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Story by Sophie Delon

Remember back in the day, when you used to carry around guidebooks and maps as you explored a new destination? The guidebooks were clunky and cumbersome, sometimes as thick as dictionaries. And maps … well, nothing says “tourist” like the sight of a person standing on a street looking at a big, unfolded map.

But nowadays, everything needed to navigate the streets of Paris can fit into your pocket through iPhones, Blackberries, smartphones and MP3 players. Those who have iPhones can find apps that offer maps of the Métro, city maps, 3D tours, guided tours and French phrases. Similar apps are available for other devices.

MuseTrek is a sort of interactive museum “Wiki” in which everyone plays an active role in their visit. Using your phone, you’re invited to discover a museum tour created and described by another visitor. Far from the monologue provided by audioguides and other guides, this exchange helps you see the museum’sdisplays in a new light, giving you a shared vision of the exhibition. Once you’ve finished your trek, you can grade it before writing your own on one of the themes suggested by theMuseTrek application. Developed by Le Laboratoire in collaboration with the Louvre,the idea was tested in April in the world’s biggest museum and turned out to be a huge success.

The Cité del’Architecture et du Patrimoine also uses technology to offer new services to its increasingly techno-savvyvisitors, including virtual visits of its collections via touch screens at the Café Carlu, cyberguides of the museum’scollections on PDA, and multimedia educational workshops. And the Cité’s website offers an on-line ticketingservice, video on demand and a podcast.

This past summer, the Grand Palais made a complete range of content available, free of charge, on a series ofBluetooth and Wifi terminals in its entrance hall, including Grand Palais news updates, behind-the-scenes stories, clips on the history of the palais, and personal accounts by artists and exhibition managers. The GrandPalais also provides this content in both French and English via an iPhone application available at the Apple Store.Downloaded more than 10,000 times in less than two weeks during the summer of 2009, the iPhone Grand Palaisapplication came a close second behind Google Earth.

CITÉ DE L’ARCHITECTURE ET DU PATRIMOINE
1 place du Trocadéro-et-du-11-Novembre, Paris 16th
Tel +33 (0)1 58 51 52 00
www.citechaillot.fr

GRAND PALAIS
Av. Winston-Churchill, Paris 8th
Tel +33 (0)1 44 13 17 17
www.grandpalais.fr

MUSÉE DU LOUVRE
Place du Carrousel, Paris 1st
Tel +33 (0)1 40 20 50 50
www.louvre.fr

Editor’s Note: Next week, Sophie will share more information about various tours and applications that can make your stay in Paris even more memorable.