Guideling

A self-guided walk with nothing to follow

A walking tour gives you a route and numbered stops. Guideling gives you neither. Walk wherever you like, down the side street or back the way you came, and it tells you about what you're approaching, starting about 45 metres before you reach it.

On foot, on a bike, on a train

It notices how you're travelling and adjusts by itself, so you get about half a minute's warning whether you're walking or on a train. There's no mode to choose.

Why no route

Getting lost is fine. The best thing that happens in a strange town is taking the wrong street. A routed tour treats that as a mistake. Guideling has nowhere it wanted you to be, so a wrong street is just different things to talk about.

It only mentions what you can see. In an old town most things are behind other things. It won't tell you to look at a tower with a terrace in front of it; it waits for the street it can be seen from.

It steps back rather than running out. Away from the centre there are fewer monuments, so it talks about the district instead: why the streets change shape here, what was on this ground before the houses.

It never asks you to do anything. No "tap when you arrive", no "are you at the fountain yet". The phone can stay in your pocket.

On a train

The easiest case of all. You're not driving, the window is big, and railway lines run where they do for reasons: a pass, a river crossing, a mine, a border. It works out the speed by itself.

What walkers and cyclists ask

Can I use Guideling as a self-guided walking tour?

Yes, except there's no tour. Walk wherever you like and it talks about what you're passing. At walking pace it starts about 45 metres out, roughly thirty seconds of warning.

Does it work on a bicycle?

Yes. At 20 km/h it starts a story about 175 metres ahead. Use one earbud or a small speaker; it needs nothing from you while you ride.

How is this different from a walking tour app?

A walking tour app gives you a route with numbered stops. Guideling works from the whole city rather than one path through it, so wandering and side streets still work.

Do I need headphones?

Not necessarily, but one earbud is kinder to the people around you than a phone speaker in a quiet square. Keep the other ear for traffic.

Will it talk constantly in a city centre?

No. It talks for a third of the time at most, leaves at least half a minute between stories, and doesn't repeat a place it has already told you about. In a dense old town it picks the best few things per street.

Does it work on a train?

Yes, and it may be the best case for it: you're not driving, the window is big, and the line was built where it was for a reason. No settings to change.

How the timing works · The same thing in a car · Compared with walking tour apps · Pricing

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