How to get the most out of our city/regional maps.

General Use of Our City/Regional  Maps

1.  You arrived at this page after clicking a map symbol on one of our Best Places To Visit Pages and the map should be centered on the attraction you selected. You can move the map around within the frame by depressing the left mouse button while moving your mouse in the direction of interest on the map . In addition, the  map can be zoomed or roamed using the control bar at the top left of the map. 

2. Doubling clicking any position on the map will center the map at that location and zoom into (magnify) it.

3.  You can view the geographical area as a map, an aerial photograph/satellite image or a combination of map and image by choosing one of the buttons at the top right of the display area.  Our maps showing city detail are spectacular when viewed with the hybrid button that combines street detail with an aerial image of the area.  Just zoom in for more detail.

• We positioned the markers on our maps to highlight to location of the Best Places to Visit on the hybrid image.  We made this decision since these images combine the satellite image with a map overlay and allow you to see the actual feature we describe in the text of our guide. 
  • In some cases, the satellite image and map overlays are not "registered" - that is they do not fit together smoothly.  You may notice on some hybrid images that the outline of the streets does not match where the streets are shown on the Satellite Image. 
  • The result of this mismatch is that in some cases, our symbols while accurately positioned on the satellite image may be  slightly offset when viewed  using the map as a background.
  • If you use these maps during travel, the symbols should always take you directly to or very close to the features we describe
• You may find viewing the hybrid image more useful than just looking at the map.  In Europe, streets continue through and sometimes around squares and the symbolization of some streets on maps may be misleading.  If you take a quick look at the combination of maps and aerial images using the hybrid button on the map, you might find it easier to navigate the cities we feature.

4.  The order of the Best Places to See on the right hand edge of the map page (if there is more than one location) is alphabetical. At the end of this list, you may find the local central train station, which is rarely a tourist attraction, but often an important travel hub for tourists.  In addition, on the Venice map, we have listed the three bridges crossing the Grand Canal.

5.  In browsers other than Internet Explorer, if an icon on the map is within the shadow cast by an information window, the icon will not be clickable on the map unless you close the information window.  This issue is related to how browsers handle transparency.

6.  We have added a Google search bar to most of our maps.  If you enter the name of something you want to find on the map (like gelato in Rome or kilts in Edinburgh), clicking the search button will result in a list of places displayed above the search bar, as well as symbols for these locations on the map.  Click either the listing or the symbol to open a window containing contact information for the listing.  Try it, we think you will like it.

7.  If you have any problems using our maps, please let us know - use this email address -

The base map design, content and data are  © Google and its suppliers.  The selection of places and other aspects of the information on the map pages are © ThereArePlaces or its suppliers.