Experience Cities Like a Local: Useful websites, blogs and Apps
Before I travel to any new city I spend time doing a lot of research on the area in terms of what to see and naturally where to eat and drink. I love experiencing new places like a local and not just visiting all of the tourist spots. Therefore I thought I would share a few websites/blogs for you to check out if you are going to be travelling this year.
I first found out about this site as my sister was previously a ‘Spotter’ for Manchester. This site gives you insider tips on 67 different cities (mainly in Europe) on things like bars, restaurants, coffee, shopping, and art and culture. The Spotters are carefully selected in each city based on their backgroud and knowledge of the city. (App available)
This is similar to Spotted by Locals, but allows anyone really to add in local tips on restaurants, cafes, bars, sights and shops. If you are looking for something specific you can also post questions about cities to be answered by a local. (App available)
Time Out has individual websites for the different cities it covers (which is a lot). It offers the best things to do in a city (similar to TripAdvisor), locals events that are happening, but also the best restaurants, cafes and bars. They also offer some really helpful lists, such as “the best restaurants to take your parents to” or “the best restaurants for groups”. (App available)
The complete opposite of The Daily Dose is The Manly Men Food Blog, wirtten by men, for men. They have a huge range of categories to search, with the most posts coming under the ‘Steak’ category (surprise, surprise ;)). They rate each place by a whole range of factors and then give an overall mark out of ten.
This blog is actually written by a whole host of bloggers and brings together the best of Salzburg, whether it be restaurants, places for going out, shopping, and culture. They also have a section on “City Life” including interesting history on the city and cool businesses to check out.
A really good guide to Innsbruck’s hotspots with a section dedicated to Breakfast & Brunch (definitely gets my vote). Jasmine who writes this blog has recently moved to Berlin, but she comes from Innsbruck, so in the future we will possibly see some posts about Berlin.
Do you want coffee, dinner, drinks or somewhere to go dancing? Need help to find a hotel? The Cool Guide has it all, and then some. Written in English and not short on suggestions. However a search functionality would be helpful, especially if you are looking for a specific cuisine. (App available)
Harrys Ding is an online lifestyle and travel magazine and is broken up into the various areas of Zurich, but again offers an entire section just for Brunch. They also offer a few “best of” lists, like the best burgers or the best fondue.
This is an English guide to Zurich and is actually recommended by Harry Ding. This blog offers short reviews on restaurants in all categories.
Apps to try
Having apps to help you find local restaurants near you is also extremely helpful when travelling. Obviously you really need to have internet access in the city/country you will be travelling to, but as we all know, there are always MacDonalds. You can also use these apps before travelling to make up your own lists. Here are a couple to take a look at:
Find. Eat. Drink
This is a guide based on eating, drinking and shopping recommendations from chefs, bartenders, winemakers, baristas, butchers, and food artisans from around the world. The majority of cities are in America, but they are expanding this.
Zomato
Zomato (previously Urbanspoon) lets you search easily for restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars by location and cuisine. They have over 10,000 cities all over the world, however not a huge amount yet in Europe. If you are travelling to America, the UK or Australia/ New Zealand, this is a great app.
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Spotted By Locals
Find. Eat. Drink