The Secret Door: discover the best secret places in the world in 360º

Years ago, when Google Street View was still quite new, we discovered this door: The Secret Door . A mystical door that gives you random access to Google Street View's hidden treasures. And that "random" is what makes it so magical!

Behind the door, you'll find beautiful interactive panoramas of locations captured by Street View cameras, and The Secret Door lets you enter. It's the perfect way to see more of the world and be surprised, without leaving your home or even your armchair.

Deep into the sea without a snorkel? Check!

What is Google Street View?

Street View by Google Maps is a virtual representation of our surroundings on Google Maps, comprised of millions of panoramic images. Street View's content comes from two sources: Google and contributors. This gives internet users the opportunity to explore the world virtually.

Google's Street View used to be just a handy roadmap tool for finding your way. Over time, it expanded, and now you can also go inside countless museums, businesses, (natural) parks, squares, and buildings. This way, you can also discover life below the sea level, the Amazon rainforest, the Swiss Alps, and other wonders of the world in pixels.

Random surprise

The Secret Door shows it all to you at random. The website opens the door to a random interactive panorama from the Street View collections. It truly creates a sense of both magic and childlike discovery; you're never quite sure which country you'll end up in. Fun for yourself, and also great for children who want to explore the world. Simply click on the door and you're somewhere completely different. In the upper left corner of your screen, you'll find the Maps pin, which you can click to see exactly where you are.

Note : It's an old page and doesn't have "https," which is why some browsers will display a warning. And sometimes "random" isn't so random after all. We lost the door for years due to privacy issues, I think, but thanks to my sister ❤️, we found it again. The idea remains brilliant!

The next click takes us to a tiny, cluttered shop in a remote corner of Canada.

Want to get started yourself?

That's possible! You can contribute to Street View yourself with special software for both iOS and Android. Want to know if a Google car will be passing by your street anytime soon? We know that too, roughly speaking. You can find this and more here on the Google Street View page . Who knows, maybe we'll be able to pay you a virtual visit soon!

And there is more

Last but not least, here's a list of famous museums around the world that you can visit virtually. You can browse them directly using Google Arts & Culture . How about the British Museum in London or simply strolling through the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam? And guess where we are below...

Tell me, where did you come from?

Leave a comment and tell us where you landed the very first time you clicked on The Secret Door . And sign up HERE for our weekly Happy Thoughts newsletter so you never miss a thing!

The author: Mariko Naber

Branding expert and online entrepreneur Mariko is the happy brain behind Happlify. Together with her partner, Mark, she runs Happlify, Sell Your Stuff Online, and the branding agency Loaded Ink BNO . She loves feel-good vibes, random acts of kindness, meatballs, chocolate mousse, family time, the sea, piña coladas, sugar & spice, and everything nice.