In your own city you likely use your smartphone maps apps to find the fastest routes to where you'e going. But, doing this in a new city means you might miss out on some hidden gems. The relaunch of the Delightways app helps you wander a new city like an insider so you don't have FOMO from skipping over the best parts about your new locale. Whether you're visiting, or have just moved to a new town, Delightways by Sanpellegrino Sparkling Fruit Beverages guides users on unique paths through their favorite cities helping them to rediscover the joy of wandering, "the Italian way," according to a press release.
While in today's always on-the-go world, it's easy to forget to stop, breathe, and take the long way home. I had a friend visiting Los Angeles a few days ago, and instead of taking the freeway like I normally do, I opted for the back roads that snake through L.A.'s canyons and provide epic views of the entire city. It was a good reminder that I should do this more often, not just when I'm showing someone else the hidden beauty of the city.
While Delightways can guide you through the secret spots of a number of cities, new content launched Aug. 25 includes a new dynamic mapping function for both Los Angeles and New York City, and also offers a selection of featured neighborhood guides by celebrated lifestyle influencers in New York City and Los Angeles, two of the hardest cities to uncover hidden treasure if you don't know where to look.
How To Embrace The Magic Of Wandering
According to the press release, "With the introduction of this year's influencer paths, users will have access to insider guides charting inspiring routes in city neighborhoods including Brooklyn and West Hollywood."
Lifestyle influencer Louise Roe, founder of the Front Roe lifestyle website, partnered with Delightways to help people visiting Los Angeles discover the Italian art of wandering, "exploring cities with no particular time, schedule or agenda, discovering beautiful and unexpected things along the way."
Another L.A. based guide, Jenny Cipoletti who founded Margo & Me, noted that having a virtual guide in a hard-to-navigate city can be a big bonus. "[Los Angeles] is a singular city in that it’s one of the most spread out cities I’ve ever experienced," she explained on her blog.
"Stepping foot outside of your front door in New York, San Francisco or Paris, your choices for lunch are endless within a four block radius. Not so much in Los Angeles. It’s a unique city in that there are little pockets hidden around the city that are made up of groups of delicious finds."
If you want to experience New York City as a beautiful explosion of color and art, Color Me Courtney founder Courtney Quinn has charted a path to help people find the most colorful places in New York.
"Delightways is about enjoying the journey as it guides you on a path dotted with unexpected and inspiring stops for you to enjoy — to rediscover the joy of wandering," Quinn explained on her blog. "From colored walls, to pink restaurants my path has it all so you can really wander, explore and discover some of the wonderful color hidden within the city."
While it's tempting to just go, go, go — it's also true that some of the best things in life happen on the way to something else. If you're only thinking about the end game, you can forget to live in the moment, and moments are what life is really all about.
New York City based Creative Consultant Bright Bazaar noted on his blog that wandering can help provide inspiration. And, we could all use a little of that, right?
"What I love about the app is it doesn’t map the most direct route to your destination, but rather guides you on a wandering path dotted with unexpected and inspiring stops for you to enjoy," he said on his blog. "In other words: it’s perfect for inspiration hunts!"
Available in 10 major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, Seattle, Boston, and Atlanta, Delightways can help make sure you don't miss a thing during your visit. Additional app enhancements include a new streamlined user experience, push notification features, and new sharing options.
Here's how it works. Delightways curates thousands of local attractions that people love. "Then whenever you want to wander, Delightways uses these spots to map a custom path to your destination," the Delightways description on iTunes explained. "So as you’re walking, Delightways takes you to unique places to visit and cool things to do, from parks to architecture, food trucks to specialty cafes, markets and boutiques, dive bars and jazz bars, museums, and street art."
Here's what you can do on the app to customize your own personal wandering experience. First, select the city you want to wander in. Next, enter a starting point and a destination, or let the app surprise you. You can make the path work for you easily by making it shorter or longer depending on how much time you have. If you're not feeling one of the spots just swipe left to remove it from your path. If you totally love one of the spots you can easily add it to your favorites.
Ready to get lost? Download Delightways for iPhone, or Delightways for Android.
