The official blog for Google Maps
Explore places with photos, videos, and more
May 14, 2008
Posted by Henry Mitchell, Software Engineer
Do you ever visit Google Maps and sometimes get caught up browsing for interesting places? Maybe daydream about getting away, or reflecting back on that awesome vacation you took?
I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new feature that makes it more interesting for users to browse and explore different places on Google Maps. With this feature, you can explore an area by viewing photos, videos, user-created maps, and suggested local queries.
Start by searching for any location, such as
Solvang, CA
. You can see from the photos and popular searches that it's a place known for its Danish roots and wineries:
Click "Explore this area" and you'll find more content, which automatically updates as you pan and zoom the map. Keep dragging and zooming to explore interesting new places!
The development team hopes that you'll enjoy the feature and find some content on Google Maps that you hadn't noticed before. As we worked on this feature, we found ourselves daydreaming and exploring various places, so we'd like to share some of our favorites:
Kyoto, Japan
Paris, France
Sphinx, Egypt
Colosseum, Rome
Yellowstone National Park
I'll leave you with a video that gives you a taste of the new feature. Now go exploring!
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