800 panoramas and coutning...

There are now more then 800 panoramas on Panoramic Earth. The 800th location is a panorama of Old Town Square, Prague. This is known in Czeck as Staroměstské náměstí, and is one of the more popular tourist attractions in the city. The panorama is shown below.

panorama (c)Peter Watts, all rights reserved.

The number of panoramas shown on the site continues to grow. This panorama was taken by Peter Watts, who has added the following description to accompany the image:

• "A panorama taken from the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) right at the center of Prague, one of the most popular travel destinations in Europe. This panoramic picture shows such attractions as the Jan Hus Monument, the Astronomical Clock, the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, and St. Nicholas Church. The famous Astronomical Clock is also located nearby. Prague is a beautiful city and a lovely one to take panoramic pictures of."

Panoramas from Cambridge

Panoramic Earth launches an interactive map of Cambridge with numerous 360° panoramas of places of interest taken around the city. These panoramas show some of the colleges, open spaces, museums and other attractions in Cambridge. The panoramic images are linked to Google maps for easy navigation, and each is accompanied by some local information. The virtual tour of Cambridge will continue to grow as more panoramas are added in the future. Cambridge is a popular tourist destination in the UK, with many people making day-trips from London to visit this historical city.

Cambridge University Colleges: There are a number of panoramas from various colleges of Cambridge University. These colleges are sometimes open to the public and form some of the main tourist attractions in the city. The panorama below was taken in Trinity College.

panorama (c) Peter Watts - all rights reserved

Punting on the River Cam: One of the top activities for visitors, the River Cam encircles most of the city. The panorama below shows one of the punt rental stations on the river. Wearing a straw boater when punting is an option. Loosing the pole in the river is also an option, just not so recommended.

panorama (c) Peter Watts - all rights reserved

Pieces of Cambridge: Cambridge has a number of open spaces, commonly called a Piece. Many of these are associated with particular colleges. These gardens and grassed areas are an ideal resting and picnic spot in the summer. The panorama below shows Christ’s Piece.

panorama (c) Peter Watts - all rights reserved

Panoramas from Oxford

Panoramic Earth launches a new map of Oxford to which is linked nearly 50 fully 30 panoramas taken around this historic city, one of the most visited cities outside London in the UK. Alongside each panorama is some local and travel information forming a virtual tour of the sights and attractions in Oxford.

Take a walk up the church spire of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin to get a panoramic view over the famous Radcliffe Cinema and All Souls College .

Explore the famous and old Colleges of Oxford University. These college buildings are hundreds of year old, and the colleges are full of tradition and history. Explore the old quads and college grounds when they are open.

Oxford is full of old chapels and churches like the one in Whadam College shown below. Weddings at the respective colleges are often highly desired by college students and alumni alike who are allowed to marry here if they fulfill certain conditions.

Finally, anyone visiting Oxford must go punting on the River Cherwell, shown in the image below taken from Magdalen Bridge, from which students jump into the River on many May Days.


All images provided courtesy of Peter Watts, all rights reserved.

Virtual tour of Ibiza with over 50 fully 360 Panoramas

Explore the Ibiza with this Ibiza Map, which links over 50 fully 360° panoramas of the beaches and calas around Ibiza to a Google map. Each panoramic image is accompanied by a local description and travel directions providing one of the most comprehensive tours of Ibiza, from the famous beaches near to San Antonio, Ibiza Town and Santa Eularia to beautiful isolated beaches of Cala Xucla and Cala Olivera.

This virtual tour is a very useful tour for anyone planning a trip to Ibiza, and linking the panoramas to a Google map of Ibiza provides a unique way of viewing the island's treasures.

As with the other virtual tours produced by Panoramic Earth, this tour can be used by other websites for free, simply see the Use a Tour pages on the site for more details.

Panoramas from Belgium

Thanks to Eric Frankson, Panoramic Earth has made a dramatic entry into Belgium, as in the last few days he has added over 30 panoramas from around the country. His images come from all over the country and show some of the beautiful towns and villages there, from the coastal seaside resorts in the west through to the hills and valleys of the Ardennes in the east. Among the towns that have been added are Liège | Visé | Huy | Knokke | Dinant

Sightseeiing and Panoramas of Barcelona

Explore the city of Barcelona with this Barcelona Map, which links many fully 360° panoramas of the sights and attractions around the city to a Google map. Each panoramic image is accompanied by a local description and travel directions. It covers many of the most famous places in a comprehensive tour of Barcelona, including a panorama from the top of the Temple de la Sagrada Familia, and Casa Milà, as well as numerous panoramas from around Castell de Montjuïc and Montjuïc itself, and Parc Güell, famous for the works of Antonio Gaudi.

This unique virtual tour of Barcelona uses interactive maps and panoramas to show you where you are, what is there, how to get there and what is nearby.

As with the other virtual tours produced by Panoramic Earth, this tour can be used by other websites for free, simply see the Use a Tour pages on the site for more details.

sight seeing barcelona

Virtual Tour of London

This is an example of the tours from Panoramic Earth that may be used in any website for free. You will get an interactive virtual tour of London with over 100 panoramic images linked to a google map of the city. Tabs give access to the local descriptions for the locations and other local information. As new images are added to the London content, so they will automatically be added to this tour here.

The Tour:



If you are interested in having this tour in your own site then follow the 5 simple steps below:
Step 1: Register with the site (http://www.panoramicearth.com/register.php)
Step 2: In your account select the Embedded Tours option
Step 3: In the table put London Map in the Title box (near the bottom), and click list and then click on option given.
Step 4: Enter the name of the domain you wish to run the tour in and click ‘Save’
Step 5: Simply copy the code you are given and paste it into your own web code

Et Viola, one tour code to simply put where you want and the tour is your, free. In fact, these tours can start at any individual location and panorama, making the potential options vast. Visit the Embed a Tour for more information about this.

Use the Panoramic Earth Tours in Your Own Site for FREE

Any website is now able to run and use the maps and images from Panoramic Earth for FREE within their own sites. This unique opportunity allows webmasters the ability to embed the tours as part of their own content. Simply select the starting location required, provide the domain name in which the tour is to be run, and then you will be provided with the code to place into the website.

Visit the website find out more about our FREE virtual tour offer.

• Free dynamic web content
  
• Interactive maps with panoramic images from all over the world
• Ever increasing collection free of charge
• Local information, truly comprehensive virtual tours
• 1000's of different panoramas to choose from
  

600 Panoramas and Counting

Panoramic Earth now has over 600 panoramas from around the world linked to Google Maps. The project continues to expand as the number of contributors and images grows.

Image 600 : River Moriston in the Scottish Highlands:


The River Moriston flows from Loch Cluanie in the Scottish Highlands down Glen Moriston and eventual empties into Loch Ness. The river is famous for fishing and runs through very scenic parts of the Scottish Highlands.

This image was contributed to Panoramic Earth by Peter Watts

Singapore MASH Website

About the Singapore MASH Website: "This website is a combination of information from many websites. Using geographical, location, bus arrival time, business etc from these many websites, Singapore MASH Website is able to show the different information on a single location."

The Screen shot above shows the mashup done with the Singapore panorama locations listed on Panoramic Earth. Each pin links back to the panorama on the parent site.

400 panoramas and counting.

Panoramic Earth now has over 400 panoramas from around the world linked to Google Maps. The project continues to expand as the number of contributors and images grows.

Image 400 : Kerepesi Cemetery - Jozsef Antall's Monument:



József Antall was born in 1932 and died in 1993. He became the first Prime Minister of Hungary after the fall of the communist regime. The statue over his grave was made by Miklos Melocco.

This image was contributed to Panoramic Earth by Peter Watts

The Big One - Project Planet

Imagine projecting 360° panoramas onto a massive circular screen, so big that you can stand in the middle and view them. Just how big would this need to be. Enter Project Planet. In the Sziget Festival this year in Budapest there will be a screen 4m high and 55m long wrapped around the inside of a huge tent. Panoramic images from around the world are to be projected onto this screen. Each day during the festival images from a different continent will be shown. These images have been chosen for the beauty they reveal about the different places around the world.

Some of the selected images are also found on Panoramic Earth. These include:

• Carn Brea Castle Restaurant in Cornwall
• Morvich and Loch Duich in Scotland
• Montserrat Monastery in Spain

It is possible that this fantastic exhibition will then itself go on a world tour after the Sziget Festival is over. So hopefully this massive screen will be coming to a city near you sometime soon.

Glen Sligachan in Isles of Skye

Some palaces are really evocative. Glen Sligachan is one of them. When the light and sky conditions are right the place can seem otherworldly, inviting or forbidding. And with this being the Isles of Skye, it can seem all three within a matter of minutes. The peaks of the Black Cuillins frequently emerge from the swirling clouds only to be rapidly enveloped by the changing skies once again. They say of the Isles of Skye that, 'if you can not see Skye then it is raining. If you can see Skye then it is about to.' And this is very true.

The image here is part of a 360 panorama of Glen Sligachan part way up the west coast of Skye. There is a great bar here that serves 200+ types of whiskey and a fantastic venison burger, which was very welcome after hours of carrying a tripod and camera whilst driving around the island trying vainly to dodge the rain.

HMS Ark Royal in London

Some 360° panoramas from the HMS Ark Royal:
Flight Deck | Bridge | Under Flight Deck | Superstructure

There are times when a unique opportunity arrives, one that you know will never be repeated again. The presence of the HMS Ark Royal in London during the National Falklands 25th Anniversary Commemorative events in June of 2007 is just such an opportunity. For six days the HMS Ark Royal lay moored off Greenwich Pier and the Isle of Dogs on the River Thames. The unique opportunity was to be able to board her and take a series of panoramic pictures from various parts of the ship. The panorama from the front end of the flight deck give a truly unique view of Greenwich and the surrounding area. Only a few hours later the pictures from the ship were available on Panoramic Earth.

goeurope.about.com thinks Panoramic Earth is 'Cool'..

James Martin, the main travel writer and guru for all things Erope on About.com, has recently posted his view of the tour of Rome on Panoramic Earth. It looks like he considers this to be 'cool' and has enjoyed looking at the panoramas while exploring the numerous churches and other sights of Rome to be found on the tour.

As he has said: "And even cooler, a line on the map revolving around the icon tells you what direction you're facing in the current panorama view."

You can find his comments on goeurope.about.com

200 Panoramas and Counting

Panoramic Earth now has more than 200 panoramas featured on the site and continues to grow at a rapid pace. The 200^th image is of Peterskirche (St Peter's Church) in Vienna.

360° Panorama of Peterskirche in Vienna

Built between 1701 and 1733, Peterskirche is one of the best Baroque churches of Vienna. The design is inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and it was one of the first domed buildings in the city. The altarpiece within the church shows the Healing of the Lame by St. Peter and St. John in Jerusalem, and was painted by Martino Altomonte. Peterskirche lies at the heart of Vienna very close to Stephansplatz, one of the most visited Viennese sights.

This panoramic photograph was contributed to Panoramic Earth by Peter Watts.

Trafalgar Square gains a Lawn

For 2 days Trafalgar square was graced with a grass lawn. It seemed very popular with people and totally transformed the feel of the square from a vast area of paving to something much more relaxing. It is a shame that this was only for 2 days. There are two 360° panoramic photographs of this event: Panorama of the Trafalgar Square Lawn | Panorama from Nelson's Column.

This is just one of many panoramas taken from London, the complete list is found in the London Index of Panoramic Earth.

Singapore - Panoramas from Singapore

Singapore has been visited by one of the full time photographers on Panoramic Earth in recent times. The result is an interactive map of Singapore with panoramas from all over the Republic of Singapore. This includes extensive coverage not only of the city, but also further afield, including Singapore Zoo and Sentosa. Whether you live in Singapore or are planning a holiday there, we hope that you will find this a useful resource as you explore this fascinating place.

Syndicated to Technocrati:singapore

Panoramic Earth v2.0 Launched (new and improved)...

Panoramic Earth version 2 has finally arrived. As I mentioned in March, we have been working on updating the site to make it more useful to everyone. The new version was made live on the 19th April, marking the end of months of effort and time.

So please feel free to explore. I would be really interested in any comments or observations anyone has. Let me know about any difficulties you had getting around, was it easy to use, did things load and run properly etc. Leave your comments about the site as comments to this post here.

• On the new site you will find a growing number of panoramic images of different places from around the world link to a Google map. Each place will have it's own description too.
• Submit your own panoramic images and descriptions of places you have visited to Panoramic Earth.
• If you want to comment on any of the locations you find on the site then feel free to do so. On almost every page you will find a comment box near the bottom. You will have to register with Panoramic Earth in order to access this.

To get you going here are a few of the many places you can explore on Panormaic Earth:

London | Budapest | Rome | Vienna | Bangkok | Singapore

Otherwise, visit the home page go from there. Your comments will be taken into account as the site continues to develop.

Bali Mokey Business - Uluwatu Temple

While recently visiting Asia to shoot panoramic images for Panoramic Earth.com I found myself coming face to face with the Macaque monkeys of Uluwatu Temple.

Uluwatu Temple is on the southern end of Bali, situated on high cliffs and, as it turned out, inundated with monkeys. These are considered sacred and honoured residents of the temple and as such roam freely around the compound.

Being very used to humans, naturally inquisitive and totally un-shy, They also have a habit of knicking anything that is not tied down, be it a water bottle, hat or pair of glasses. Shortly after this picture was taken, a scream from an assaulted tourist confirmed the fact as she was relieved of her straw hat. The monkeys at Uluwatu are considered sacred, and therefore allowed to roam the site and hassle the tourists freely. Of course, it is possible to buy some food from a number of vendors to entice the monkeys close. Not, it seems, that the food is needed for this purpose, but it may placate the animals and afford some temporary protection.

The panoramic images taken form Uluwatu Temple and other places in Bali will shortly be available on the new version of Panoramic Earth, to be launched in the near future.

New for Old - Panoramic Earth is changing...

Over the last year a new version of Panoramic Earth has been developed. This is now nearing completion. The basic concept of linking panoramic images from around the world to interactive maps remains, but there are also some very significant differences.

The Old:
The New:
As you can see there is quite a bit of change – in fact the whole thing looks brand new. Here are some of the improvements we have been working on.

• We wave goodbye to the Java applet for most of the tours, and say hello to Google Maps. As Google maps continue to cover more of the earth it is now possible to link the images to this, which will result in faster load times and more flexibility.
• We will be able to differentiate the different types of locations using different pins, so you will know what you are looking at.
• Each individual location covered, be it a museum, beach, church temple or volcano (yes we have some!) will come with it’s own individual description.
• You will be able to search for different types of locations using a new search function.
• New Panoramic Earth will be open to all. Anyone will be able to submit panoramic images to the website. Anyone will be able to add comments to each of the locations.

This will be coming to a browser near you in a very short time. In the meantime please add your thoughts or express your interest in being kept up to date or involved here!

Peter Watts
Panoramic Earth.

Yahoo! TV Recommends Panoramic Earth

Maria Sansone recently reviewed the Rome Tour from Panoramic Earth on THE 9 Yahoo! TV saying,

"When I travel to Rome everything is so perfect, the architecture, all the great restaurants, but I usually get lost trying to find them. Thanks to PanoramicEath.com I do a virtual search of all the places I need to go and I can see it for myself before I get there. Bellissimo!"

You can see her review yourself on THE 9. The tour and map of Rome is just one of many travel destinations covered by Panoramic Earth.

Panoramic Earth meets MySpace

Panoramic Earth has entered the MySpace community on http://www.myspace.com/panoramicearth . The whole of Panoramic Earth is currently undergoing a complete overhaul and it is hoped that the renewed site will be up and running shortly. Among one of the new things that we hope to be able to offer is the possibility for other MySpace users to use the tours for themselves.