Top ten tallest lighthouses

The world’s tallest lighthouse is the 133m (436 ft) Jeddah Light in Saudi Arabia, which doubles as the control tower for this busy commercial port. The white tower and dome can be seen from about 40km away, and it’s a vital marker on this coastline which is dotted with dangerous coral reefs.

The second-tallest lighthouse is technically a monument rather than a true navigational aid, and is unfortunately (for us) located on an island in Lake Erie which is only covered by low-resolution satellite imagery. The 107m (351 ft) tall granite tower has the somewhat unwieldy title of “Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial”, and it commemorates a US naval victory over Britain in the War of 1812.

Just one metre shorter is the Yokohama Tower which also stretches the true definition of a lighthouse. While it is illuminated, the tower mainly serves as a tourist attraction with an observation deck and restaurant offering views of the city.

From here on we’re looking at more traditional lighthouses, built solely to serve as beacons for shipping. The fourth tallest lighthouse is found on the island of Île Vierge off the north-west coast of France. Built in the late 1800s, this lighthouse (like many around the world) has today been automated, though in this case a lighthouse keeper still lives on site. Despite the hazy image, Street View from the nearest point on the mainland gives us a good idea of how immense it is.

The Lanterna is one of the most famous landmarks in the Italian port of Genoa, and a lighthouse has stood on this spot since the 12th century.

The existing 77m (253 ft) tall structure dates to the 16th century, though it has been repaired many times following damage from lightning strikes and military action. While it’s visible from many parts of the city, it really needs to be seen from up close to be truly appreciated. There’s also a good museum at its base, though you’ll need to find your way past the busy ramps used by trucks going to and from the port.

Back to France for the sixth tallest lighthouse – the Phare de Gatteville. At 75m (246 ft), the granite tower was the tallest in the world when it was constructed in the 1830s.

The recent launch of Street View imagery in Russia gives us a good look at the seventh tallest lighthouse – the Lesnoy Mole Rear Range Light in the commercial port of St Petersburg. The distinctive red and white stripes of this 73m (240 ft) tall structure also identify it as a range light – a marker to help sea traffic approach a narrow channel.

The eighth and ninth tallest are just a few kilometres apart on Hainan island in China. The Mulantou and Baishamen lighthouses are both 72m (236 ft) tall and mark the narrow strait between the island and the mainland.

Finally, the tenth tallest lighthouse in the world is the Storozhenskiy Light on Russia’s Lake Ladoga, but sadly it isn’t visible on satellite view yet.

Tall lighthouses around the world

The tallest lighthouse in the southern hemisphere is the Recalada a Bahía Blanca Light in Argentina – a 67m (220 ft) tall iron tower allegedly built by the same company that built the Eiffel Tower.

The recently launched Street View imagery in Poland allows us to see the world’s tallest brick lighthouse – the 65m (213 ft) tall Świnoujście Lighthouse.

The tallest lighthouse in the US is the Cape Hatteras Light in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Originally built in the 1860s, the structure was moved inland several hundred metres in 1999 to protect it from shore erosion. This video shows how it was moved.

The UK’s tallest lighthouse sits on a remote rock called Skerryvore off the west coast of Scotland, and isn’t visible on Google Maps, so instead let’s travel to Africa, where the tallest lighthouse is the Nosy Alañaña Light on the tiny Île aux Prunes off Madagascar.

Locations: Argentina, China, France, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, North Carolina, Ohio, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia / Categories: Monuments, Shadows, Street Views, Structures, Towers, Watercraft

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The Treaty of Fontainebleau removed Napoleon to the Mediterranean island of Elba off the Tuscan coast. To pacify him, Napoleon was given rule over the picturesque island, where he promptly inaugurated a series of reforms and infrastructural improvements.

It wasn’t enough to occupy him, apparently – he lasted just 300 days on Elba. Maybe he was sick of all the tourists crowding the many beaches.

Napoleon had a number of homes on Elba. At first, he stayed in a first-floor apartment in the town hall of Portoferraio (Elba’s largest city) before taking up residence in the Villa dei Mulini overlooking the entrance to the city, where we can see the various gardens planted atop the cliffside building.

The largest and most extravagant of Napoleon’s Elba residences was Villa San Martino, located in the mountains above Portoferraio. Interestingly, Napoleon never spent much of his time on Elba here despite San Martino’s sprawling acreage, opulence, and relative quiet. Both villas operate today as Napoleonic museums.

After escaping Elba in February 1815, Napoleon returned to France, retook the country, launched another military offensive, and was defeated again by a British-Prussian-Dutch coalition. This time, Napoleon would be sent away to a place he could not return from: Saint Helena¹, a small British island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean located 1,870 km (1,160 mi) from the coast of Africa. Here, Napoleon would spend the rest of his life, doted on by a small group of followers and constantly at odds with the treatment he received at the hands of his British captors.

Even today, remote and mountainous Saint Helena has a population of less than 5,000 people and can only be reached by boat (though a long-awaited airport is apparently on its way for 2015). The capital of the island is the narrow valley town of Jamestown², the location Napoleon spent his first night on Saint Helena while waiting for his permanent residence to be renovated to accommodate him.

Wary of being disturbed by the town’s residents, he looked to find a different residence further toward the interior of Saint Helena while his home was under construction. While returning from a horseback inspection of his not-yet-built estate, he spotted a green area in the valley below, rode down to investigate, and immediately signaled that he would rather stay there than in Jamestown. This location was known as the Briars, and was owned by the Balcombe family. Mr. Balcombe offered Napoleon his family’s home; Napoleon refused to displace them out of respect and instead stayed in the smaller house directly adjacent. Here Napoleon famously became friends with Balcombe’s 13-year-old daughter Betsy; one of the few ever allowed to address the emperor as simply ‘Boney’.

Napoleon’s final home, Longwood, was finally available for him to move into in December 1815. Napoleon was never happy here as this was a less hospitable part of the island, but British authorities thought it prudent to keep him here in order to prevent another possible escape attempt³. A new house was built adjacent to the original home, but Napoleon never occupied it, staying at Longwood until his death in May 1821. Today, Longwood is a museum owned by the French government.

On the orders of the governor, Napoleon was originally buried not in France but on Saint Helena in a rather modest plot. An argument over whether the gravestone should read simply ‘Napoleon’ (as traditionally befitting an emperor) or his full civilian name led to the tomb being left nameless. Napoleon’s remains were relocated to France in 1840, but the tomb remains in place, surrounded by a modest fence.

Locations: Italy, U.K. Overseas Territory / Categories: Buildings, Crowds, Islands, Monuments, Street Views

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Our tour begins not on a remote mountainside but in North Beach, an urban neighbourhood at the heart of San Francisco. Not only is San Francisco built on top of 50 different hills, it also lies in one of the world’s most seismically-active areas, meaning slumps and collapses are always an issue. Google’s 45° imagery captured the aftermath of a 2007 slide that came crashing down on several apartment buildings (and a strip club!).

Further down the California coast is the small village of La Conchita, where in 1995 a large mudslide slumped directly behind the town. In 2005, the southeastern portion of the slump collapsed, sending 200,000 m3 (7 million cu ft) of mud and soil into La Conchita, destroying 13 houses and killing 10 people.

In the Los Angeles neighbourhood of San Pedro, Paseo del Mar is a street that has been slowly eaten away from below by cliffs collapsing into the sea. A closer look reveals not only the pieces of the old roadway lying in the rubble, but also the foundations of buildings removed for safety purposes.

Halfway around the world in Crimea, we see where human activity has caused a landslide, as the side of a limestone quarry is falling into the Black Sea.

In 1903, much of the Albertan coal mining village of Frank was buried when the entire east face of Turtle Mountain suddenly collapsed, sending 90 million tonnes of rock into the Crowsnest River valley and killing 90 people. Over a century later, the scar is still as plain as day, and the Frank Slide is a major tourist attraction. The current highway through the valley was built right through the middle of the slide’s debris field.

The 1987 Val Pola landslide in the Italian Alps obliterated five villages and six hamlets. Heavy rainfall accelerated erosion on the mountainside, causing a large fracture on the east side of the mountain. Most of the valley’s residents were evacuated a day before the slip occurred, but what was not expected was the resulting rock avalanche ploughing into a nearby lake and sending a massive wave of water 2 km up the valley, killing 22 people.

Often, landslides and landslips falling into river valleys end up damming the rivers and creating new lakes. Two recent examples are Bolivia’s Laguna Verde, where the slope was destabilised by excessive coca farming, and Dominica’s Miracle Lake, created in 1997.

All of these slides serve to remind us that in the battle of man and nature, nature usually wins.

Locations: Alberta, Bolivia, California, Italy, Ukraine / Categories: Natural Landmarks

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Railway pigtails can be found throughout the world. One example was featured on Google Sightseeing several years ago, the Tehachapi Loop outside of Bakersfield, California. Automobiles climb tighter slopes but they also operate in smaller spaces so there are plenty of examples on roadways too. Pigtails can appear in city settings where motorway or bridge ramps converge in constricted downtown areas, or as a common feature in multi-level parking decks. I’m more interested in their rural cousins however, the roads that might be rather fun to drive!

Following a reader suggestion, I tossed the idea to the usual crowd at my own site, Twelve Mile Circle. The result presented here on GSS reflects contributions by several people and demonstrates the effectiveness of respectful online conversations.¹

Great Smoky Mountains, USA

A national park protects much of the Great Smoky Mountains, an offshoot of the Appalachians. Newfound Gap Road cuts directly through the park, a rare path through the rugged range, connecting park headquarters in Tennessee to protected areas in North Carolina. The road dips, snakes and curves along the gap, and finally pigtails near one of the park’s most recognisable features, Chimney Tops on Sugarland Mountain.

Black Hills, USA

Pigtail roads and bridges can be found in considerably greater quantity in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This suggests a great scenic drive for those interested in experiencing the pigtail phenomenon in person. Start first at Wind Cave National Park, and head north on Route 87 on a course towards Mt. Rushmore. The first pigtail will be experienced perhaps two km from the Wind Cave visitors centre.

Chart a path from there that involves Route 16A — Iron Mountain Road — approaching Mt. Rushmore from the south, and three more pigtails will appear in quick succession about 50 km (30 m) from Wind Cave.

This unusual concentration of pigtail roads and bridges is not coincidental: they were all constructed in the 1920s to provide an elegant solution to sudden elevation changes while slowing drivers down so they could enjoy the scenery.

Majorca, Spain

A particularly spectacular instance can be found on the road between Escorca and Sa Calobra on the island of Majorca, Spain. This one is simply stunning, both for the expansive view and for the complete visibility of the loop. No doubt others feel likewise as there is a pullout on the northeast side of the pigtail for people to stop and appreciate what they’ve encountered.

This 12.5 km road and its awesome pigtail, first opened in 1932, are a signature achievement of Italian road engineer Antonio Paretti.

Savona, Italy

If one pigtail road and bridge should get an award for sheer elevation gain, this occurrence on A6, the Autostrada Torino-Savona, might likely win. The road visible in the valley foreground is the same as the one on the viewer’s side of the guardrail. The road navigates several tunnels through the mountainside as it climbs to this point. This stretch was once known as the Autostrada della morte, the Highway of Death, until improvements were made in recent decades.

Besides the pigtail, it has all sorts of amazing curves and tunnels in general.

I wouldn’t mind going for a drive on any of these roads.

Locations: Italy, South Dakota, Spain, Tennessee / Categories: Bridges, Natural Landmarks, Street Views

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The countries receiving updated imagery are Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Romania, South Africa, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Additionally, there is brand new coverage of two of Britain’s Crown Dependencies, the Isle of Man, and Jersey.

Peel Castle, Isle of Man

Mont Orgueil, Jersey

Of particular interest in the United States, brand new imagery has been added throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego, taking in sights such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Staples Center, and USS Midway which are now shown in stunning high-resolution.

What can you find in the new imagery? Send us your finds via our suggestion form, or on Twitter, and we’ll post a roundup later in the week of your best finds!

Read the full story at the Google Latlong blog.

Locations: Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, North America, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom / Categories: Street Views

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While the Street View car drove both sides of the Saint John River, it unfortunately did not take the small side road which crosses the 391m Hartland Bridge. It was originally built in 1901, though it has suffered damage from ice and fire at various times. You can learn more at the town’s website.

The longest covered bridge in the United States is the Smolen-Gulf Bridge in Ohio, which measures 187m. While covered bridges are generally perceived as historical icons, this structure was only built in 2008, at a cost of almost $8million.¹

This time we do get a good look at the interior of the bridge.

There are many theories about why covered bridges became popular in North America starting in the 19th century. Some believe that they prevented herds of animals from being disturbed by the sight of rushing water or that they protected travellers during inclement weather (which surely wouldn’t be any worse over a river than the rest of the road?). However, the more likely explanation is that covering a bridge structure quite significantly extended the life of the wooded decking.

Because not every bridge can be the overall longest, tourist officials come up with a variety of other superlatives to try to draw attention to their local landmarks. For example, the 71m long bridge in Blenheim, New York, which is the world’s longest single-span covered bridge. It’s also notable for being one of only a few ‘double-barelled’ bridges – having a separate laneway for each direction of traffic.

Covered bridges are also found in many European countries, and they are often much older than those found in North America. The oldest is claimed to be the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) in Lucerne, Switzerland, which was first built in 1333. Street View gets a very picturesque look at it from a nearby road bridge.

This isn’t entirely the original structure, much of which – including 17th century paintings which adorned the interior – was destroyed in a fire in 1993. The brick tower at the mid-way point has been used by the city for many purposes – its thick walls and defensible position making it ideal as a treasury and watchtower, though it was also a prison at some point in its history.

Additional entrants for ‘most picturesque’ covered bridge are the town of Bassano Del Grappa in Italy, and Chateau Chenonceau in France, which was one of the chateaux recently visited by the Street View trike.

Not all covered bridges cross waterways. In Oxford the Bridge of Sighs² connects two buildings in the famous university.

Returning to the US, the state of Pennsylvania claims the largest collection of covered bridges, having more than 200! Many of these are found on streets creatively called Covered Bridge Road (or Lane, or Avenue, etc). One example is the Dreibelbis bridge. With such a large number of similar addresses, you have to wonder if people’s mail is prone to going astray.

Many covered bridges around the US are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is encouraging that efforts are made to preserve them even when they are replaced by more modern road bridges. The McDermott Bridge in New Hampshire is one such example.

Covered bridges enjoyed a period of fame with the success of the book Bridges of Madison County, and the film of the same name. There are six bridges in Madison County, Iowa, though only one of them is visible on (a rather hazy) Street View, the Imes Bridge.

The satellite images allow us to see Cedar Bridge and Holliwell Bridge, both of which were used as filming locations for the movie.

As with so many of these historic wooden bridges, the original 1883 Cedar Bridge was destroyed by fire, though it has been rebuilt to the same design.

There are also many covered bridges in Asia, though we have yet to find any good images on Google maps. Please link to them in the comments if you know of any.

We’d also love to hear of your own personal favourite covered bridge, as there are many hundreds that we weren’t able to include in this post!

Locations: England, France, Iowa, Italy, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Switzerland / Categories: Bridges, Movie Locations, Street Views

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Dean’s Blue Hole is a spectacular underwater sinkhole situated in a bay on Long Island in the Bahamas, which as well as being perhaps the finest example of these incredibly beautiful geological features, also has the distinction of being the world’s deepest blue hole.

Although relatively small in initial diameter at around 35 metres (115 ft), where Dean’s Blue Hole is unique is in its depth – at 202 metres (663 ft) it descends nearly twice as far as any other known blue hole.

Due to the unique geology of the Bahamas, there are dozens of smaller water-filled caves to be found, many of which are accessible to divers who wish to explore the cave systems they reveal.

Sawmill Sink, where numerous pre-human fossilised remains have been discovered.

Other blue holes have been found all over the world, such as the second deepest – the 130 metre (360 ft) Blue Hole on the coast of the Red Sea, which due to having claimed the lives of between 40 and 80 divers is known as “the World’s Most Dangerous Dive Site”.

The largest known entrance to a Blue hole is that of the Great Blue Hole in Belize, which is some 300 metres across.

There are (of course) water-filled sinkholes far deeper even than Dean’s Blue Hole, such as El Zacatón in Mexico (335m / 1,099 ft) and Pozzo del Merro in Italy (392m / 1,286 ft), but without the spectacular visual contrast between deep and shallow water of a true blue hole, from our aerial viewpoint they seem far less impressive.

There’s more info about blue holes at Wikipedia and the Wondermondo site has an impressive amount of sinkhole information.

Do you know of any other blue holes we should mention? Post a comment with a link!

Locations: Belize, Egypt, Italy, Mexico, The Bahamas /

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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

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10 – The Bridge Suite, The Atlantis, Bahamas

Situated on Paradise Island, the Bridge Suite is located in the Royal Towers, sixteen stories up between two other buildings. It comes with a staff of seven, your own private entrance, and will sleep four adults. All for only $22,000 per night.

Customer rating: 70% (#51 of 170 hotels in the Bahamas)

9 – The Ritz-Carlton Suite, Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

Situated on the 53rd floor (somewhere near the top of the picture), the Ritz-Carlton Suite overlooks the Imperial Palace as well as most of Tokyo. You’ll have access to an indoor pool, fitness suite, and the Ritz-Carlton lounge. You’ll also get a dedicated concierge for your $25,000 per night.

Customer rating: 90% (#8 of 613 hotels in Tokyo)

8 – The Penthouse at The Setai, South Beach, Miami

The Penthouse has four bedrooms (two of them kingsize), four bathrooms, two living rooms, a music room, and on the terrace there’s a pool and jacuzzi. It can be yours (for a night) for just $30,000 (and if you really like it, you can buy one for a cool $15 m).

Customer rating: 72% (#7 of 199 hotels in the Miami Beach area)

7 – Villa La Cupola Suite, Westin Excelsior, Rome

Located over the 5th and 6th floors the Villa La Cupola Suite claims to be the largest suite in Italy. For your $31,000 per night you get use of six bedrooms, a jacuzzi, rooftop terrace and balconies, private wine cellar, butler service and much more.

Customer rating: 71% (#274 of 1271 hotels in Rome)

6 – The Royal Villa at the Grand Resort Lagonissi, Athens

On the coast south of Athens, the Royal Villa offers you a living room packed with home entertainment, an office, a personal chef, heated indoor and outdoor pools, a gym, and a private beach. Not bad for $32,000 per night.

Customer rating: 67% (#51 of 411 hotels in the Attica Region)

5 – The Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smeralda, Sardinia

A Bang & Olufsen stereo system, flat screen TVs, high speed internet, wine cellar, steam room and jacuzzi are just some of the luxuries available in the Presidential Suite. Just $34,000 per night.

Customer rating: 75% (#114 of 794 hotels in Sardinia)

4 – Penthouse Prestige Apartment, Hotel Martinez, Cannes, France

Overlooking Cannes bay the Penthouse Prestige Apartments provide you with a first class butler service for the duration of your stay. Fitted with the usual luxuries this apartment also comes with a Hammam (turkish steam bath). You’ll be able to book for about $35,000 per night.

Customer rating: 68% (#24 of 114 hotels in Cannes)

3 – Ty Warner Penthouse, Four Seasons Hotel, New York

Ty Warner Penthouse in the Four Seasons New York offers 360⁰ views of Manhattan from the 52nd floor. It has TVs tuned to every station in the world, so you’ll never miss your favourite show from home. You’ll also have use of a chauffeur to take you sightseeing in a Rolls Royce Phantom or a Mercedes Maybach. Excellent value for $35,000 per night.

Customer rating: 84% (#86 of 428 hotels in New York city)

2 – Hugh Hefner Sky Villa Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas

Stay where Kanye West partied after the MTV awards. The Skyvilla has a cantilevered jacuzzi pool with glass end wall overlooking the Vegas strip. If you get really lucky at blackjack, now you know where you can spend $40,000 on one night’s accommodation.

Customer rating: 63% (#100 of 284 hotels in Las Vegas)

1 – The Royal Penthouse Suite, President Wilson Hotel, Geneva

The Royal Penthouse Suite overlooking Lake Geneva will cost you an unbelievable $65,000 per night. This suite will sleep you and five of your friends – and nobody with have to sleep in any of the marble bathrooms, or the hot tubs. This suite also boasts the absolute pinnacle of decadence: an “iPod docking station”.

Customer rating: 69% (#11 of 111 hotels in Geneva)

And before anyone asks, no, I’ve never stayed in any of these!

Thanks to Business Insider, and Tripadvisor for the reviews.

Locations: Florida, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Nevada, New York, Switzerland, The Bahamas / Categories: Buildings, Street Views

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Europeans are no strangers to speed, some of the biggest races in the world occur throughout the continent. Arguably the most famous street race of them all, Monte Carlo in Monaco, has been a staple in the motorsports calendar since 1929! Let’s take a look at some of the other street circuits in the region…

Pau, France – Pau first held a motorsports race way back in 1901, and hosted a race almost every year through the remainder of the 20th century. The modern day circuit runs through the heart of the French town and up until 2010, it was used by World Touring Cars and Formula Three. Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton (then only an aspiring open wheel driver), won the event here in 2005 in a Formula Three car. Visible on Google’s satellite view, we can see the markings on the street indicate where the start/finish line is located, as well as the hairpin between Avenue Leon Say and Allee Alfred de Musset.

Cagliari, Italy – Street tracks aren’t limited to just streets (as we saw with Cleveland, USA) – take Circuito Cittadino di Cagliari in Italy for example. This 2.414 km (1.500 mi), 18-turn track runs mainly through a car park adjacent to the large Stadio Sant’Elia. Euro F3000 cars circled the stadium here for two years (2002-2003) before the track was abandoned. Today Google allows us to see the remnants of the track’s outline snaking around the complex.

Valencia, Spain – Beginning in 2008, Formula 1 began using the harbour-front streets of Valencia to host the European Grand Prix. The site is unique because it required an almost total reconstruction of the roads and buildings in the area in order to accommodate the event. The 5.419 km (3.367 mi) track packs in 25 turns and runs adjacent to the city’s harbour and America’s Cup port area, even going over the water at one point. Using some clever street view navigation, we are able to tour the site during different phases of construction and actually see the track coming together!

Early construction (left), and late construction (right)

The Street View car raced (or possibly drove) the entire length of the front straightaway giving us images of the fresh asphalt used to reinforce the racing surface. The final hairpin comes in at an odd angle compared to the road, so temporary walls were used to route traffic appropriately.

The pit complex building used by the race teams was renovated from former port stalls that probably held some of the finest sailing vessels in the world. Further south, towering grandstands can been seen in the distance lining the track between turns 16 and 17.

The track eventually veers off and skirts along the harbour before returning to the meet the Street View car near what would become turn 5. The last image of the road shows the track heading towards turn 6 and the beach in the distance.

For more information including race histories and track layouts, visit Wikipedia’s expanding article on street circuits. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of GSS’s tour of the sites as well.

Locations: France, Italy, Spain / Categories: Stadiums and Sport, Street Views

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