First, you'll want to provide Alexa with your locale. Open the Alexa app on your mobile device. Tap on the Hamburger icon () and Settings and select the name of your Echo. Swipe down to the section on Device location. There, you can type your ZIP code to give Alexa a general location, or enter your address to be more specific. Tap Save, and you're good to go.

Next, tap on the Hamburger icon () again. Navigate to Skills > Categories > Local. Skills devoted to local places, events, and other items pop up.

Tap on the Hamburger icon () and tap Things to Try. Swipe down the list. Check out the topics for Local Search, Traffic Information, and Movies and Showtimes to find local information.

Here are a selection of things to try and skills you can access when you want to know what's going on around the block.

With Place Finder, you can find all kinds of businesses in any location, including restaurants, flower shops, gas stations, hotels, doctors, hospitals, plumbers, and more.

Say: "Alexa, open Place Finder." Alexa describes the skill. You can then say: "Alexa, ask Place Finder to find a [name of business] in [city, state, or ZIP code]." Alexa then serves up a business by tapping into Yelp results. You hear the name, rating, and number of reviews. You can ask for details or reviews of the business, move onto the next business in that search, or launch a search for a different type of business.