The best free iPhone apps for Paris...

This post has been written for the iPhone 5S using iOS 7.1, however almost all of these apps are available for other smartphones, as well as tablets. Note that these apps are mostly from the French app store, and so their availability may differ in other countries (learn how to change your country setting at the bottom of this post).

So...what are the best apps for Paris? Well here's what I think, in no particular order:

1.  RATP - The official and well made app for the Paris public transport system covering the metro lines, RER lines and buses. It's particularly useful when using the bus network. Includes maps.

2.  SNCF apps - Another train app Another 5 train apps. For some strange reason there are over 5 different SNCF apps, each covering a different section of the SNCF network. The SNCF rail network covers the greater Paris region and the rest of France. Due to the number of apps and their poor interfaces, they can best be described as inefficient and difficult to use. Just like the SNCF service itself. However, these apps still make the list, given there are limited alternatives. Just like the SNCF service itself. You should be covered if you use a combination of SNCF Direct, SNCF Transilien (Paris region) and SNCF TER (Regional France).

3.  DB Navigator - Another train app, this one covering lines throughout Europe. The best I've found so far.

4.  Metromap - A simple app which gives you two maps, one for the metro lines and one for the further reaching RER network.

5.  Ulmon Paris - A city map app that works offline...perfect if you are relying on wireless or trying to avoid roaming fees. It doesn't calculate routes, but it does have a searchable database of streets, tourist sites, restaurants, shops, parks etc. It also allows you mark locations so you can plan an itinerary. They have a free Paris app, and their CityMaps2Go app allows you to download two cities for free (after that you have to fork out). Free apps are also available for other major cities.

6.  Météo Paris - A weather app for Paris with daily and 7 day forecasts, and rainfall radar maps among other things. Note that there are similar apps for the other main French cities, and a Météo Villes app which covers all the smaller French towns.

7.  Yelp - Primarily an app that provides restaurant/café reviews and search functionality based on your location. It's the best app I've found for finding nearby restaurants and for having the most number of reviews in English.

8.  Vélib' - The official app for the public bike system. You can find the nearest bike station and see the number of bikes available or number of empty spaces for returning your bike.

9.  My Airport - An airport app for Paris's two main airports (Charles de Gaulle and Orly), allowing you to check flight schedules by flight number or airline. Also includes a handy map of each airport showing terminal locations etc.

10.  Sytadin - A traffic app for road conditions in Paris and it's suburbs. Provides real-time traffic status maps showing traffic levels, traffic speeds, closed roads, accidents and construction sites.

11.  Google Translate - An app for translating French into something you can understand... indispensable.

12.  Google Maps - I'm sure you're familiar with this one. However, a few tips.. Now that it's been dropped by Apple as a built-in app, all address links on the phone will take you into the Apple maps app. This can be avoided easily by not tapping links, and instead holding your finger on links until a menu appears. You then get the option to "copy" the address, which you can then paste into Google Maps. Also note that there is a handy little Easter egg hidden in Google Maps. If you type "okmaps" into the search field, it will save the visible map to the cache, making it available offline.  It has size and resolution limitations but still very very useful.

13.  TuneIn Radio - A radio app that fills the musical void that French radio doesn't quite fill. Tune into your favourite hometown radio station or discover something new.

14.  Shazam - A handy app anywhere in the world, which allows your phone to "listen" to a song and identify the artist and song title. Great for identifying the funky little songs on FIP radio, or that random song you heard at a French café (you know what I'm talking about).

15.  Easy Calc Pro (sorry, this one is not free but still worth a mention) - No it's not calculator, it's a hidden camera. I find this great for taking photos in all those museums and galleries that, for no apparent reason, don't allow photos.

16.  Social / communication apps - Avoid international phone charges by using one of several apps available for messaging / speaking with international friends and family. Popular examples include FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp and FB Messenger.

Missing from my list are the apps that come standard with the iPhone. However some of the standard apps are indispensable such as World clock (so you don't wake your friends up in Australia at 2am) and iBooks (which you can load up with pdfs such as maps or online tickets).

Other tips for the iPhone:

••  Change your app store country setting - This can give you access to apps that are blocked in your home country. And once you have the new app, it usually continues to function once you switch back. The method to change countries? Go to Settings > iTunes & Apps Store > Apple ID: ... > View Apple ID > Enter password. Then enter your password. Then go to Country/Region, where you will find an option to Change Country or Region. Note that you generally require a local credit card to start a new app store account.

••  Keyboard options - Lastly, don't forget you can Frenchify your phone a little under Settings > General > International. Adding a French keyboard will give you the autocorrect function for when you need to type in French. And even when using an English keyboard, French accent characters are always available. Simply hold down the relevant character (such as E), which will bring up all your accent options (è, é, ê etc).