Ever wanted to fly over the Shard, circle Trafalgar Square or swoop onto St Paul’s Cathedral’s famous dome? Well now you can.
From today, you can explore London in greater detail after its buildings were made available in 3D on Google Maps and Google Earth.
Using 45-degree aerial imagery, Google was able to recreate the capital’s landscape, landmarks and terrains in 3D.
Google has added London landmarks including the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (pictured in the foreground) as well as terrains and landscapes across the capital to its 3D mapping service
This means every building, and not just the famous landmarks, are included to provide a much more accurate and realistic view of the city.
The 3D images appear as users zoom into London on Google Maps or Google Earth.
Once the 3D building appears, users can pan, zoom, tilt, and rotate to see the whole location.
London is the the fifth city in the UK to be recreated in 3D on Google Maps.
The others include Birmingham, Leeds, Reading and Stoke on Trent.
A tour of 3D buildings is available from Google Earth’s blog.
This features cathedrals, castles and palaces, art museums, baseball and football stadiums and skyscrapers.
Highlights include the Shanghai World Financial Centre in China, Johannisburg Palace in Germany and Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York.
The 3D images (Tower Bridge and the Shard are pictured) appear as users zoom into London on Google Maps or Google Earth. Once the 3D building appears, users can pan, zoom, tilt and rotate to see the whole location
London (the London Eye and Westminster Bridge is pictured) is the the fifth city in the UK to be recreated in 3D on Google Maps. The others include Birmingham, Leeds, Reading and Stoke on Trent
In 2006, Google began adding texture to 3D buildings in Google Earth before adding 3D models to areas from June 2012.
Designers on Google Earth begin by using grey blocky buildings from geographic information system data.
They then replace the grey buildings, with models created using tools such as Sketchup.
Trees are then automatically generated, based on the size and shape of what's visible in the photos.
Google began adding texture to 3D buildings in Google Earth in 2006, before adding 3D models from June 2012. Designers on Google Earth begin by using grey blocky buildings They then replace the grey buildings, with models created using tools such as Sketchup. Buckingham Palace is pictured
A tour of 3D buildings is available from Google Earth's blog. This features cathedrals, castles and palaces, art museums, baseball and football stadiums and skyscrapers. The City of London, including the Gherkin, is pictured
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