Google Maps turns 20 – here are its most popular locations from the past two decades, plus Google’s favorite hidden tricks

A Google Maps 20th birthday screen on a laptop sitting on a table

(Image credit: Google / Future)

Google Maps is celebrating its 20th birthday
These are some of the most popular spots and locations in its history
Google has also shared some handy tips and tricks

Happy birthday, Google Maps: the venerable app has turned 20, and to celebrate, Google has listed some of the most popular places on its maps, as well as sharing a bunch of Google Maps tips and tricks that you might not have come across before.

The list of "some of the most-reviewed and most-photographed places" on Google Maps over the last couple of decades include restaurants, parks, monuments, museums, castles, and more – from Hard Eight BBQ in Texas to Cologne Cathedral in Germany.

Google has also shared some of the locations most popular in Immersive View on Google Maps, where you can actually see ground-level photography around and inside places: the Eiffel Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, Big Ben, and the Griffith Observatory are included.

At the end of the round-up there are also some funny Street View photobombs, featuring animals snapped by the Street View cameras. The list is well worth checking out in full – see how many spots you've visited, and how many you could plan to see in the future.

Leave a tip

Continuing the birthday celebrations, Google has shared a list of 20 things you didn't know you could do with Google Maps. If you did already know about any of these tips and tricks, you can consider yourself above average when it comes to tech knowledge.

A couple that caught our eye are the recently added Gemini AI integration that we previously reported on, and the air quality report you can find for wherever you're traveling to – tap on the layers icon (top right corner) to find it.

Google also mentions the offline maps feature (tap your profile picture then Offline maps in the mobile app), and the lists feature that lets you bookmark destinations and share them with others – switch to the You tab in the app to find your lists.

Here's a bonus tip Google doesn't mention: if you're using your phone with one hand, you can still zoom in and out of the map by double-tapping on it, then sliding your finger or thumb up and down. You're welcome.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.