Promenez-vous sur les Champs Elysees...

Having worked on Street View since the early days of the project, it gives me great pleasure to return to Paris this week for the launch of more Street View coverage in my home country.

Earlier this year we launched our first Street View coverage in Europe with the release of the 21 stages of the Tour De France route.  This was very popular with our French Google Maps users and cycling enthusiasts all around the world, so I am now especially excited that we've added coverage for 6 major cities in France: Paris, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Marseille and Nice.
 
France is the first country in Europe to benefit from Street View imagery and I'm delighted that many of my favorite places are included in the new coverage, including the street where I grew up, which you can see below. If I ever feel mal du pays (homesick), I can look these places up on Street View now!

View Larger Map

We decided to add coverage for large cities in order to make the product as useful as possible for our French Maps users.  It's also great for people all around the world to catch a glimpse of France in order to plan holidays, to learn about a new place, or to have a chance to see many of the beautiful sites for themselves.

Using Street View, you can now walk down the Champs Elysees, explore the old port of Marseille, journey along La Promenade des Anglais in Nice or take a tour around La Croix Rousse in Lyon. Here's a brief tour of some of my favorite images so far:

Toulouse:

View Larger Map

Paris:

View Larger Map

Lyon:

View Larger Map

Because there are so many, here's a slideshow with even more amazing images:

We look forward to adding Street View coverage for more cities and countries in Europe, and I look forward to my trip down memory lane.

Posted by Luc Vincent, Engineering Director, Street View