it's stored on your smart device of choice.
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See Also: How Google Earth Led to the Discovery of a Long-Lost Forest **Field Trip, free*
Itineraries are fine for mapping out a day, but they're useless when it comes to explaining the significance of that statue over there, the history of the piazza you're in, the notoriety of a local cocktail bar. That's were Field Trip excels: Based on your location, it offers up snippets and articles about what's nearby from reliable online resources (from Atlas Obscura to Zagat). You can choose to filter sources and content -- be it restaurants, historic hotspots, or curiosities -- and enable pop-up notifications on your smartphone so you don't miss something cool as you galumph on by. Or simply access it during a pause in the day for a quick hit of context or an impromptu suggestion on what to do next.
*Timbre, free*
One of the hardest things to organize on vacation is the post-dinner entertainment -- in particular, finding the best spots to see live music. Timbre improves on local listings publications by letting you search a city, find out who is playing and where, and sample audio of their hits. If you like what you hear, you're able to buy tickets right within the app; if not, simply swipe to the next artist, rinse, repeat. Come to think of it, Timbre is just as handy at home as it is on the road.
Photo: Jeff Greenberg/Alamy
*More from Condé Nast Traveler:*
· America's Best Food Cities
· Weird Natural Wonders You Won't Believe Are Real
· Stop Visiting These Places! You're Ruining Them!
· Instagram Photos You Need to Stop Taking Reported by Huffington Post 30 minutes ago.
*Chefs Feed, free *
There's no shortage of eat-and-drink apps, but few are as compelling as this 2013 Webby winner, which is like a star-chef social network. Visit a U.S. city and browse the reviews of signature dishes that have been singled out for greatness by other chefs. And these aren't just run-of-the-mill players but literal Top Chefs: Batali, Boulud, Chang, Keller, Vongerichten, et al. It's a fun way to stumble upon new restaurants while being assured a surefire meal.
*Like a Local, $1.99 per city*
In theory, all guidebooks aspire to treat readers to the insider experience, but Like a Local is assembled by hundreds of local writers with a no-nonsense attitude. (Skip the tourist traps!, they cry.) Guides offer hotel, restaurant, and bar options across a couple dozen European cities, sending visitors to sites that aren't packed to the gills with wide-eyed visitors. We especially like that you can use Like a Local without an Internet connection: Just remember to download a city guide ahead of time (the app is free, but you pay for individual guides) and it's stored on your smart device of choice.
*
See Also: How Google Earth Led to the Discovery of a Long-Lost Forest **Field Trip, free*
Itineraries are fine for mapping out a day, but they're useless when it comes to explaining the significance of that statue over there, the history of the piazza you're in, the notoriety of a local cocktail bar. That's were Field Trip excels: Based on your location, it offers up snippets and articles about what's nearby from reliable online resources (from Atlas Obscura to Zagat). You can choose to filter sources and content -- be it restaurants, historic hotspots, or curiosities -- and enable pop-up notifications on your smartphone so you don't miss something cool as you galumph on by. Or simply access it during a pause in the day for a quick hit of context or an impromptu suggestion on what to do next.
*Timbre, free*
One of the hardest things to organize on vacation is the post-dinner entertainment -- in particular, finding the best spots to see live music. Timbre improves on local listings publications by letting you search a city, find out who is playing and where, and sample audio of their hits. If you like what you hear, you're able to buy tickets right within the app; if not, simply swipe to the next artist, rinse, repeat. Come to think of it, Timbre is just as handy at home as it is on the road.
Photo: Jeff Greenberg/Alamy
*More from Condé Nast Traveler:*
· America's Best Food Cities
· Weird Natural Wonders You Won't Believe Are Real
· Stop Visiting These Places! You're Ruining Them!
· Instagram Photos You Need to Stop Taking Reported by Huffington Post 30 minutes ago.