There is a specific moment in every expat's life in France when they stop feeling like a lost tourist and start feeling like a resident. It usually involves successfully booking a doctor's appointment on Doctolib, paying for a tram ticket without fumbling for cash, and finding a decent flat on LeBonCoin before anyone else. These apps help you get there faster.
In this guide
Install these on Day 1
If you do nothing else, install these five before your first full day in Strasbourg. They cover the most common immediate needs.
Healthcare — Must have
Doctolib
Book any medical appointment in France without a phone call in French. GPs, specialists, dentists, physiotherapists. English interface. Filter by language spoken by the doctor.
doctolib.fr ↗
Transport — Must have
CTS (Vélhop)
Strasbourg's official tram and bus app. Buy tickets, check real-time tram arrivals, plan routes and manage your Vélhop bike subscription. Available in English.
cts-strasbourg.eu ↗
Banking — Must have
Wise
International transfers at real exchange rates. Your financial lifeline before your French bank account is open. Also useful for sending money home. See our banking guide.
wise.com ↗
Navigation — Must have
Citymapper
Covers Strasbourg's trams and buses with real-time data — better than Google Maps for public transport routing. Tells you exactly which platform, which direction, and how long the walk is.
citymapper.com ↗
Housing — Must have
LeBonCoin
France's biggest classifieds platform. Essential for flat hunting, secondhand furniture, bikes, and anything else you need for a new home. Check daily — good listings disappear fast. See our housing guide.
leboncoin.fr ↗
Getting around
Public transport
CTS / Vélhop
Tram and bus tickets, real-time arrivals, bike rental. The essential Strasbourg transport app. Monthly pass management included.
Cycling
Badgeo
Strasbourg's city bike sharing app — separate from Vélhop, covers the electric bike and cargo bike network. Useful for longer trips where a standard Vélhop bike won't do.
Car sharing
Citiz / Communauto
Car sharing for when you need a vehicle for a few hours — IKEA run, airport trip, weekend in Alsace. Much cheaper than car ownership for occasional use.
citiz.coop ↗
Train
SNCF Connect
France's national rail app. Book TGV and regional trains across France and into Germany. Strasbourg has excellent TGV connections — Paris in 1h45, Lyon in 3h.
sncf-connect.com ↗
Navigation
Waze
Best for driving in and around Strasbourg. Particularly useful for navigating the cross-border routes to Kehl and Germany where traffic can be unpredictable.
Health & medical
Appointments
Doctolib
Book all medical appointments online. Filter for English-speaking doctors. Teleconsultations available. Automatic reminders. Your most-used healthcare app in France. Full guide in our Healthcare page.
Health insurance
Ameli
The official French health insurance app. Track reimbursements, access your healthcare file, find your social security number, set up your digital Carte Vitale, and locate duty pharmacies.
ameli.fr ↗
Pharmacy
Pharma&moi / Mon Pharmacien
Find your nearest open pharmacy, check if a medication is in stock, and order click-and-collect prescriptions. Useful on Sundays when searching for the pharmacie de garde.
Mental health
Mia.co / Wysa
Mental health support apps available in English. Useful while you're finding your feet and waiting to get access to an English-speaking therapist. Doctolib also lists psychologists.
⚡ Finding English-speaking doctors
On Doctolib, filter by "langue parlée" (language spoken) and select English. Several GPs and specialists in Strasbourg offer consultations in English — particularly around the Orangerie and European Quarter where the institution community is concentrated. Book early as their slots fill fast.
The international community at the expat Facebook groups is also a great source of doctor recommendations from people who've been through it.
Food, restaurants & delivery
Restaurant booking
TheFork (LaFourchette)
The main restaurant reservation platform in France. Book without calling in French, accumulate points for discounts, and find promotional deals — some up to 50% off the menu. Essential for Strasbourg's popular restaurants.
thefork.com ↗
Food delivery
Uber Eats / Deliveroo
Both operate in Strasbourg. Deliveroo has a slightly stronger selection of local restaurants. Useful for Sunday evenings when most restaurants are closed and you forgot to shop on Saturday.
Food waste
Too Good To Go
Buy unsold food from restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets at the end of the day for €2–5 a bag. Surprisingly good — you never know what you'll get, which is part of the fun. Very active in Strasbourg.
toogoodtogo.com ↗
Coffee & cafés
Google Maps
Obvious, but worth saying — Google Maps reviews in Strasbourg are reliable and the photos are accurate. Filter for "currently open" on Sundays when half the city is closed. See our food guide for recommendations.
Shopping & secondhand
Secondhand clothes
Vinted
Europe's dominant secondhand clothing platform. Huge French user base, great for finding quality items at low prices. Buyer protection included. If you're building a wardrobe in a new country, start here.
vinted.fr ↗
Flash sales
Veepee
France's original flash sales platform — designer brands at 50–70% off, for members only (free to join). Sales last 3–5 days. Good for home goods, clothing, sports equipment. Check it when you're furnishing your flat.
veepee.fr ↗
Secondhand everything
LeBonCoin
Not just for flats — LeBonCoin is France's marketplace for furniture, bikes, electronics, cars, and almost anything else. Indispensable when you're setting up a new home. Always check here before buying new.
Online shopping
Amazon.fr / Cdiscount
Standard online shopping. Cdiscount is the French alternative to Amazon and often cheaper for electronics and home goods. Both deliver reliably to Strasbourg.
On Veepee: You will download Veepee thinking you'll use it occasionally. Six months later you will have bought ski gear, a stand mixer, three sets of bed linen and a capsule wardrobe you didn't plan to own, all at 60% off. This is not a warning. This is a preparation.
Everyday services
Hairdresser booking
Treatwell
Book hairdressers, barbers, beauty salons and spas in Strasbourg without calling in French. English interface, instant confirmation, good selection of salons across the city.
treatwell.fr ↗
Home services
Habitissimo / MesDépanneurs
Find plumbers, electricians, locksmiths and other tradespeople. Useful when something breaks in your flat and your landlord is slow to respond. Get multiple quotes before accepting.
Post office
La Poste
Track parcels, find your nearest post office and its opening hours, schedule redelivery. Important because a lot of official French documents still arrive by post — your bank card, Carte Vitale, tax notices.
laposte.fr ↗
Weather
Météo-France
The official French meteorological service. More accurate than generic weather apps for Alsace specifically, where the weather can change quickly due to the Vosges mountains. Useful before any outdoor plan.
meteofrance.com ↗
Admin & official French apps
Digital ID
France Identité
France's official digital ID app. Store your national ID card digitally and use it for age verification and online identity checks. Useful but requires a French ID card — not yet available for foreign residents.
Health insurance
Ameli
Track your CPAM reimbursements, access your attestation de droits, set up your digital Carte Vitale. Essential once you're registered with the French health system. See our Healthcare guide.
Benefits
CAF.fr
Manage your CAF housing benefit (APL) application and payments. Check your status, submit documents, update your situation. Use the website rather than the app — it's more reliable. See our housing guide.
Translation
DeepL
Far better than Google Translate for French administrative text. The camera mode translates documents in real time. Essential for reading your lease, tax notices, and the impenetrable letters that arrive from various French administrations.
deepl.com ↗
Social & community
Community
Meetup
Find language exchanges, expat events, hiking groups, book clubs and more in Strasbourg. The Strasbourg Internationals group meets every Tuesday and Friday. See our Community guide.
meetup.com ↗
Neighbours
Nextdoor
Neighbourhood social network. Good for finding local recommendations, lost items, neighbourhood events, and connecting with the people who actually live near you. Growing rapidly in Strasbourg.
Messaging
WhatsApp
The standard messaging app for the international community in Strasbourg. Most expat groups, neighbourhood chats and institution social networks run on WhatsApp. Install it before you arrive.
Events & culture
Shotgun / Eventbrite
Tickets for concerts, club nights, festivals and cultural events in Strasbourg. Shotgun is particularly strong for nightlife, Eventbrite for professional and community events.
⚡ The apps that will actually change your life
If you install nothing else, install Doctolib (healthcare without French phone calls), TheFork (restaurant bookings without French phone calls), Citymapper (transport without confusion), and DeepL (administrative letters without panic). These four eliminate 80% of the friction of daily life in Strasbourg.
For everything related to getting settled — bank account, flat, social security — see our step-by-step guides in Admin & Banking and Housing.