Street View is celebrating its 15th birthday

Back in 2007, Google released the first Street View photos of San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and Denver. 

Since then, recognizable Street View cars equipped with cameras have taken more than 220 billion Street View photos and covered more than 16 million km - which is equivalent to touring the globe more than 400 times! In addition to street-level photography, Street View photos are captured within cultural landmarks, space, and deep into the ocean.

Over the past year, thanks to the Street View service, users have had the opportunity to explore numerous cities, historical sites, and natural beauties around the world. The top five countries in terms of Street View visits are Indonesia, the United States, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil. 

With so many world landmarks at your fingertips, the three locations that have aroused the greatest interest of users over the past year on Street View are the world's tallest building Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, and a special collection of photos inside and outside Taj Mahal in India.

To celebrate the 15th birthday of Street View, Google has made four completely new collections available to users:

• Pyramids of Meroë in Sudan: One can explore the ancient pyramids in which the tombs of the kings and queens of the Meroitic kingdom are located thanks to new panoramic images.
• Milan Cathedral: It is the largest cathedral in Italy and the third-largest in Europe and boasts one of the most beautiful views of Milan! Now everyone can peek behind the scenes of this architectural and cultural gem thanks to published photos as part of the partnership project between Google Arts & Culture and the Cathedral of Milan.
• Les Invalides in Paris: Before the Eiffel Tower, the golden dome of the Les Invalides was the highest point in Paris. New photographs of the historic buildings of the Home for the Disabled allow users to explore museums and monuments.
• Sydney Ferry Network: The cult ferry network will be digitally preserved through collaboration with the state agency Transport for New South Wales. Later this year, this collection will be presented on the Street View service, which they called "Ferry View".