Few people travel just to see the sights anymore. After all, with Instagram, Facebook and a slew of other social media sites and apps to browse through these days, each with hundreds of thousands of photos of every must-see sight on earth, traveling has become much more about experiencing local cultures than getting a professional photo with the Eiffel Tower. Besides, that's what selfies are for.
But, finding cool local hangouts and events as an undercover tourist can be difficult, especially when you know no one in the area. Looking to bridge that gap, these 11 local event apps make finding the best events in your destination city as easy as a free download and quick click.
What apps do you use to find local events? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.

Want to have a European backpacking adventure that blows the rest of America's 20-somethings out of the water? Then Like a Local, a hidden spots uncovered travel app curated by local editors, is for you.
Explore the streets of Barcelona, for example, without ever stepping foot inside Els Quatre Gats, Picasso's famous hangout mentioned in every tour guide book. Instead, head to local hangover-helper spots for the best local-approved tapas, cafes and Catalonian cures, or keep the pace and find the night's most talked about party.
The app works completely offline and uses a real-time stream to show you which places are open and nearby in cities like Munich, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Vienna and Copenhagen. Like a Local gets five stars for convenience and accuracy about cool spots and is free for download on iOS.

With Now, finding cool events in a new city is as easy as zeroing in on your location and choosing the category of event you're looking for, from news to sports, concerts to celebrities. The app pulls real-time photos and videos from Instagram, Facebook, Google+ and Vine to curate a hotspot database of pinpointed locales in the city of your choice. Simply click the photo of the event that grabs your interest and the app zooms in on the exact location.
Granted, because social media updates can be a bit delayed (think: #latergram), some events are way over by the time they pop up. But, the app does work worldwide and gives you information about an event before you head there, so it’s a good, free iOS app for users looking for socially connected locals at hashtag-worthy parties.

Serving as an instant event itinerary for any and all locations, Time To Enjoy taps into your smartphone calendar, only showing you events in your current city during your scheduled free time. If you're a busy traveler who plans out trips to must-see destinations, but don't have anything scheduled in the four-hour break between guided tours, Time to Enjoy will serve up events happening right where you are and even pencil them in for you. Basically, this free app provides fun things to do at the exact time that you can actually do them.

LocalMind uses location-based social media services like Foursquare to allow you to ask users who have checked in to a location questions about the scene, prices, Wi-Fi access or whatever it is that is stopping for you from being there already. Or, if you are traveling and don't know the area well, you can send general questions to local experts via the app to find out about events that are off the beaten path.
On iOS, the app has an Austin-specific update that works especially well for SXSW and that turns off when the festival is over or if you aren't in town. The Android and iOS apps are free and work in any city where users check in on social media.

Gravy is kind of the Songza for local events, curating the best events in your area based on your mood. A bit jetlagged? Choose an event from the "classy" category to find a mellow wine tasting. Looking to party with the locals? Click on "lively" for listings of the coolest clubs, bars and live music near you. The app uses your location to serve up events, so you can be just landing at the airport or walking down Quito’s streets and the app will populate events based on your chosen mood, all within walking distance, or a wider radius if you so wish. Download the free app on Android and iOS — the app has four stars on both platforms.
See also: 7 Essential Tools for Business Travel

Eventsions is a local event finder app that works best when given access to your Facebook account. When connected, Eventsions finds events in your area based on what you and your friends like. From there, you can add the events to your calendar, buy tickets straight from the app and even share the info with friends who live in your destination city via social media or email. It's a one-stop shop for finding something you like, getting your ticket, letting friends know what’s up and penciling it all in, without ever having to leave the app or stress out about how to see all your local friends while you're in town. Eventsions is free for iOS users.

If you’re visiting a lot of friends during your travels, Vamos is your go-to app. It collects and arranges Facebook event data detailing the events your friends will be attending. It is, essentially, the event section of Facebook, but in a much more visually appealing and easy-to-use format. The app grabs photos and event details including time, place and price, then shows you which of your friends are attending, all in one list-like interface. If an event is already underway, you can browse Instagram photos via the app. It's free on iOS and has a 4.5-star rating, making this aesthetically pleasing version of a social event calendar worth the download.

Produced by Google, it’s no surprise that Field Trip is a pretty cool and quite efficient app. It runs in the background of your phone as you explore a city and pops up information about landmarks, restaurants, clubs, bars, live music or anything else that you are near, no clicking required. If you are interested only in local events, you can even set the app to alert you to what is happening now and bypass all the tourist info. Field Trip pulls information from publications like TimeOut, Thrillist, SongKick and Flavorpill to bring you local events from the publications in the city that curate them best.
The app works on iOS, Android and even Google Glass, making it the first augmented reality event app on that platform.

This concert app taps into your music library, finds which artists you like, then alerts you to their upcoming concerts in your area. Traveling? No problem. Simply change your location and easily search for concerts from your favorite artists in the cities you are visiting. Overall, SongKick does all the work for you: finding where and when your favorite artists are playing, linking out to where to buy the tickets and marking it all down on your calendar. The app is free for iOS and Android users, and even has a website where you can sign in, upload your favorite artists and connect it all to your mobile account for when you are on the go.

Maybe you have a particularly travel-inclined group of friends who always brag about the best eateries on random backstreets across the globe. If so, then Spotsetter is the travel app for you. The app signs into your social media accounts and finds what your friends have said about particular bars, restaurants, concert venues and more, no matter the platform on which they shared it. Now you can travel the world, making sure to hit up the places your friends haven't stopped talking about since they got back. The app is free for download on iOS and has a five-star review. Turns out, not only does the app work really well, it’s also very easy to use and beautiful to look at.

Making a local event app list without at least mentioning Eventbrite, the leader in the local event space, would just be wrong. The app is a handy extension of the brand's web presence, allowing you to find events across the globe on your iOS or Android phone. Many locales will even let you check in with your digital ticket by scanning the QR code on your phone, so you don't have to scramble to find a printer before the event. The app also includes maps and directions for city visitors and those who get lost easily.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Eva Rindali