by Katie Alston

Canterbury and Whitstable are cool - according to a new iPhone application.

The Cool Places app is a travel guide for the 21st century and covers 16 places in the UK, with 30 more to be included by the end of the summer and dozens being researched for inclusion later in the year.

Designed to be used for short breaks or for a week's holiday, the microguides aim to cut out the need for bulky books and traditional guides, and each place's A to Z can be bought for £1.19 from the App store.

They feature photos, reviews, "Cool Picks" highlights, picture galleries, and maps.

The initial focus of the apps is on UK destinations and each guide has been researched from scratch by authors with local knowledge.

Places named in the Canterbury app include the cathedral, Burgate Antiques and Sugar Boy while in Whitstable Sundae Sundae, the harbour and the Sportsman are featured.

Co-creator of Cool Places Jonathan Knight said: "For the first apps we launched we wanted to concentrate on some of the popular traditional seaside destinations and also interesting historic cities across the UK so Whitstable and Canterbury were obvious choices.

"Both are not only popular with UK visitors but also visitors coming from overseas.

"Technology has enabled Cool Places to transform the guidebook format and make it more relevant for today's travellers.

"These apps have been designed to create a colourful, visual tour of Canterbury and Whitstable and an enhanced experience that goes way beyond the traditional guidebook."