Above France for iPad: It's Like the Tour de France Without Any of the Sweaty Cycling or Crashes [App Of The Day]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5820599/above-france-for-ipad-its-the-tour-de-france-without-any-of-the-cycling

Making fun of France is as American as apple pie but it doesn't mean we don't think it's a beautiful country (what? there's more than Paris?). Above France is an app from National Geographic Traveler and Fotopedia that shows off the beauty of the rest of the country. It's a series of jaw dropping photographs that were taken on a helicopter tour around France.

What's it do?

Like their previous collaborative effort, Dreams of Burma, National Geographic Traveler and Fotopedia have teamed up to show users of the app a fresh take of a world unseen. Of course, France isn't as mysterious as Burma but by photographing the countryside from the view of an helicopter, you sort of get the feeling that you're flying around with them, doing something that normal people don't get to. There's castles, mountains, villages, rivers, beaches, lakes, waterfalls and more, all from an angle you've probably never seen and probably would never see again.

Why do we like it?

Because you get to see a different side of France (the side we never make fun of)! More seriously, it's photography at its very best. It sort of lets you capture the same feeling of seeing it in person. Yes, it's only a smidgen of that same emotion but the pictures collected by Frank Mulliez are absolutely spectacular. It's like Google Maps on steroids. Discovery Channel at its finest. Traveling without walking. Touring France without biking. Etcetera. On top of that, you can build a "virtual tour" with the app's Trip Builder to semi-organize and role play the helicopter ride.

GIF Shop

Download this app for:

• iPad, $3

The Best

Gorgeous pictures!

The Worst

Needs decent Internet speed