City virtual tours: show your destination at its best

Morning light on the canals of Bruges. An unexpected museum interior in Mechelen. The view across Avoriaz, with the village and ski slopes in a single panorama. These places give a destination its character. They deserve the same care online as they do in person.

A city virtual tour connects those places in one recognisable experience. Visitors discover the atmosphere, understand where things are and decide what to explore. You shape the photography, design, stories and next steps.

Poppr has built these experiences for Bruges, Mechelen, Geraardsbergen, Ronse, Avoriaz and Méribel. They show how much a destination can communicate when imagery, navigation and content are designed together.

A city-wide virtual tour connects selected squares, landmarks, museums, viewpoints, accommodation and activities through interactive 360° imagery. Visitors move from an overview directly to a place, look around and explore relevant information.

It does not require photographing every street or building. The value lies in the selection and the connections. A visitor should be able to understand how the historic centre, a museum and a walking area relate to each other.

Navigation follows the questions your audience brings. What should I see? Where can I go inside? What would work for a day with children? A map, clear categories and direct entry points give people both an overview and the freedom to explore.

Google Maps is valuable for finding addresses and planning routes. A custom virtual tour has another purpose: presenting your destination in the way you want people to discover it. Here is how it compares with the standard Google Maps and Street View experience.

Google also hosts professional photography, and its developer platform supports custom experiences. The distinction is the complete, carefully designed experience. The two channels can work together: let people explore through your own tour and use Maps to help them get there.

A compelling panorama takes more than a good camera. Viewpoint, light, weather, crowds, composition and editing all shape how a city comes across. Sometimes an aerial perspective makes the geography clear. Elsewhere, a carefully chosen position at eye level tells the story.

Virtual Bruges demonstrates this approach, with 20K photography and perspectives captured using drones, a helicopter and elevated camera poles. City views, heritage and interiors form one destination experience.

Within the agreed scope, Poppr produces 20K source panoramas: 20,000 by 10,000 pixels, or 200 megapixels. This provides rich detail to explore. Web delivery is adapted to the device and the part of the image being viewed. Resolution can vary across older, existing scenes.

The quality comes from that combination: detailed source photography and a presentation that does the city justice.

A city-wide experience can work for smaller destinations too. Begin with a strong selection, then extend it as new locations, stories or budgets become available.

Virtual Geraardsbergen is an example of a platform built to grow. The city started with selected buildings and later added locations to the existing tour. Its official tourism website directs visitors to the experience.

In Virtual Ronse, an aerial overview connects the city with heritage interiors, including the crypt, St Hermes Basilica and the textile museum. A map and language options help visitors find their way.

The practical lesson is to choose the places that tell the city’s story together. Then establish how the platform will expand, who will update content and how future photography will be added.

A good city tour helps people make choices before they arrive. What does a square look like? What is the atmosphere inside a museum? What should I make time for? This makes the experience useful on tourism pages, in campaigns and through partner organisations.

There are concrete applications. Visit Bruges points people to Virtual Bruges to preview features such as paving and museum spaces. That can support preparation, alongside practical accessibility information.

The Bruges City Film Office uses 360° links for filming locations. Location scouts can make an initial exploration remotely. The same approach is relevant for journalists, tour operators and organisers who need to assess or present a destination.

The photography can also serve other communications, from additional web pages to print materials, subject to agreed usage rights and suitable image formats.

An attractive image earns attention. What happens next determines whether that attention serves a purpose. Add ticket information or opening hours at a museum, a walking route at a viewpoint and accommodation details where a visitor is considering a stay.

Match each action to the location and the visitor’s intent. One relevant link can be more useful than five generic buttons. Give partner websites direct entry points too, so their visitors arrive at the appropriate location.

Decide what to measure before launch: locations viewed, information points used and clicks to relevant pages. Virtual tour heatmaps can add insight into what attracts attention.

A ticket click is not a ticket sale. Where possible, connect the next step to the intended outcome, then use the findings to improve content and navigation. This gives the platform a defined role in your visitor strategy.

A city changes. Museums reopen, squares are redesigned and new routes deserve attention. Agree who will manage text, links and translations, how outdated photography will be replaced and what support is included.

Include four practical requirements in the brief:

• Mobile use: test navigation, text and buttons on real phones.
• Performance: load suitable image resolutions and detail when needed. A large source file does not have to be delivered in full to every visitor.
• Accessibility: provide clear controls, readable information and a usable alternative for essential visual content.
• Search visibility: support the tour with indexable location pages, descriptive text and relevant internal links.

An interactive panorama experience works alongside a clear tourism website. Design the two to support each other. Also establish who has platform access, which usage rights apply and how content can be handed over. These decisions make the investment easier to manage over time.

Do we need to photograph the entire city at once?

No. Start with a coherent selection of important places. Choose a structure that can accommodate more districts, buildings or themes later. A city-wide tour is about connections and orientation, rather than covering every metre of every street.

Can the tour work alongside Google Maps?

Yes. Use your own tour to present and explore the destination, with Google Maps providing route planning, for example. Depending on the agreement, suitable photography can also be distributed through several channels.

What determines the scope of a project?

The number of viewpoints, interiors, aerial images, seasons and languages, alongside design, information, integrations and content management. A clear selection and phased expansion keep the scope manageable. Discuss both the initial production and ongoing updates.

Start with the places that tell visitors something meaningful: an iconic view, an unexpected interior, a lively square or a landscape that defines the destination. Connect them to your audience’s questions and the actions you want to support.

Poppr brings experience from Bruges, Mechelen, Geraardsbergen, Ronse, Avoriaz and Méribel, covering photography, design, navigation, content and future expansion.

Tell us which destination you want to show, who you want to reach and what you want to achieve. We can then discuss a suitable first scope and how it could grow.

Explore our approach to custom virtual tours.