3 min readJul 5, 2026 09:33 AM IST
First published on: Jul 3, 2026 at 09:09 PM IST
Google Maps has evolved far beyond a navigation app. Today, it can help users organise trips, discover new places and even plan daily outings more efficiently. One of its most overlooked features is Lists, a built-in tool that lets users save, organise and revisit locations without relying on separate notes or spreadsheets.
Whether you’re planning an international holiday or simply keeping track of restaurants you want to try, Google Maps Lists can make the experience much more organised.
What are Google Maps Lists?
Google Maps Lists allow users to save locations into custom collections that are accessible directly from the app. Instead of bookmarking places individually, you can group them into themed lists such as ‘Weekend Cafés’, ‘Japan Trip’, ‘Best Street Food’, or ‘Places to Visit’.
Saved locations also appear as icons on the map, making it easier to visualise where everything is located. This is especially useful when planning sightseeing routes or deciding which nearby place to visit next.
Ideal for travel planning
The feature is particularly useful when organising vacations. Users can create a master list for an upcoming destination and add attractions, restaurants, hotels and shopping spots to it.
On supported devices, lists can even be organised using tags or categories, allowing travellers to separate food, landmarks, accommodation and other points of interest. Seeing everything plotted on the map helps build a more efficient itinerary while avoiding unnecessary travel between destinations.
Even if you are not travelling, Lists are handy for keeping track of newly opened restaurants, cafés or attractions you’d like to visit someday.
Easy to create and customise
Creating a list takes only a few taps. Users can head to the You tab in Google Maps, create a new list, assign it a name and choose an icon or emoji to make it easy to recognise. Places can then be added by searching for a location and saving it to the appropriate list.
On some platforms, users can also create sub-categories for better organisation, although this feature is not yet available on Android or the web version.
Discover lists created by others
Another useful feature is the ability to save curated lists created by Google or other users.
When searching for certain cities, Google Maps may display collections such as Trending, Top List, and Local Gems, highlighting popular attractions and lesser-known recommendations. Some destinations also feature lists from travel companies and publishers.
Users can also explore publicly shared lists from third-party websites and save them directly to their own Google Maps account. While these lists cannot be edited, they provide a convenient way to discover recommended places without having to build a list from scratch.
Travellers can create custom Google Maps Lists to plan attractions, hotels and restaurants in one place. (Image: Shutterstock) 
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