{"id":4801,"date":"2013-06-10T16:13:25","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T14:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/?p=4801"},"modified":"2014-11-18T13:08:01","modified_gmt":"2014-11-18T11:08:01","slug":"travel-using-google-maps-to-discover-a-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2013\/06\/10\/travel-using-google-maps-to-discover-a-city\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Travel: Using Google Maps to discover and map out a city"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>subscriber to my newslette<\/a>r<\/em><\/strong>?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>I\u2019m also on Twitter @<\/strong>rosso<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019m\u00a0rossosara<\/a>\u00a0on Instagram.
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve talked a bit about how I don’t really enjoy some of the planning parts of travel<\/a> – I don’t like price comparing flights, searching out deals, or spending tons of time on ratings websites. But one thing I do love doing is sussing out the place I’m going to stay and start to get a sense of the surrounding area even before I get there. That’s when I open up Google Maps and create a custom map for the trip.<\/strong>\u00a0I have some Google Maps which have been around for years, and with each subsequent trip I add more landmarks, more suggestions, and often discover and chart out a new area in the city.<\/p>\n

Here are some tips I have if you want to get started with it yourself – read on!<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Create a map<\/h3>\n

In http:\/\/maps.google.com<\/a>, search for something (usually your hotel or lodging is a good place to start), click on the pin, then “Save to map” and click on the drop-down and select “Create a new map” and Save.<\/p>\n

Here are a few of my favorite maps:<\/p>\n

\"London <\/a>
London map <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Milan <\/a>
Milan map <\/div> <\/div>
\"Paris <\/a>
Paris map <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"New <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Use the “Search nearby” function, a lot<\/h3>\n

Now that you’ve got at least one pin on your new map, I love clicking on it and selecting “Search nearby” to find all the essentials – coffee, of course, is the first thing I look for near my hotel. I know most hotels have coffee in the room, or even in the bar downstairs, but I like going outside for a few minutes, saying hi to the city, and getting my coffee, even if I head back to my room to work or have to go somewhere else after. It gets me going and it’s a few minutes I take for me. So that’s what I search nearby for, first. As you continue to use Google Maps moving forward, don’t forget you can click on any landmark in your search results, then “Save to Map” and select which map you want to save it to. I usually find some supermarkets and pharmacies in case I need to stock up on something or have an emergency, and then I start adding restaurants\/bars\/shops\/clubs that I discover or have recommended to me. I love going through bloggers’ recommended lists and then throwing everything into my map! If you’re super advanced, you can click on the pin, and add a link in it to – Rename your map. Usually the map takes on the first name of the thing you’re adding it to (which is annoying), so make sure you navigate to “My Places,” click on the map name, then “Edit” and rename it.<\/p>\n

Setting my home location:<\/p>\n

\"Setting<\/p>\n

Searching for coffee near my “home” location of the Waldorf Astoria (note: I’ve never stayed there…)<\/p>\n

\"Searching<\/p>\n

Results for coffee near my home location – I might save this one to my NYC map!<\/p>\n

\"Results<\/p>\n

Decide on a legend \/ color scheme<\/h3>\n

You can actually use your own images for the icons (check out my London map to see the WordPress logo indicating where I had a meetup one night), but I think the best way is to work with an icon scheme that you remember to group similar items. Here’s a look at mine and the icons I use:<\/p>\n