Tuesday, March 1, 2022 | Written by Claire
When traveling around Europe from Metz, there are four essential apps you should use to maximize your travel limits and increase efficiency to make sure you can catch the next train, plane, or bus to your destination. Public transport will be your best friend for the next few months. Your dependence on trains, buses, and even city-friendly scooters will either stress you out entirely or make it a much easier to get around.
Eurrail: Global Pass
Before coming to Metz, I had doubts about getting the Eurrail Global Pass, which cost over $800 for just three months. Don’t make that mistake. Eurrail is your best bet when catching trains across Europe, to even as far as Hungary. Preloaded timetables and prices for seat reservations make it easy to check train departures and arrivals without Wi-Fi. Additionally, it is well worth its buck. For each individual leg, for example just from Metz to Strasbourg, the central hub for getting out of France, can cost upwards to $60-$100. The Eurrail pass includes uses for intercity, regional, and long-distance high-speed trains that can sometimes cost over $200 per journey. The pass can be activated any time from when you buy it. It can be life savers when your train has been delayed or cancelled so you can find the next way to your destination by looking at the preloaded information. While it can be inaccurate at times, 85% of the time it has everything you need for a smooth journey.
Apple Maps/Google Maps/ Moovit: Transit
After these few months of traveling extensively across Western Europe, it is a common trend to see that Apple Maps is very reliable for transportation routes, which include trains and local buses. You can set the time to when you would be scheduled to leave, so you can check whether lines would be running at certain hours. You can also see multiple routes on the map itself of train stations, stops, and other info desks to ensure that you are heading in the right direction. On the other hand, Google Maps has been more reliable for finding more obscure restaurants and their hours. They have the best updated information on local stores and can also link places to their reviews left by others on Travel Advisor or other sites. The Move It App is also a highly accurate, European-based transportation app that includes routes, departures, and arrivals in almost all European cities. This one is probably your best bet for smaller routes that may not be loaded in Apple or Google Maps, so it’s always a good idea to keep it on your phone as a backup. Moovit can be used in Metz as well, and it pretty spot on with the times.
Tier: Scooters
Scooters are a fun way to spend your time exploring the city without walking. While these scooters are limited to only bigger cities, they are still prevalent in most places that you go. The only catch is that each country tends to have different scooter companies. The most prevalent brands I’ve seen so far are Tier, Bird, Lime or Voi. Big cities in Germany and Spain have scooters, bikes, and even mopeds scattered across the city for your convenience. All it requires is an ID verification to make sure you’re over 18 and a confirmation number to start up your next scooter ride. There are also many referral codes that can be used for ride credit, so if you’re in a big group, make sure to refer others to get free rides for you and your friends!
Bolt: Ride Sharing
Like in the states, many people use apps for ride sharing, especially to and from airports or major train hubs. Taxis in certain high tourism areas may charge higher rates that are definite rip-offs, but when you’re desperate and looking for a quick way home, ride sharing is a guaranteed option… just depending on the app you are using. In Metz, Ubers are rare. There are only one or two drivers in the vicinity, and they are often late or inactive. Bolt is a commonly used app across Europe for the exact services that Uber has. They are also very cheap in comparison and when split amongst four people or a smaller group, it can be a quick, efficient way home after a long day of train hopping.
