Favourite Places on Google Maps: Vancouver Edition

Google has just launched their “Favourite Places on Google Maps” for the first time in Canada and they have profiled spots around Vancouver. The favourites are all marked on the maps with little maple leaf pins and have been hand-picked by local experts.

This includes venues and destinations submitted by: Premier Gordon Campbell, Olympic Gold Medallist Ross Rebagliati, Olympic Gold & Silver Medallist Simon Whitfield, Iron Chef Champion Rob Feenie, Singer-songwriter & breast cancer survivor Bif Naked, Children’s book writer Kit Pearson, Monte Clark of the Monte Clark Gallery, Public Policy Entrepreneur David Eaves, and yours truly – Rebecca Bollwitt of Miss604.com.

John Lee from Lonely Planet also provided some recommended destinations last October.

The Google Maps “Local Experts” mashups can all be searched and found on their Favourite Places site. The global database includes Tony Hawk’s favourite places in Manhattan, Kevin Rose’s top spots in San Francisco, and Mockmoon’s best venues in Tokyo.

I was honored to be asked by Google to be a part of this project. We have had a great relationship over the last year or so and they certainly know my site’s reach better than I do. They have also referred to me as the “Best Blogger” in Vancouver, which is either a reference to my Georgia Straight Best of Vancouver award or a name they have given me. Either way, I am humbled by the opportunity to be among such a great group of people and especially to have the chance to showcase some of my favourite local places.

These are just a few of my top picks as I tried to expand the scope a little bit and go off the beaten tourist path. Stanley Park will always be the key to my heart but I love many other parks and beaches in the region. If you could make up a Google Map of all your favourite places in the Lower Mainland (or if you already have) what would they be?