Four Coolest Places to Tour on Google Maps / travel

Google Maps recently made news when it released a Street View version of the Grand Canyon featuring several of the popular trails for your virtual viewing pleasure. But the Grand Canyon isn't the only one in the mix. Google Maps has created street view collections of locations all over the world, from the Swiss Alps and UNESCO World Heritage sites to Thailand and more. The entire collection can be viewed here, or you can follow the links from each gallery to the actual Google Maps page. Some maps even feature embedded photos from Picasa users. Here are four of the coolest places you can tour from your laptop (including the Grand Canyon), courtesy of Google Maps. How's that for armchair traveling?

Alp Spinas: Rhaetian Railway, Bernina-Albula, Switzerland

Follow a train track through the dappled foliage and snowy peaks of the Swiss Alps in this magnificent collection of photos. Click ahead of you on the track and you almost feel the steel mass propelling you forward. Drag your cursor left and right to enjoy panoramic views of the mountainsides.