City Maps 2Go

This is one of the few apps which allows you to download a complete set of maps to your phone rather than just storing them in the memory.  There are over 7,000 maps worldwide on the app available for download and best of all, you can even contact the people who own the app if there is a map you need which is not yet featured and they will do their best to produce one for you.  The maps are simple enough to follow and often contain Points of Interest with details of name, description and location if you click onto the POI you are interested in learning more about.  These are not vast although updates are constantly being made to the maps available but well worth having a look at if you are new to an area.  It is possible to ‘mark’ certain locations on the downloaded maps such as your hotel so that you always know where you are in relation to your accommodation and the maps are high resolution without taking up much of your phone’s storage which is always a bonus in this day and age.  There are also additional ‘in-app’ purchases which can be made to provide you with more detailed information about the points of interest around your location.

JetPac City Guides

 This is an app which was created off the back of the popular social media network Instagram and it uses photos posted on Instagram to determine the hotspots in a city.  The creators formulated an algorithm which reads each individual photo and then determines it’s value based on a whole number of factors from the amount of blue sky to the number of interactions a photo has received.  Although it couldn’t claim to be an exact science it is certainly an interesting concept; if lots of people are posting about the same hotels then it stands to reason that they are doing so because said hotel is a good place to be.  Another unique selling point the app offers is that it has actually analysed the size of people’s smiles in photographs and has used this to determine the happiest places to be; it’s highly debatable how accurate this is but it’s certainly an interesting way of looking at travelling.

The Montcalm App

The Montcalm luxury hotel app is the ideal choice for fans of the Montcalm hotel brand who want to know where their nearest Montcalm hotel or restaurant is and want to book with simplicity and ease.  The truth of the matter is that the majority of us want to be able to book our next trip with the swipe of a button and this new app allows guests to do just that.  It also hosts a gallery of images so you can see exactly what to expect on arrival, and begin planning your luxury break long before you arrive.

 Around Me

This is a great little app which uses GPS to determine your location and then allows you to search for specific Points of Interest around you; exactly as the name suggests.  The various Points of Interest which are included are the likes of banks, petrol stations, restaurants and coffee shops and even hotels if you have arrived somewhere without accommodation.  Finding your nearest POI will then allow you to look online in more detail or to book direct with one of the luxury hotel apps, for example.  Around Me is one of the most used apps by travellers and is available in a range of languages including English, French, Spanish and Japanese.

Packpoint

This app has been designed in order to help minimise one of the most stressful aspects of travelling; knowing what to pack.  You input information about the destination of your trip, how long you are travelling for and what reason you are travelling.  Packpoint then customises your packing list based on these factors.  It isn’t a revolutionary app; if you are travelling somewhere cold it will suggest you take a winter coat, for example, but what it does do is take the headache out of having to think of and remember all the minute details.  It also suggests things such as taking business cards if you are travelling for work; a simple reminder but one which we all too easily miss off in the chaos of trying to remember to pack the right kind of work clothes.  You can also add further customisations by inputting the type of activities you are planning to do whilst away as well such as swimming or skiing.  This app is quite simple but is really very effective and for anyone who loves travelling but dislikes the build up and list making associated with it, then this is definitely a useful app to have downloaded and primed on your mobile phone.  Better yet it’s entirely free making it even more of a bonus little travelling find.

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Addison Lee Car Booking

The cab provider that so many London businesses rely on – Addison Lee comes highly recommended in the capital. And this app allows you not just to book one of their reliable vehicles, but also do so while you’re on the go yourself. You can book on demand or in advance – and with card or cash. Available on: iOS and Android.

Citymapper London

Tailored to help you get the best out of the city by finding you multiple routes via the Tube, mainline trains, buses, river boats and Santander bicycles, this app will simplify and improve your public transport experience. It also provides up-to-date details, such as disruptions as well as prices, taxi fares and, yes, calorie burn counts. Its loyal users swear by it.

Great Little Place

Could this app be the online equivalent of London’s ‘little black book’? Quite possibly. Operating as a treasure trove of the city’s numerous hidden gems, this one will help you discover – and visit – many a quirky, trendy venue, from the latest hip restaurants to too-cool-for-school bars.

London Official City Guide

While an all-inclusive affair, this one’s ultimately aimed at helping you get the most out of the capital while you’re on the move. Offering – without roaming charges – bar and restaurant recommendations, up-to-the-minute weather and travel information and offline maps, of all London visitor apps, this one has to be one of the most useful for both tourists and business travellers. Available on: iPhone and Android.

MBNA Thames Clippers

Enormously tourist-friendly, the Thames Clippers boat services are rightly hugely popular with pleasure seekers in London and this app allows you to speed up the process of getting on the river and enjoying the ride – so via your smartphone, you can purchase a journey wherever you are (no need to print out your ticket and all that hassle) and avoid the queues at the riverside stop; merely activate your ticket as your board, showing the crew you’ve done so on your screen.

The Montcalm

The Montcalm hotel group runs an elegant and stylish but comfort-orientated range of places to stay in the most fashionable areas of Central London, including Marble Arch, Shoreditch and The City. And, available free on iOS, this offering doesn’t just operate as a hotel deals app, but also enables users to make a reservation at any Montcalm hotel from wherever they may be, receive the latest updates on deals, browse individual hotel photos, maps and amenities, and view, edit and cancel an upcoming reservation they may have made.

Museum of London Streetmuseum

A truly marvellous invention this one – as it allows you to truly step back into The Smoke’s colourful and fascinating history. The idea is you simply hold your phone up (with your camera on) while standing in a London street and images of how that very street looked in times gone by will appear on the screen, so you can compare and contrast the present with the past. Genius! Available on: iPhone and Android.

Natural History Museum

Not only is this app designed to help navigate your way through the highlights and less well known exhibits at the world-leading museum, but it’s also been developed to update visitors with regular info on the latest goings-on at the superb South Kensington venue.

Raise Tower Bridge

So you’re visiting the downright iconic Tower Bridge, but the blasted thing is showing no sign of doing its most impressive thing – raising its roadway to let rivercraft through. Bit of a disappointment, yes? Well, with this very smart smartphone-friendly offering you can now experience – or at least virtually experience – that very event. Merely stroll along one of the bridge’s walkways and aim your phone at a designated point and (hey presto!) you can watch a 360° panoramic video of the bridge being raised. Available on: iOS and Android.

Regent Street

Designed to enable you to personalise and get the best out of your shopping experience on one of the world’s chicest and most renowned retail thoroughfares, this app smartly gets to know your interests and seeks out for you invitations, promotions, offers and event details (from leading stores such as Liberty and the Apple Store).

Riverside London

For those interested in getting to know the Thameside better during their time in the capital, this app covers the stretch running between Lambeth and Tower Bridges, enabling you to find out fascinating tidbits about landmarks as well as listings of leading riverside restaurants and events. Available on: iPhone and Android.

Santander Cycles

The official name for Tranpsort for London’s (TfL) hugely popular cycle hire scheme,  this very useful application allows you to hunt down – and discover the quickest route to – your nearest docking station as well as find out about bike availability. It also allows you to skip having to go through the rigmarole of using a docking station terminal by receiving a release code (to hire a bike) directly on your smartphone. Available on: Android.

Street Art London App

A priceless guide to finding all that priceless street art adorning the outside walls, doors, subways, alcoves and alleyways of London, this app provides not just user-friendly maps but also enables you to search the art by artist and by date. Perfect for hunting down that brilliant Banksy you always wanted to see in person.

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