Where to go · SELF-GUIDED TOURS
Good self-guided tours fill up weeks ahead and the great ones go first. Below: the 5 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Use the Trippy Tour Guide app to follow a festive London route from the Strand through Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly, Bond Street, Regent Street, Seven Dials, and Covent Garden. GPS-linked stories, offline maps, dining tips, and audio in four languages let you set your own pace without a live guide.
Use your phone to follow Santa’s narration from King’s Chapel through Boston’s Christmas history, Charles Dickens, Beacon Hill, Frog Pond, Pinckney Street, and the lights on Commonwealth Avenue. The 40 to 50 minute route works on up to four phones, so it is a low-cost, private walk you can take at your own pace.
“We had a great time on the Christmas walk. Enjoyed learning the history and the humor sprinkled through it added to the enjoyment.”
Use the Trippy Tour Guide app to follow a GPS-linked Christmas lights route through central London. Starting at Trafalgar Square, you’ll visit Leicester Square, Bond Street, Oxford Street, Seven Dials, and Covent Garden. The audio, offline map, and lifetime access let you pause for food, shopping, and photos as you go.
“The audio tour was outdated at several stops and the descriptions were not accurate as the lights had been updated or changed”
Explore Rovaniemi at your own pace with a VoiceMap audio tour narrated by a Norwegian writer and photographer. In 30 to 45 minutes, follow the route from Scandic Rovaniemi City through downtown, past Lordi's Square, Hotel Pohjanhovi, the Kemijoki River, and Lumberjack's Candle Bridge, ending at Rovaniemi Church. Offline maps and audio are included.
“Nice walk.funny audio. GPS was often off point.so i had to navigate myself and start the audio manually sometimes.”
Follow an English-language app through 23 Christmas stops in central Strasbourg, from the giant tree at Place Kléber to the cathedral and decorated old-town streets. GPS guidance, narration, and a flexible private format let you pause for markets, photos, food, and shops. Allow two to three hours, and consider starting after dark.
“Very well executed with gps guidance and clear instructions. Great way to visit a city and take a self paced walk around the town.”
Pick a market, a sleigh, a stage or a river.
