Take Monaco, for instance, where the cameras approach the eastern border only to be greeted with this giant abstract sculpture at the crossing (or is that just Monaco giving a massive middle-finger to Google’s camera?).

The western entrance to Monaco is quite stunning, with the road descending into the principality as cliffs loom overhead.

Moving south into the Pyrenees, we reach the border of Andorra, where we can sneak a peek into the ski resort of Pas de la Casa, including some oddly-coloured apartments on the hillside.

For sheer impressiveness, however, it’s hard to beat the sight of the Rock of Gibraltar looming over the Spanish border at La Linea while a thunderstorm prepares to hit overhead:

The prize for ‘Most Ornate Entrance Captured on Street View’ might have to go to the border between Rimini, Italy and Serravalle, San Marino, where the microstate has constructed a pedestrian overpass and an observation tower for tourists, leading into a major shopping district. The other main entrance to San Marino would probably be described as ‘quaint’ by comparison.

The absurdly complicated Dutch-Belgian border at Baarle (documented previously on Google Sightseeing) is likely to have presented special challenges to the Street View team. However, they have cleverly managed to avoid publishing any images captured on Belgian soil – despite examples such as this, where the camera car must drive from Holland at one end of the block, across a tiny sliver of Belgium, and back to Holland at the other end.

Baarle’s not the only town cut in half in Street View. Here’s a place where you park in France to dine at a cafe in Luxembourg:

Near the tri-point of Italy, Austria and Slovenia, we get this multi-national flag arrangement at an old Austrian customs building. Further into the Alps, the Street View car camera ends its trip at the ski resort of Nassfeld, where one of the ski lifts lies right next to a field of grazing cattle.

The lone glimpse of Russian soil captured so far on Street View is the view across a small lake from Norway (the only place you can actually drive south into Russia from), where we get a blurry view of a building on a hill overlooking the lake. Hmm, a regular house, or a Cold War spy shanty? You be the judge…

South Africa is the only African country so far visited by Street View, but sadly most of the border shots are not particularly notable. For example, the images simply stop by a fence on the middle of the road at the border with Swaziland, while the border with Botswana couldn’t be any more different, merely possessing a single stop sign.

We end our forbidden borderland odyssey with a glimpse from Singapore across the Straits of Johor to downtown Johor Bahru.

With luck, one day we’ll be able to get a glimpse beyond those borders as Street View continues to roll out coverage in countries across the globe. (Then we can finally find out just what it is they’re trying to hide from us…)

Locations: Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Crown Dependencies, France, Italy, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain / Categories: Natural Landmarks, Street Views, Structures

View in Google Earth

Incredibly, the cable-stayed bridge actually curves 125m around a single support, sweeping out dramatically over the vast emptiness below.

Acrophobics should probably avoid watching this wonderfully terrifying Youtube video, and gephyrophobiacs definitely won’t enjoy these stunning bridge-level photos…

Thanks to Rusbridge.

Locations: Malaysia / Categories: Bridges

View in Google Earth

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat have defined four categories on which to measure the world’s tallest buildings. They are:

1. Height to the structural or architectural top (including spires and pinnacles, but not antennas, masts or flagpoles)
2. Height to the highest occupied floor
3. Height to the top of the roof
4. Height to the top of antenna

The height is measured from the street level of the main entrance (so basements aren’t included).

Kuala Lumpur’s fantastic Petronas Towers comes second place in the architectural height category at 452m, but they are the tallest twin towers in the world. You can visit the sky bridge, although tickets sell out fast.

When Taipei 101 in Taiwan was completed on April 20, 2004 it took the first three of the four tallest building titles with an architectural height of 508m, a highest occupied floor of 438m and a roof height of 448m. Make sure you click through to the Google Local map because this tower has an absolutely monstrous shadow.

Chicago’s Sears Tower once led the way in all four categories but today is only top in the category of height with antenna at 529m. However; this is the largest height overall. Tourists can visit the 103rd floor for fantastic views over Chicago.

All three towers can be compared at Sky Scraper Page.

Thanks: Kyle Gunn, jher, Marcin, wil Grundon, Steve Ransom, Kenneth, Benjamin, Paul, Stilt, Joe Chang & Tim

Locations: Illinois, Malaysia, Taiwan / Categories: Buildings, Shadows

View in Google Earth