Oh how we have longed for a city break. For the past two years the thought of being able to hop on a train at Kings Cross and find ourselves sitting in a pavement café in Paris a few hours later seemed impossibly wonderful. Now that we’re regaining our freedom, we’re ready to make up for lost time. But can we remember how it’s done?
Enter Urbs, the brilliant new app that sits somewhere between a tour guide and a travel book – in digital form. Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Paris, Venice and Rome are all accessible through the platform. Zippy young people including local writers, gallery staff and academics have been pulled in to offer their expert knowledge, recommendations and reviews. This careful consideration of the contributors is just one of the reasons we trust the app. It also makes the guides feel insider-y and almost as though a well-informed local is giving you all their wisdom.
Of course, it’s a far more user-friendly experience than a list of tips and you can explore interactively using a map, create bespoke routes and click on various sites of interest from leafy parks to cocktail bars. For many entries the information can either be read or listened to, podcast-style. For example, en route to the Musée d’Orsay you could listen to a quick 3-minute overview to put the gallery into context and jolt the memory of what’s in store. You could also book tickets to avoid the queues, and then find a nearby restaurant for lunch afterwards.
We like to think that we know London very well; after all we have been writing a newsletter about it for nearly 10 years. And yet there’s information in the London guide that we discovered anew. Visiting Kenwood House recently we tapped into the app and were interested to listen to the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a slave turned legal clerk who flourished at Kenwood in the eighteenth-century and essentially ruled the roost.
Full of stories and personal recommendations as well as useful practical information, the app is an invaluable thing to have in your pocket when you’re exploring somewhere new, or revisiting an favourite city you haven’t been able to get to for a while. Instead of draining your data pouring over Google Maps, you can explore off-line, plug in your Airpods, and listen as you stroll, taking in the city with fresh eyes. The app is available to download here.
This post is sponsored by Urbs. Full disclosure that the founders invited our editor, Daisy Allsup to contribute the restaurants and shopping recommendations for the London guide.
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