Hit the Road, Jack

Hit the Road, Jack

If you are planning an upcoming trip to San Francisco (or just want to do some virtual sightseeing), check out Mapjack.com and take an online walking tour of the city before you go. We recently came across this innovative mapping Web site, which not only gives you a birds-eye view, but also takes you down to the ground where you can explore and look around.

The screen is divided into two sections and at the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a map of the city with screen mascot “Jack” standing on it. Move Jack to a place you’d like to see and the top screen will give you a 360-degree view of the spot you just picked. You can also type in a specific location with the search function to the left.

You can move forward and back, turn to the left or right and look up or down with the arrow keys on your keyboard and see the view from all directions. You can also zoom in and out and click blue dots in the distance to jump to a spot farther away to move more quickly through the scene.

Right now, you can only stroll through the streets of San Francisco or Sausalito, Calif. and Chiang Mai, Thailand. Upcoming plans include adding images of Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Pacifica, Palo Alto, San Jose and Las Vegas.