Must-have apps for studying, exchange and travel in Europe~

Hi everyone~ I'm Eloïse

I want to share, from my time living in Europe/France,

a few must-have apps that helped me a lot and are really practical!

No. 1 🥇: Xiaohongshu (RedNote)

If you don't mind using a Chinese app and reading Simplified Chinese,

I can't recommend Xiaohongshu enough!!! It helped me so much

I didn't have Xiaohongshu at first

I only downloaded it after the French housing subsidy application wore me out

You can find all kinds of information on it

Exam materials, subsidy applications, trip planning,

even what medicine to buy when you're sick or how to read meat labels at the supermarket

It's very comprehensive

Of course there are also some posts with pretty warped values

so use your own judgment

Also, I personally avoid restaurants and sights that blow up on Xiaohongshu

because if a place is super hot on Xiaohongshu,

when you get there you'll find it packed with young Chinese women

After all, in Europe, more Europeans around makes it feel more authentic to me haha

No. 2 🥈: Facebook

This is another app I don't use in Taiwan

but since coming on exchange it's been my lifesaver, my godsend

The one I recommend is the group 「台灣歐洲交換學生社團」 (Taiwanese exchange students in Europe)

Every day quite a few people post there looking for travel buddies, local guides or rooms for rent

and sometimes people resell all sorts of tickets or accommodation

Highly recommend joining if you need it!

I also recommend joining the Taiwanese group in the city where you study

I live in Lyon, so I joined 「台灣里昂同學會」 (Taiwanese students' association in Lyon)

When I first arrived I bought a lot of secondhand stuff through this group

like a water filter, an electric kettle, a rice cooker, an iron and so on

When you leave, you can also find people who need your things through the group

Great for exchange students staying just six months or a year

3. Transportation apps (France edition)

France has strikes all the time, so you really need a transit app

In Lyon it's TCL Lyon

I basically check before going out whether the metro is suspended

though some last-minute ones don't show up in the app right away😮‍💨

Besides that,

I also highly recommend downloading SNCF, Flixbus and BlaBlaCar

Booking train and bus tickets is really easy

and you can add them to Apple wallet!

The next few are more travel-related

Comparing transport prices - Skyscanner, Omio

Skyscanner is for flights

Omio covers planes, trains, buses and boats

But I still suggest booking on the official site after comparing prices

I've heard too many horror stories about booking through third parties

Third-party sites are sometimes a few euros cheaper,

but I'd rather pay a bit more for the peace of mind

Accommodation - Airbnb, Booking

I book all my places in Europe through these two apps

If you're traveling in a big group, I recommend Airbnb

You can often find places that are great value for money!

Activities - Get your guide

It's like a European Klook

I found my boat trip in Santorini on it

That was a great experience, super happy with it!

Luggage storage - Nannybag

Not a strong recommendation, just a convenience app

Sometimes before check-in or after check-out, if your accommodation or the station can't hold your bags,

or going back for your luggage is inconvenient, you can use this

I've only used it two or three times, though, because it's a bit pricey

Or you can just search luggage storage on Google map

Remember to lock your luggage before dropping it off

because some storage spots are really sloppy :)

That's it for this post

I hope it helps anyone who needs it

and that anyone who downloads these because of my post finds them as useful as I do!

Here's my Instagram, feel free to follow if you're interested~

https://www.instagram.com/imeloiise/