You should use the Google Maps Lists feature more often

Google Maps is far from one of the underrated Google apps for Android. In fact, it is one of the most downloaded and reviewed apps on the Play Store. But even with how often you use it, you might miss some Google Maps features. A good example is lists.

Google Maps listings are lists of places that you save for future reference. Maybe you want to visit them for the first time, or you’ve been there but plan to return. Instead of writing down all those cafes, restaurants and landmarks in a note or document, you can simply add them to your lists directly in Google Maps. They will then appear as special icons on the map, which you can easily navigate to when needed.

The Lists feature on Google Maps is especially handy when planning trips. With all the places saved and visible on the map, creating your route would be much simpler. You can also use lists when you want to go to just one place, like a recently opened restaurant in town or a museum you’ve never been to before. Whenever you feel like exploring the surroundings, simply open your list of places you want to go and choose the one you want to try. We’ll show you how to create your own lists and save someone else’s list to Google Maps.

The Lists feature is one of the most useful Google Maps settings, and fortunately, it’s simple to configure. Here’s how to do it:

1. In Google Maps, go to the You tab.
2. Tap New List to create a new list.
3. Add a name for your list. You can choose the name of the place you are visiting, such as Japan or New York.
4. Tap the Choose icon.
5. Select a general icon for your list. This makes the list easier to find when you search for it in the You tab.
6. Tap Save.

Once your list is ready, you can create subcategories such as Food, Coffee, and Monument within this main list for further organization:

1. Click the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner of the list panel.
2. Choose Edit List.
3. Tap New Tag.
4. Type a name for your category.
5. Select an emoji.
6. Repeat the process until you have all of your subcategories.
7. Tap Save.

Now that you have your subcategories, it’s time to add places to the main list:

1. Tap Add places.
2. Find the location on the map.
3. Once added, click the pen icon next to the location.
4. Choose one or more subcategories.
5. Tap Done.

From there, just keep adding new locations until your list is complete. When you leave the You tab, all places in that list will use the emoji from the main list. But once you open the list again from the You tab, each location will display the emoji of the subcategory it was added to. Unfortunately, the beacon feature is not yet available for Android or the web app. To organize your places into categories with different emojis, you’ll need to create a master list for each. For example, you will have main lists named Rome — Food, Rome — Hotel, and Rome — Landmarks. This isn’t practical, but it’s a workaround.

The listings offered on Google Maps, while incredibly useful, can take time and effort to create. The good news is that Google Maps also lets you save lists created by other people. This way, you won’t have to worry about adding places yourself, but you’ll still benefit from the convenience of using lists on Maps.

There are several ways to search other people’s listings on Google Maps. The first – and official – method is to simply search for a city in Maps. In the search bar, type the city you plan to visit and press Enter. A panel with city details will appear. Scroll down until you get to the Listings in (city name) section. Here you will find three lists curated by Google itself: Trending, Top List and Local Gems. The Trending list features the most popular hotspots in Maps recently, which are updated weekly. The Top List contains the Maps community’s favorite places. And finally, local gems are little-known places you might want to discover. Besides these listings from Google, you can also spot listings from other creators like Viator, OpenTable, and Lonely Planet.

Unfortunately, these city listings do not appear in all cities around the world. In this case, you can try searching third-party Google Maps listing discovery sites such as Tony’s Lists, Mapita, and mapShare. They feature lists submitted by other people, so you get solid recommendations. Whenever you find a list you like, simply open it and hit the Save button. The list will then be saved in the You tab, under a separate “Lists you have saved” section. However, you cannot edit or add new locations to other people’s lists. You can only share it or remove it from your lists.