Click Your Way to Greece… Through Google Street View

Meteora rock formations as seen through Google.

Google’s popular Street View map service has enhanced its Greece visual offerings with additional panoramic photos of more destinations.

Greece had initially blocked Google Street View from acquiring images of the country citing privacy issues. It is now the 56th country to join the project – it joined in June 2014 – thus giving armchair tourists a chance to explore the vast array of choices before doing the real thing.

Last year, Google aired a video introducing Greece’s key attractions through images collected by Street View. Among the destinations featured in the application, which is also available on Google Earth and Google Maps for mobile phones, are the compelling Meteora rock formations, views from Lycabettus Hill, Balos beach and lagoon in Crete, and the famed Samaria Gorge in Crete.

Balos Beach in Crete as seen through Google.

The enhanced Street View application is part of Google’s “Grow Greek Tourism Online” initiative, aiming to boost the presence of sector professionals and their businesses through ongoing training in the use of online technology and help attract visitors all year round. Google announced earlier this month that it would expand the service to six more destinations – the Peloponnese, the Cyclades islands, the Ionian isles, Macedonia, the Dodecanese islands and Attica.

Meanwhile, businesses can benefit from Street View technology by integrating Google Maps directly into their websites for free, giving potential travelers a virtual tour of the surrounding region and its offerings.

Google will hold events in Corfu (April 16), Thessaloniki (April 21), Rhodes (April 24) and Athens (April 29).