Better living through technology! Here are Best of Nice Blog’s top ten best free iPhone apps for Nice and the Cote d’Azur:
SNCF Direct Incredibly simple to use and infinitely easier than the SNCF website: with one click this app replicates the big board at the train station on your phone. Great for when you want to know the timing of the next trains, or if you’re late and want to know if the train is also going to be late, so you don’t have to run. Available for iPhones, Smartphones and Blackberries.
Pronto Treno Gives you flexibility for coming back from market day in Ventimiglia or Sanremo, especially since Trenitalia doesn’t have printed train schedules. And since Italian trains are almost always late, you can now know this before you get to the train station. The app is only for iPhones, but here is the Trenitalia mobile site for smartphones.
Velo Bleu App Quickly tells you the closest station, and even better, if they have bikes and/or free places to leave a bike. Here is the Velo Bleu mobile site for smartphones.
Lignes d’Azur App It quickly tells you the nearest station, and if you then click on your bus, it tells you when you can expect it. It even has a map to help find your bus now that the Gare Routiere has been reduced to rubble. It’s much easier to use than the Ligne d’Azur website. Click here for the Lignes d’Azur mobile site for smartphones.
Nice Aeroport App Whether you are catching a flight or picking up someone from the airport, you can find out if the flight is on time with a simple click. And since the Nice Airport is the only one in the world that doesn’t have a huge sign to tell you which airline is in which terminal, you can easily find this out with the app as well. Here is the mobile site for smarphones.
Ou Sont Les Toilettes? A very handy new app that directs you the closest public WC, if it’s free or not (as if…), and gives you a chance to rate it or submit new ones. Also available as an Android app.
Around Me uses your location to tell you the closest ATM, nearby landmarks and points of interest, restaurants, supermarket, parking lots, pharmacies, hospitals, etc. Also available in Android.
Essence Pas Chere not only tells you the closest gas station, but lets you compare prices to find the best deal. It’s only for iPhone, but Zagaz is a similar app that works on a Smartphone.
Chagall Museum Audioguide A free audioguide (in English) to one of Nice’s best museums… how cool is that? Another insider tip: go on the first Sunday of each month to get free admission as well. For the moment, the app is only available for the iPhone.
Mobile Tour Guide: The Nice Monument Tracker App alerts you to points of interest and then gives you a little summary about what makes it interesting! Made by France Guide, it works in all the little towns all over France. Also available for Android.
Vocal Translation: This app blows my mind. With the Google Translate app, you can type or speak the phrase in English, and in 1 second it not only writes the equivalant phrase in French, but you push a button and your iPhone says it in a sexy French voice! It also does the regular type and translate, which is very helpful for figuring out French menus. Also available for Android.
And a final note: The Apple Store at Cap3000 offers free iPhone and iPad classes (in French). Just click Ateliers and choose Premiers Pas (for beginners) or Aller Plus Loin for intermediates…
Great post! Now I need to make a return visit just to check out how the apps work. Especially that ou sont les conveniences one. Most helpful.
I’m delighted to find that I already have most of these apps. I’d add to the list (but only because I’m a film freak) the Allocine app, which gives you cinema showtimes and other movie information.
Excellent, thanks! I’ve been using the AngloInfo ‘English Language Cinema’ page, but since it’s not an app I didn’t include it: http://www.riviera.angloinfo.com/information/movies.asp
I’ll download the allocine app now!