Free self-guided walking tours by app, in 16 cities

There is a fixed meeting point and a fixed time, and you often sign up online first. The tour takes two to three hours and follows the same loop through the city centre every time. The guide tells the stories, answers questions and lives on tips, so most people hand over a note at the end.

It is a good choice if you like to listen, want to ask questions and enjoy meeting other travellers.

You tap a start and a destination on the map and choose the length: 1 to 2 km, 3 to 6 km or 7 to 15 km. The app builds a walking route from that. At every stop you get a short story about the place and a question about what you see in front of you. Correct answers earn coins, and your steps unlock new cities.

You start when you like: before breakfast, in the evening or on a Sunday. You set the pace, stop for coffee and finish when you have had enough. The route starts where you are, for example at your hotel or the station.

Time. Guided tour: a fixed slot. App: any time.

Route. Guided tour: the same loop through the centre. App: between two points you choose, also in neighbourhoods no tour goes to.

Group. Guided tour: twenty people or more is normal. App: you alone, as a couple or with your own group.

Cost. Guided tour: a tip for the guide. App: free, no tip.

Questions. Guided tour: the guide answers yours. App: it asks you questions, it cannot answer yours.

Language. Guided tour: depends on the slot. App: English, German and more languages, any time.

Take the guided tour if it is your first day in the city, you like to listen and a fixed time suits you. Take the app if you are spontaneous, do not want to walk in a large group, need your own pace with children or friends, or want to explore in the evening or on a public holiday.

You can also do both: the guided loop through the centre on day one, and a walk with the app through another part of town on day two.

Building routes, walking them and reading the stories is free, with no booking and no subscription. After you sign up you get coins for several routes, and correct answers earn more. You can buy gems for extras, but you do not need them.

You need a phone with mobile data and location turned on. The app is available for iPhone and Android. It does not work offline.

You can start a self-guided walking tour with CuriFox here: Baden-Baden, Berlin, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Koblenz, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg, Rüdesheim, Sopot, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden.