User generated travel content on Google Maps

This travel blogger is a bit of a geek, actually, more than a bit, but whilst updating my travel video map I noticed a few new features on Google Map that I thought would be really useful for travellers. You can now view tons of user generated content in the way of photographs and videos within the map.

Click on the map to view in real time

Let’s pretend I am visiting Seville, and my hotel is on a street called Calle Velrade, I can visit the map, and view photographs that other travellers have taken. I can watch a video of the Reales Alcázares Palace, a popular tourist attraction.

Users can also create maps, for example one tour company has created a map of the best tourist attractions in Seville, so I can view and print that map out to take with me on my trip. This is the reason why I love the internet, because it makes life so much easier for travellers.

Last year I wrote how you could create a map of your hotel with links to local restaurants from Yahoo local data, and mash it up with Google maps, and view the hotel and restaurants from street level, but until recently Google only provided the street level maps in popular US cities.

Click on the map to view it in real time.

You might be glad to hear that Google have started to record street level maps for Spain, and will be adding Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and other popular destinations in the next few months, pretty damn good stuff.