The Best Apps for Getting Around London (So You Can Focus on the Fun Stuff)

London rewards the curious, but only if you're not too busy staring at a map, trying to work out whether the Northern line is even running today. At Hoofit, we spend our days walking Londoners and visitors alike through street art in Shoreditch, hidden Georgian squares, and the stories behind the city's skyline. So we know a thing or two about getting from A to B efficiently, without missing the good stuff in between.

Here are the three apps we actually use, and what each one is genuinely best at.

Citymapper: your all-in-one control tower

If you only download one app before a trip to London, make it Citymapper. It pulls together every way of getting somewhere: tube, bus, train, cycle hire, walking, and lays them out side by side so you can compare in seconds. You can download the app by clicking on the image below.

What makes it stand out:

• It thinks beyond public transport. Citymapper doesn't just show you the tube; it factors in ride-hailing options like Uber alongside your transit options, so you can see at a glance whether it's faster (or cheaper) to take a cab.

• The "cool down" option. On a sticky summer day, Citymapper will flag routes more likely to have air conditioning: a small detail, but a genuinely useful one when you're travelling a lot and don't want to arrive drenched.

• Sheer number of options. Of the three apps, Citymapper consistently shows the widest spread of ways to make a journey, which makes it brilliant for last-minute replanning if something's disrupted.

Download Citymapper for iOS on the Apple App Store for iPhones, or Citymapper for Android on the Google Play Store

Apple Maps or Google Maps: best for walking (and now cycling too)

For pure walking directions, Google Maps and Apple Maps are hard to beat, particularly because they are already installed on most phones. Apple Maps comes pre-installed on every iPhone, while Google Maps is commonly already available on Android devices. Both are useful for finding your way through London's network of streets, lanes and mews, with clear walking directions.

A couple of things worth knowing:

• Cycling directions have improved a lot. For a while, Apple Maps' cycling directions in the UK were patchy outside a handful of cities. That's changed: London has had proper cycling directions for some time, and as of last year Apple expanded full cycling coverage across the whole of the UK and Ireland, including warnings for steep sections and stretches where you might need to walk your bike.

• Good for point-to-point, less good for comparing. Both apps will get you from one address to another. However, they don't always surface the same breadth of transport combinations that Citymapper does, so if you're weighing up several options for the same journey, Citymapper still tends to win.

TfL Go: the one for London's transport network itself

TfL Go is less about "how do I get there" and more about "what's actually happening on the network right now", and for that, it's essential.

Where it really shines:

• The full picture of the network. It's the best place to check the tube map and get a proper overview of how the whole system is running, not just your one route.

• Station-level detail. This is the app's superpower. Stations like Camden Town or Covent Garden are sometimes closed to entry during busy periods, or only accessible via the stairs rather than escalators or lifts: TfL Go will tell you before you've walked all the way there.

• Live bus times at the stop. Standing at a bus stop, TfL Go's "nearby" feature is the fastest way to see what's coming and when: quicker than typing an address into another app.

• Weekend works and closures, visualised. Planned closures and engineering works are visible on the map, so you're not caught out on a Sunday discovering half the line is replaced by buses.

• Your payments, in one place. You can also check your contactless or Oyster payment history directly in the app, which is handy for expensing a day out or just keeping track.

Its turn-by-turn directions are perfectly serviceable, but for planning a route from scratch, Citymapper is still the sharper tool.

• Download the TfL Go app for iOS

• Download the TfL Go app for Android

National Rail: best for train (and Overground) times

If your London journey includes London Overground, the Elizabeth line or National Rail services, these apps can be particularly useful for checking live train information.

The National Rail app is useful for checking live departures, platforms, delays and service updates for National Rail journeys. It can also be useful for checking London Overground and Elizabeth line services.

The Trainline app also shows live train times and is useful if you are travelling beyond London. You can buy train tickets directly through the app, including for journeys to airports and other destinations outside London.

Tip: If you are buying a train ticket, it is often worth checking the train operator's own website or app as well. Buying directly from the operator, such as Thameslink, can be slightly cheaper because you may avoid booking fees.

TheHOOFIT take

None of these apps is “the one”. Think of them as a small toolkit, with each one doing something slightly different.

Citymapper is great for comparing your options and dealing with disruptions. Apple Maps or Google Maps are useful for walking and cycling directions. TfL Go helps you understand what is happening across the TfL network, while National Rail is particularly useful for trains and Overground services.

And don't be afraid to check more than one app, especially if you're unsure about the best way to get somewhere. If Apple Maps doesn't show you a route that looks right, try Citymapper. You may find a different combination of Tube, bus, train or walking that works better.

Once you get used to switching between the apps, London's transport network becomes much easier to navigate. And sometimes, the alternative route turns out to be the more interesting one.

Explore our London Urban Walking Tours here: Camden, Chelsea & Kensington and East London.

One more tip: Before you set off, it’s also worth checking out our guide on How to Pay for London Transport. You’ll find out which payment options are available and what you need to know about tapping in and out.