Look, it’s Google Maps good. It’s definitely even great – probably one of the most opened apps on many of our phones, and absolutely one of the most necessary.
But as good as Google Maps can be at helping us navigate the physical world, there are places where it and its big-name contemporaries all fall short, and where smaller third-party services falter and cook. Creative new possibilities for mapping. These additions go above and beyond what Google gives us, but they won’t be direct replace it In your app collection, Google Maps will complement it in some really interesting ways.
Here are five next-level, location-specific enhancements worth taking the time to explore.
1. Product cream detector
Google Maps has an ocean of ideas for restaurants, businesses, and all kinds of other attractions around the world. But actually inspection it is not so easy to understand this information and which places are the best to visit.
It is where a resource is called Highest rated comes into play. It takes the data hosting fire engine of the top-rated Google Maps and remixes it into a website as simple as possible where you can search for any city or just look around. current location, if you will – and see the best reviewed locations for that particular location.
You can set your desired maximum distance and then view either the top-rated destinations on the board or your favorite finds within narrowed categories such as food and drink, entertainment and shopping. If you really want to go off the beaten path, you can even explore hidden gems and recently discovered landmarks.
Top Rated is completely free and it does not require login or share any personal information.
2. Wikipedia-Maps mix
From the best places in the world to the most noteworthy places around you, our second Google-Maps complementary treasure is a site that puts you at the center of the map with Wikipedia information around you.
NearbyWiki does one thing, and does it well: It takes mountains of geospatial data from Wikipedia and puts it into traditional map form so you can explore it.
All you do is enter a specific location into the site’s search function or let it detect your search current automatically place and poof: You’ll see an interactive map of the area with custom pins showing every place around you that’s linked to a Wikipedia entry.
You can tap or click any of those pins to see a pop-up with more information. If you want, you can read the entire related Wikipedia list right then and there, on top of the map – giving you an easy way to find interesting facts about places around you, as well as new nearby points of interest to explore. Additionally, NearbyWiki lets you open any location directly on Google Maps for instant navigation if you see a place you want to go.
It’s a whole new way to navigate Wikipedia in the real world, and like our first Maps-extending discovery, it’s 100% free, with no login or data sharing required.
3. Public transit pro
Google Maps has gotten better at supporting public transit over the years, but an app called for it City map takes planning without driving to a whole new level.
Simply open the Citymapper website or access the dedicated Android or iOS app and set any start and end locations you need. In the blink of an eye, Citymapper will analyze all possible public transport options and show a shockingly detailed list of possible ways to get from point A to point B with optimal cost, time and even environmental efficiency.
Citymapper includes buses, trains, taxis and taxis, and even scooters and bikes for rent. You can mix and match these options and view real-time data about routes and stops to choose the best possible approach for your purpose.
Citymapper is free and ad-supported and requires no account or sharing of personal information.
4. Your personal mapper
The next time you need to share a certain series of physical locations with someone, find your way to a great service called Pam Pam.
PamPam lets you create your own custom maps, such as a map showing every location of a certain company’s offices around the world, a set of possible locations for an upcoming event, or even a breakdown of your favorite restaurants or amenities within a certain city.
You can create custom maps by searching or pasting specific business names or addresses directly into the PamPam website, or import an existing list from a spreadsheet or even a Google Maps collection to get started. However, PamPam will quickly produce a neat, user-friendly, and ready-to-share map that shows every endpoint you’ve recorded—with custom AI-generated images for each.
Speaking of artificial intelligence, PamPam can also help you to find Through tips like “Best Business Lunch Places in Chicago,” places to fit any theme.
The service is free with fairly generous limits for personal use. If you use the service for professional purposes, you can lift these limits with plans starting at $12 per month.
You’ll need to sign in to PamPam with a Google account before you can create your own maps, but the service doesn’t ask for any personal information beyond that, and doesn’t do anything annoying with the limited amount of data it collects.
5. Your friendly guide
The latest on our list is a smart new service that can be really useful in the right situation.
It is called Sound Mapand it’s an immersive, on-demand audio tour guide to hundreds of locations around the world — with insights recorded by actual human experts and presented for your enjoyment.
So, for example, you can get a guide to Hollywood Boulevard’s “settled history and hidden gems” and listen to a 60-minute tour that takes you on a special walking tour and points out interesting facts along the way. You can take a two-mile walking tour of London’s West End with Sir Ian McKellen. Or you can walk through the scenes Romeo and Juliet With a detailed guide to the sights and sounds of Verona.
Some VoiceMaps tours are free. Others range in price from a few dollars to $10 and up. (You must create an account to participate.) In any tour, you can listen online or offline as many times as you like via the VoiceMap website, as well as the Android and iOS apps.
Store the metaphorical coordinates of these and the other gems we’ve just used, and you’ll have an exceptionally high mapping experience – far beyond what Google Maps alone can give you.
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