You Need to Be Using Citymaps When You Travel
(Photo: Vegterfoto/Stocksy)
I was an early adopter of the Citymaps app long before everyone and their cousin’s dog entered the mapping market. For years, it was the best mapping app to actually show me the things around me that I would find interesting, coupled with useful information and social recommendations.
Citymaps is a pretty great travel companion that can help you plan a trip, organize the places you want to visit, and record your experiences.
The app launched as Citymaps 2.0 last week, a redesign that has made it into more of a “travel app.” It has essentially mapped out the location of every retail location in the world (restaurants, shops, hotels, museums, beaches) and overlaid that onto its mapping technology.
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Users can easily research their destination, discover places that look interesting, and make collections of places they want to visit. For example, users make collections called “Places I want to visit in London” or “My upcoming trip to NYC.” Users can find their friends in cities they’re traveling to, and get tips from people they actually know. It’s like having a personal tour-guide in every city on earth. Here are eight other reasons why it generally rocks.
(Photo: Citymaps, Inc.)
1. If you are looking for something in particular, such as museums or perhaps something even more specific, like “cheap eats,” just search or filter the map for what you’re looking for and narrow it down by price, rating, or whether a place has a deal.
2. Planning a trip, to any destination in the world? Discover the hidden gems that only locals know about and make collections of places that you want to visit: “Restaurants to try while in Paris,” “Shopping boutiques of London,” or “Gardens to visit while in Amsterdam.” Take these trip-planning collections with you on the go and view them on Citymaps’ visually rich map, so you’ll always know where you’re headed and how to get there.
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3. Going away with that special someone? Got a big road trip coming up with friends? This is a perfect time to invite them to your collection and collaborate together to plan a trip everyone will love. Everyone can add their recommended spots to the collection, along with commentary about why the group should go there. Holly can add great campsites. Mark can add diveable waterfalls. Alex can add the old-school BBQ spot where you can eat.
(Photo: Citymaps, Inc.)
4. Do you have friends who live in the place you’re traveling to? Or know the destination well? If they are already on Citymaps, just visit their profile and learn about their favorite spots. If they are not on Citymaps, invite them to your collection (“My upcoming trip to Hong Kong”) and ask them to recommend places that they think you’ll enjoy. This is a much faster option than emailing your friends and asking them to spend 30 minutes sending you a long email with lots of descriptions that you then need to plot on a map yourself.
5. Once you arrive at your destination, use Citymaps to connect with local experts who have already identified the hidden gems to visit, the speakeasies only locals know about, and the shopping boutiques that give the destination charm. Within Citymaps, go to the Explore tab, follow the local experts, benefit from their knowledge, and discover places hidden from the uninitiated eye.
(Photo: Citymaps, Inc.)
6. Want to see the places your friends have gone? No matter where you are in the world, open search, and tap “Friends’ faves,” and you’ll see all the places your friends like, on a map that highlights only the places your friends like.
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7. Traveling on a budget? Citymaps publishes 100,000 deals worldwide. You can filter places on the map for deals, or go to Explore and browse all the deals nearby.
(Photo: Citymaps, Inc.
8. Want to see what events are happening nearby? Soon, Citymaps will show every museum exhibit, concert, and Broadway show around the world. Finding something fun today is as simple as scanning the map.
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