Mobile technology certainly makes being a tourist a whole lot easier. Type in ‘London’ to your app store and you’ll likely get 100s-1000’s of results, many of which are really good and many more that are not so great. To save you time, we’ve listed just the best of the best for the activities that using an app for can make your London trip so much easier and can save you lots of time along the way. Whilst we’ve focussed on what we think will help visitors to London, the truth is these apps are all be used by many thousands of Londoners every day!
Getting Around
City Mapper
The only bad thing about using City Mapper on your holiday is that you will miss it when go back home! (Unless you live in New York, Paris or Berlin of course, where it is also available) Described as ‘The ultimate transit app’ this is one case where this is not a marketing exaggeration. Plan any journey to anywhere in London and you’ll get step by step instructions of how to get there by tube, train, bus, car, bike or walking. The app calculates the quickest routes based on the specific time of day, including advising of line closures and delays and locations of your nearest bus stop or Barclay Bike station – it even tells you how many calories you will burn if you walk or ride!
Download: App Store or GooglePlay
Hailo
Whilst we recommend exploring London on foot, bike or using public transport, sometimes catching an iconic black cab is the best option. Hailo is the easiest way to book a black cab anywhere in London. With two simple taps you can book a cab to pick you up from your current location and the nearest available cab will make its way to you, with a map showing you how far away your taxi is. Once the cab arrives the app sends you a notification. Choose to pay with cash or car and the app will email you a receipt instantly. Hailo only work with trusted London Black Cab drivers, keeping you safe.
Download: App Store or GooglePlay
Eating Out
Ruffl
London offers so many great places to eat that the choice can be somewhat overwhelming – then when you finally find somewhere you often find it is booked out! Or the place you booked earlier in the day is nowhere near where you’ve ended up during your day of exploring. The Ruffl app lets you search nearby locations by price range and generates its top 5 suggestions, all of which have availability at the time you search. You can view photos, reviews, descriptions and offers and then book instantly, after which Ruffl will provide a map with directions on how to find your restaurant.
Download: App Store or GooglePlay
Things to do
Time Out London
Time Out have got London covered no matter what your interests. With regular updates, you will find inspiration for gigs, exhibitions, shows, museums, films, galleries, bars & pubs, concerts, nightlife, shopping, comedy and other events happening around the city. Drawing from their team of London experts across the magazine and digital channels, Time Out also seem to have an endless supply of Top 10 lists to cater for whatever you might be searching for.
Download: iPhone, iPad, Andorid, Windows 8 Phone, Windows 8 Tablet
Something Fun
Museum of London: Streetmuseum
Walking the historic streets of Westminster and The City, can sometimes feel like you are stepping back in time. For whilst London has prospered into one of the great modern cities of the world, many of the street landscapes have not changed all that much for hundreds of years – or so we thought until we downloaded the Streetmuseum app! Utilising the museum’s extensive photo library, featuring images from 1863 – 2003, this app makes exploring London an even more fun and interactive experience. Use the map to find locations near you which have photos, then you can hold your phone up and see an image of what your location looked like at another point in history with the modern day view in the background. There is also a wealth of information to find out about the images and locations Now four years old, this month the Museum of London release version 2.0 of the app with over 100 more locations and photos.
Download: App Store
