Mobile phone applications have become part of our lives, you can find answers to existential questions using Google as you walk down the street, check to see if a picture is hanging straight using Spirit level plus, take a photo of someone falling off their bike and send it via Twitter or Facebook for the entire planet to enjoy and laugh at another's misfortune. You can get your children off your back by downloading a mindless game for free, or even help them do their homework with an educational app. You can browse the internet, gaze at the stars, find a restaurant, a hotel, store your personal files, watch a film, find a recipe, find a person or even find your mobile phone if you lose it using built in mobile gps technology. Yes, there is indeed an application for nearly everything, as the advertisement says.
Now comes the problem with this plethora of useful
technology. Finding the one for you. You can of course find
an application, look at similar applications and applications seen by
those who liked the one you are looking at, and eventually you may find
the one you are after, and so if you REALLY need an application to get
on with your life, or you are bored sitting in a doctors waiting room
you will go through the aforementioned process.
So what do you download when travelling? Tripadvisor is a good one
without a doubt, Google maps is very handy, a weather app of course and
there are many other mainstream applications which will help, but
recently the development of very specific theme based apps have
started to reveal themselves to those who know where to look.
So to save you the hassle of spending hours searching here are a few of
the essential travel applications when coming to Provence.
Provence Gallery
This free application was created by Zevisit for the
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Tourist Board. Wherever you find
yourself in Provence, this application will find the nearest landscape
that provided inspiration for one of it's great artists. You may well
be familiar with the works of Cezanne, Van Gogh, Dufy, Gaugin and many
more besides, and using this application you can see and even take a
picture and upload it to an on-line gallery to share
with other Provence
Gallery users. Obviously when you are in Arles or near the Montagne St
Victoire in Aix your phone will be telling you non stop that you are
near the site of a painting (the Painting alert function can
be dis-activated ). You can search by artist, by
painting or by place and
when you have chosen your masterpiece, you have a short but very
informative audio text telling you about the history behind
the
painting.
click to enlarge and scan with your phone |
It's a simple app and is a great way to discover the artistic side of Provence as you travel, a recommended download before you leave.
Edible Heritage
This application is like having your
own personal guide of the city of Aix en Provence. Open up the
application and you will start with
an introduction to the town of Aix
en Provence. The Edible Heritage tour takes you through the city with
very detailed audio descriptions including historical, architectural
and also indicating surrounding restaurants, shops as
well as what you
can buy in them, from traditional Boutis to Callisons. You don't have
to follow the tour, if you prefer you can wander the streets and click
on any place of interest and listen to the audio guide. If it is around
lunch time you can click on the knife and fork and see which
restaurants can be found nearby, with a description of each when
clicked on. The application was created by two Canadians who wanted to
share their love of Aix en Provence and also their in depth knowledge
in the history and traditions to be found there. Although the database
is quite extensive, the application does
not contain every restaurant
in Aix since the creators have only included ones that are tried tested
and approved by them, but I would imagine that updates will be
forthcoming, and maybe
via the contact page on their site http://edibleheritage.com/
you can give your own comments on any discoveries you make on your
voyage. I recommend downloading it a while before you leave and you can
start your voyage of discovery and begin to whet your
appetite back home.
For
2.30€ you will not find a guide as informative and always
at the
ready anywhere else, you can of course opt for a real flesh and blood
guide, but move the decimal along a couple of notches...and some, and
that's for one day only!Provençal Roaming. A Travel Guide
Created by Francophile Paul Shawcross here is
an app that will guide you through Provence and beyond as far as Aigues Mortes and
as far North as the Ardeche neither of which is strictly speaking in Provence.
But I can see why they are there, I wouldn't be able to contain myself to
strict geographical limits if I was creating such an app and I would imagine
that if you are visiting the region you wouldn't either! However the Eastern limits
are Aix en Provence and Cassis, and he recommends other
apps (Riviera Roaming App by Kimberly Lovato) and a forthcoming app called Nice
and Easy Nice to cover the missing department of Les Alpes Maritimes. I would
have liked to have seen the Provence Verte included, (around Brignoles) as here
there are a myriad of secrets to reveal and it is often left out. I hope that
this will figure in later editions.
The informative text for each entry is written
with authority and I would even say affection as he is not just mindlessly listing
places but is sharing his vision as well as that of other people mentioned in
the app and I suspect using their personal recommendations for some of the
addresses, but this is hardly surprising as Paul Shawcross is a travel writer
who is no stranger to Provence and that is why this is a must have guide.
It may not have every place listed, but it has
the most important sites as well as some lesser known ones like the Tom Simpson Memorial on the top of the Mont Ventoux. It has a list of restaurants recommended
by the author, some hotels, camp sites and even an address for camper-van hire. There
is plenty of historical background about Provence and even a section on the
Troubadours. Another aspect of this app
that I like is the fact that you can leave comments and Paul will get back to
you with a pertinent answer, an unlikely event with major tourist guides.
It is an app that I will recommend to my self-drive
clients (along with a few others mentioned in this post) for its good accurate information
from someone who is talking from personal experience. Like Edible Heritage it is worth downloading this before you leave so as to whet your appetite for your journey to come! The App is available for
I-Phone & I-Pad as well as Android platforms for a mere $2.99.
Moto Paca
This is an application for the
bikers, that is motor bikers. Only available on iPhone at the moment
and in French but definately worth the detour. This is another
application created for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Tourist
Board this time by Azur Consulting. It comprises pre-established
itineraries for biking around the region, giving you information on
restaurants, petrol stations, museums and other useful points of
interest on the way. You have information on the distance, and
difficulty as well as the time required to complete the itinerary. You
can also create your own itinerary and upload it.
This is a free
application which I'm sure could also be used by motorists, but be
careful of the bikers please!Visite 04
A free application only available in French for the time being. The QR code on the picture (click for a bigger version) will take you to the app on iPhone and to a mobile site for Android.
Showcasing a favourite destination of mine
the department of Les Alpes de Haute Provence, which
stretches from the Montagne de Lure, via Forcalquier (where I am
sitting writing this article) over the Durance valley to the Valensole
plateau and its endlesss lavender, the Verdon river and the Gorges of
the same name an all of that neatly packaged by the Alps to the north
and east. Sounds good doesn't it! If you want to know more contact us
here. http://www.unique-provence.com/contact-us An
article on this amazing destination is coming soon.
Travel applications that help you discover towns, and regions are becoming more and more popular, and help to enrich your travel experience enourmously at very little cost. In Provence the other apps of note are:
Provence and
French Riviera by MobileReference Travel,
which comes
in free and paying versions and is a much lighter
way of keeping a guide book of the entire region at your fingertips.
Find top attractions, restaurants etc along with phrasebooks
and gps maps showing your location.
Coteaux Varois
en Provence is an app that allows you to discover the
wines of the aforementioned region, and believe me there are some real
gems to be discovered! You will find the vignerons, along
with their contact details, events taking place and much on information
on the Appelation itself. See our gourmet wine and food tour
here http://www.unique-provence.com/the-art-of-living-en-provence
If you know of any good apps to enhance your visit to
Provence, leave a comment or contact us http://www.unique-provence.com/contact-us and
don't hesitate to give your opinions of the above applications.
Now this looks like a good traveler's app to grab. I just hope they make an app of this quality for us bike riders back here in the States; it'll be a great add-on for those long-haul motorcycle trips.
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