Facebook Publishes City Guides and They Are Really Helpful
When I come to a new place, I always ask friends and family for recommendations on where to eat, socialize and what sights to spend time on, but I don’t always know which of my friends to ask. Facebook City Guides allow you to connect with everyone in your social circle, giving you a broader set of recommendations to draw from.
Facebook has launched Addresses in the past, pages where you can find information similar to reviews from friends, but City Guides went even further:
- Shows where your friends have checked in, not just their reviews.
- This includes which places are popular with locals and what they think of the place. Facebook highlights words to make it easier to see reviews looking for information, such as what to order.
- A list of attractions that are generally popular if you want to take a hiking trail.
- Allows you to save locations for later use when planning your trip.
At Facebook City Guides also have a slight advantage over the other options, such as connecting your Facebook to travel planning sites such as TripAdvisor, because you get the necessary recommendations without having to use another platform or additional service.
You can find city guides on the Facebook app on the left menu. I will be visiting London later this year, so I decided to try the London City Guide. It was pretty smart and first showed my friends who live or have lived in London since they had the most experiences and places I could check out. There was indeed an issue in the section with highlighted words compiled from local feedback that the words sometimes contradicted each other (for example, “attentive service” and “poor service”), so you had to really dive into the reviews to get more information. I’ve saved a couple of places that I’m interested in, and when I’m closer to the trip, I will write to friends who have visited the places I want to see and ask for advice.
Let Facebook Friends Plan Your Next Trip | Travel + Leisure