There have been many changes to Plnnr lately, and even more are coming soon! Among our plans we have trip-sharing, Facebook integration, smarter trips, and many more.
In the meantime we are working on adding cities, and our latest addition is Washington D.C.. As the seat of the federal United States government, there’s a lot to see there, and Plnnr can definitely help you around. So check it out, and be sure to tell us what you think: whether it’s a missing monument, inaccurate opening hours, or maybe just that everything worked just as it should have, we want to hear it!
Plnnr allows users to print their itinerary by clicking on the printer icon, as shown in the picture below:
Print itinerary and trip plan option from Plnnr
Additionally the printed itinerary and trip plan take the form of a list that can be viewed very comftorably in it’s printed form and carried with you wherever you like during your trip.
A few days ago, we found a bug in our trip itinerary generation engine. We wrote a test suit to reproduce that bug, but then we decided to go deeper. As plnnr.com generates trips according to trip preferences, why not generate the trip preferences with a fuzzer, and then check if the planning algorithm chokes on them? While fuzzing is usually used to generate invalid input with the goal of causing the program to crash, in this case we’ll be generating valid input with the goal of causing the planning algorithm to fail. This way our planning algorithm will only get better with more testing.
I am lucky enough to call the Marais home, and although I am undoubtedly biased it is one of my favourite areas to explore in Paris. ‘Marais’ literally means ‘swamp’ and the area used to be an underdeveloped quarter full of monasteries and markets. It has retained a village like atmosphere, largely untouched by the Hausmannian architecture that dominates the rest of the city. It’s as trendy as Brick Lane in London but far more central and picturesque. On Sundays the whole quartier is pedestrianised making it a perfect area for strolling and sampling its many culinary delights. I spend a lot of my time pushing through the crowd or Velib-ing around the narrow streets in search of the perfect snack or the ideal vintage buy from one of the many ‘friperies’. It’s easy to plan a trip to the Marais as it’s busy every day of the week, whereas some areas of Paris shut down completely on a sunday.
The Rue des Rosiers, the heart of the Jewish quarter, should be the first stop on the itinerary for foodies. This Sunday I headed straight to Chez Marianne, a bakery-cum-restaurant, which is known to serve the best strudel in town. The houmous platters are also unmissable and there is always a queue out the door in the evening – be prepared to wait and gaze at the pastries before you get to eat. It’s worth the build-up, I assure you.
For a quicker bite, try L’As du Falafel just down the road – my favourite place for a fast dinner. “L’as” translates as ‘the very best’ and any Parisian you speak to will immediately confirm this to be true. Endorsed by Lenny Kravitz, this Falafel paradise is always packed, especially on a Sunday, but extremely good value and an unforgettable dining experience. I am often accosted by the friendly but extremely persisent owners who persist that it is the best falafel in the world and this may just be the case.
Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and an amble down the majestic Champs Elysees is a great way to take it all in. Today I decided to take in the quintessential view of the city using the plnnr itinerary.
The iconic Arc de Triomphe on Place Charles de Gaulle is the most famous Parisian momument after the Eiffel Tower. This grand arch recalls French military glory from the days of Napoleon up to victories in the Second World War. Every evening an eternal flame is lit above the tomb of the unknown soldier When I visited hordes of tourists gathered around from the ceremony; people from all over the world united at in a poignant event which should not be missed.
Revamped in 2008, the museum was very impressive – make sure you incorporate it into your trip plan. It explores the 200 year history of the arc through appealing interactive displays. Don’t miss the breathtaking views from the roof at night, the eight lane roundabout nicknamed the Etoile giving a sense of the might of the city as it spills out into the suburbs. I was struck by the contrast between the history of the momunent and the striking modernity of the scene, with the lights of La Defense shining in the distance.
Plnnr.com provides hundrads of various attractions, restaurants and hotels incorporated into the application. See the video below which demonstrates the various types of attraction aviable for a typical one day trip to Paris.
If you go ahead and click on the “get your itinerary” button on any Plnnr widget you will get an automated generated trip plan and itinerary.The scheme is outlined below:
What you do it enter the dates and location to which you want to travel (we mainly support Paris right now). You click on the start button and are directed to the map (application). At this point you can play around with the application’s functionality and eventualy book your hotel which will be conventienly located in the center of your one, two, three, four, five or any number of days in a city.
Today i decided to explore the butte of Montmartre, one of the most touristy areas of Paris. I followed the Plnnr itinerary to give me the best guide to the area. The area is always packed with sightseers but this didn’t put me off: Montmartre is a unique area of Paris with a villagey feel, perched high above the city. I found it similar to Hampstead or Highgate in London, yet far more iconic with a rich artistic history; Renoir once lived here. I started my journey outside Blanche metro and was immediately confronted by the famous Moulin rouge. A little past it, it is now more of a place for cheesy photos than a genuine cabaret experience. A dinner and dance will set you back about 150 euros. I continued up the steep rue lepic, a trendy road where designer boutiques and tourist shops are jumbled together. Don’t miss le cafe des deux moulins, where the cult film Amelia was filmed. I enjoyed an excellent crème brulee there.
Further up the rue lepic i passed the other windmills of Montmartre, le Moulin de radet, originally located in the palais royal, and the Moulin de la galette, once a popular dancehall but now an upmarket restaurant. I attempted to ignore the aggressive souvenir sellers who dominate place du tertre and headed up on the funicular to the sacre coeur- all you need is a normal metro ticket. I think that the best time to visit is at sunset when you can see the lights of the boulevard de clichy sparkling beneath you. It’s free to visit the church, a great mock Romano-Byzantine building that was only completed in 1919 by a panoply of architects. It’s also worth paying 5 euros to visit the crypt and dome, the latter of which boasts spectacular views out over northern Paris. I’d been to the main church before but visiting the dome gives a greater sense of the scale of the church, which is one of the main landmarks of Paris.
I felt like i wanted to get to know the quartier better so i ambled down the steps and walked for about 5 minutes (the walk is shown on trip planner) to the musee de Montmartre to learn more about the history of the hilltop. The Cimitiere de Montmartre, 10 minutes away near Blanche metro, is also worth a visit to see the graves of Truffaut, Heine and Degas.
We’re very happy to announce that after quite a bit of effort and hard work, Paris is now available.
Along with Paris, we added a lot of bugfixes and changes, as well as major content improvements in Barcelona’s data.
We owe a lot of thanks to you – our users. Without your feedback, it would have been much harder. So, if you have the time, help us make plnnr.com even better – and tell us what we should add or change. We take what you say very seriously, and strive to make plnnr.com the best trip planner around.
After a long time of operating quietly, we finally opened up our website. We are very excited about it, and believe it’s going to change the way we all plan our trips.
Of course, this is still a work in progress. If you think that we should add or change anything, just email us at feedback@plnnr.com. We’d love to read your feedback!
