“Washington DC: A to Z,”  a smartphone app launched on June 17 and written by Chevy Chase resident Elise Hartman Ford, has quickly become one of the most popular travel apps available.

“It’s doing quite well, consistently placing within the top 200 apps sold daily, out of more than 15,000 travel apps,” said Ford in an email to Patch.

Ford has been a local freelance journalist since 1985. She writes frequently about DC for guidebooks like “Night + Day D.C.,” “Frommer’s Guide to Washington” (she’s been the sole author of that annual guide since 1998) and for publications including The Washington Post, “National Parks Magazine” and the “School Library Journal.”

“I believe I know more about what's going on in Washington, in terms of all there is to explore, than just about anyone,” Ford says.

Sutro Media, which currently has a roster of about 300 (mostly) travel-related apps on iTunes, hired Ford to write the content of this app, which covers hotels, restaurants, museums, bars, theaters—“everything that visitors and locals alike might want to know as they explore the city,” Ford says.

“Each of the entries includes a write-up, photos, YouTube videos, maps, cost and hours details, and links to websites,” she adds.

“You use the app as an interactive source of information about various venues as you explore the city,” says Ford, who has heard that locals “are liking it as much as tourists.”

The app organizes information in several ways, so that one may sort through entries by neighborhood, cost or category, as well as by the name of a venue or location.  

The app can be purchased through iTunes for $2.99, and can be downloaded onto iPhones, iPads and iTouches. Android-downloading capacity is coming soon.