From the lingering smell of teen spirit from the grunge bands of the 90s’ to the fragrant aroma of fresh brewed coffee, there is a lot to find interesting about Seattle. Here are our favourite apps to help you make the most of the city...

Seattle Map

trainCreativecommons.org/Brian Kusler

The Seattle Map app taps into the GPS of a smart phone in order to find the users location. It then shows all the surrounding businesses, such as stores and restaurants. It allows users to search the city by location, name or address, as well also plot their route to that part of the city. The app supports navigation for walking, car, bike, truck and – oddly enough – horse navigation. Users can also switch between 2D and 3D viewing. The nicest feature of the Seattle Map app is that it highlights the best subway routes. It has the different subway routes colour coded and keeps a fairly accurate timetable of arrival and departure times. This app is available for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Seattle Travel Guide

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Seattle Travel Guide advertises itself as 'not some boring information app'. This travel guide app has compiled information on 5,000 attractions, restaurants, coffee houses, museums and points of interest. The developers are Seattle locals who are dedicated to improving their brain child, so users can expect great updates to the app as time passes. Users can share information on social media, browse and upload photos of the attractions, and even add their own quick facts about the sites if they have them. For those who need a little bit more information other than the bare essentials, each site has a link to a corresponding Wikipedia article. This app is available for free for iPhone and Android devices.

One Bus Away

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Seattle’s public transportation system is one of the best in the United States. One Bus Away is the premiere app for visitors and locals who need to navigate the city via bus. The app is hip and modern without sacrificing any of the ease of use that comes with more basic-styled apps. The map displays all the bus routes in the city or will find the bus stops around a user's location. By selecting a stop, users can see what buses stop at that stop and trace them via a colour coded map. From the selected bus stop, users can see where the bus is stopping next and where it is before it arrives. The app keeps real-time timetables for arrivals, so visitors can be assured of exactly what time a bus is going to arrive. Users who get lost easily will revel in the history feature of this app that allows them to retrace their route back to their hotel. This app is available for free for iPhone and Android devices.

GrubHub

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Hungry? GrubHub app can help with that. This app works not only in Seattle, but within most cities in the United States. Users are treated to all the best establishments within Seattle, from the elegant five star restaurants to the lowly hole-in-the-wall joints. Wherever there is good food, GrubHub knows about it. The app is constantly being added onto by local Seattle residents, so whenever a hot new place opens up, it is soon to be on GrubHub. The app shows menus of restaurants as well as general information and photos, so users always know what they are in for. The nicest thing about GrubHub is that if users don't feel much like going out to eat, they can order food right from the app. Users are also occasionally treated to coupons and discounts for certain eateries. This app is available for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Alternative Seattle

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Alternative Seattle is the essential travel guide app when it comes to finding the city’s hidden gems. This app is overflowing with great lesser-known places that only the locals know about. The app is developed and written by locals, so it is filled with their favourite hangouts that newer visitors often overlook. Alternative Seattle features 80 different places where locals like to party, eat, exercise, relax and enjoy the spirit of Seattle. The best part of each entry is easily the descriptions, which are spirited and funny and truly makes each location shine. Each entry comes with photos, a Google Maps view and direct links to phone numbers and websites. While there are plenty of great free travel guides for Seattle, this is the only travel guide app that specifically focuses on experiencing the city like a local. This app is available for $0.99 for iPhone and Android devices.

Seattle Pipeline

bandCreativecommons.org/Johan Broberg

The Seattle Pipeline assures that visitors don't miss out on any of Seattle’s hot night life. The app is the number one resource for finding events and entertainment within the city. For partiers, it lists the happy hours of every bar within town and lists the drink deals for any particular night. For the movie junkie, the app showcases all the movie theatres within town and shows what is playing. This includes all the smaller movie theaters that show older films. Finally, for those who ventured to Seattle to enjoy the Jazz, Indie or Grunge music scene, the music calendar keeps track of all the shows that are going on. This is a beloved app of both visitors to and locals of Seattle, as it is such a great way to find new things to do on every night. This app is available for $0.99 for iPhone and Android devices.