A blogger can’t just live from blogging alone so I took the offer to review the interaktive map from Visiteurope.com. I call myself Europe savvy since I grew up in Germany - lived in Ireland and now in Spain, I thought I can figure out pretty fast if their service is any good.
First off - the interactive map takes too long to load. A second attempt to load the map confirms that. I would recommend to instead just showing an animated status bar - at least the map and a status bar. So you don’t just stare at nothing.
Once the map loaded you well get a short introduction but everything is pretty much self explaining:
The button in the right hand corner changes the level of detail on the map of Europe or any European country. This is a terrific way to test your knowledge of European geography!
How big is it? This button is to see the scale of the map of Europe in view.
Ready for loads more information? The button takes to the visiteurope.com homepage, the portal to extensive information on all aspects of travel in Europe.
At any time on any part of the European map, zoom in and out, or move north, east, south, and west by clicking and holding the appropriate arrow buttons at the bottom of the window. Just release the mouse to stop the movement.
When you’re ready to begin afresh, return to the whole map of Europe with the button.
Ok … take us to Valencia (for obvious reasons):
Nice - this actually went pretty fast. I picked Spain from the drop down menue and the map zooms to Spain and gives you some basic information about Spain.More than 50 million tourists visit Spain each year, making it the second most visited country in the world, So ask us about Spain! Anything at all. A trip to Spain is a celebration of diversity, an opportunity to enjoy our excellent climate, excellent cuisine, and joie de vivre. But also, it is a chance to discover our exceptional monumental heritage.
History has left its traces in a country with a unique legacy: Prehistoric caves, Roman remains, Jewish and Arabic architecture. Spain is one of the richest countries in the world with regard to monumental heritage; not surprisingly Spain has the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites and it is also home to the Camino de Santiago, Europe’s most important cultural itinerary.
I couldn’t have said it any better.
On the zoomed in Spain map I see my very much loved Valencia. Hovering over Valencia will give you a quick introduction:
When walking through the streets of Valencia, the traveller can feel, among its walls and under the pavement, the beat of many centuries. From the remains of the Roman Forum, to the emblematic Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of the Arts and Sciences), Valencia has transformed its layout, while preserving monuments that are a living testimony of bygone periods.
And by clicking the map opens the Valencia Page with more information about the city.
There you will find more excerpts of the city. But I kind of expected to get a Valencia map where you can exactly see where the sights are. And I wish they would have better pictures as well.
Makers of Visit Europe Map - I can offer you to take a look at our Valencia Blog: www.holavalencia.net and if you see anything you like I am pretty sure we can find a way for you to use some of our images and or videos.
The interactive Europe Map is on the right track but I wish they would have more detailed information, images and videos of their destinations. But this page is great start for Europe beginners because it offers a fast way to figure out what countries are even interesting to you.
Last note: UK and Ireland are great but be brave and try some of the other countries - Europe has really a lot to offer and most of the time people will make an effort speaking to you even if you don’t speak the language as long as they can see that you are making an effort too.
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