Add Nearby Places makes it easy to enrich your map with existing places such as restaurants, shops, hotels, parks, schools, and other amenities.
Instead of researching and adding locations one by one, choose an area, select the types of places you are interested in, refine the search if needed, and review the matching places. You can then add the relevant locations to your map in just a few clicks.
Add Nearby Places is available on the Expert plan and above.
What You Can Do with Add Nearby Places
- Search for places within the visible map area or a custom radius.
- Find places using broad categories such as Food & Drink, Shopping, Education, Transportation, and more.
- Refine broad categories by place type, such as Restaurants, Cafés, Grocery Stores, or Hotels.
- Search for specific brands or business names.
- Review matching places before adding them.
- Select only the locations relevant to your map.
- Assign selected places to one or more Mapme categories.
- Add multiple locations to your map at once.
Example Use Cases
Add Nearby Places is useful whenever you want to quickly add existing amenities or points of interest around an area.
- Commercial real estate: Show restaurants, cafés, hotels, transportation, fitness, shopping, and services around a property.
- Residential real estate: Add nearby schools, parks, grocery stores, health care, shopping, and recreation.
- Travel and tourism: Find hotels, attractions, restaurants, cafés, and cultural destinations.
- Universities and campuses: Add nearby dining, transportation, services, and entertainment.
- Events: Show hotels, parking, restaurants, and other useful places around a venue.
- Community maps: Quickly identify local businesses, services, and facilities.
What Information Is Added?
The information available varies by location. Depending on the available data, an added location can include:
- Place or business name
- Address
- Place type and category information
- Phone number
- Website
- Social media links
You can edit the location after it is added just like any other location on your Mapme map.
How to Add Nearby Places
1. Open Add Nearby Places
- Open your map in the Mapme Editor.
- Click Add locations.
- Select Add Nearby Places.
2. Select the Search Area
You can search using either the current map view or a radius.
Current map view
This is the default option. Places are searched within the area currently visible on the map.
Zoom or pan the map until the area you want to search is visible.
The maximum search span is 50 km. If the visible map area is too large, zoom in before continuing.
Radius
Select Radius to search within a circle instead.
You can:
- Enter the radius.
- Drag the radius handles to resize the circle.
- Drag the circle to move it.
- Click another location on the map to reposition the circle.
The maximum search radius is 25 km.
When the search area is ready, click Next: Choose Places.
3. Choose and Refine Place Types
Start by selecting one or more main place categories. These categories define the broad types of places you want to find.
Categories include:
- Food & Drink
- Shopping
- Education
- Transportation
- Sports & Recreation
- Health Care
- Hotels & Lodging
- Arts & Entertainment
- Personal & Lifestyle Services
- Community & Government
- Business & Professional Services
- Culture & Landmarks
- Natural & Geographic Places
Refine by place type
Main categories can include many different types of places. Use Refine by place type to narrow the search to the specific types you are interested in.
The available place types automatically depend on the main categories you select.
For example:
- Select Food & Drink and refine by Restaurant to return restaurants instead of all Food & Drink places such as cafés, bars, and other food venues.
- Select Food & Drink and refine by both Restaurant and Café to find either restaurants or cafés.
- Select Shopping and refine by Grocery Store to focus the results on grocery stores rather than all types of shopping.
You can select multiple refined place types.
Using multiple main categories
Refined place types apply only to the main category they belong to.
For example, if you select:
- Food & Drink
- Shopping
- and refine Food & Drink by Restaurant
the results will include Restaurants from Food & Drink and all matching Shopping places.
A selected main category remains broad unless you choose one or more refined place types within that category.
Search by brand or business name
You can also search for a specific brand or exact business name.
Brand search can be combined with categories and refined place types. For example:
- Food & Drink → Restaurant → McDonald’s
- Shopping → Grocery Store → Whole Foods
The brand or business search further narrows the selected place categories; it does not replace them.
When your selections are ready, click Show Places.
4. Review the Places
Mapme displays the closest matching places within your selected search area.
Results are selected by default so you can quickly add multiple places. Deselect any place you do not want to add.
For each result you can review information such as:
- Name
- Distance
- Address
- Place type
You can sort the results and use Select all or Clear selection to manage your selection.
If additional matching places are available, click Show more places at the bottom of the results list.
5. Assign Mapme Categories
Before a selected place can be added, assign it to at least one Mapme category.
To assign the same category to multiple places, select the places and use Assign selected places to.
You can then change the category assignment individually for any result.
Selected places without a category assignment are not added to the map. The bottom of the panel shows how many locations are ready to add and how many selected locations are still missing a category.
6. Add the Places
When you are ready, click Add Selected Places.
The selected and categorized places are created as regular Mapme locations and can then be edited, styled, reorganized, or removed like any other location.
After the locations are added, you can:
- Click Add More Places to start another nearby places search.
- Click Done to return to your map.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a category and a place type?
A category is a broad group such as Food & Drink, Shopping, or Transportation.
A place type is more specific. For example, within Food & Drink you can refine the search to Restaurant, Café, or another available place type.
Do I need to use Refine by place type?
No. It is optional, but recommended when a main category is broader than what you want to find.
If you select Food & Drink without refining it, the results can include restaurants, cafés, bars, and other food and drink venues.
Can I select more than one place type?
Yes. For example, you can select both Restaurant and Café to return places matching either type.
What happens if I select several main categories but refine only one?
The refinement applies only to its related main category.
For example, if you select Food & Drink and Shopping, then refine Food & Drink to Restaurant, the results include restaurants plus all matching Shopping places.
Why can’t I find a particular business or place?
Some businesses or amenities may be missing, outdated, or have incomplete information. You can always add a missing location manually using Search or Drop a pin.
Can I edit a place after adding it?
Yes. A nearby place becomes a regular Mapme location after it is added. You can edit its name, address, description, categories, media, and other location settings.
Do I have to add all the places returned by the search?
No. Search results are selected initially to make bulk adding faster, but you can deselect any locations you do not want to add.
Why wasn’t a selected place added?
Every selected place must be assigned to at least one Mapme category. Selected places without a category assignment are skipped when you click Add Selected Places.
Can I assign a place to more than one category?
Yes. You can assign a place to multiple Mapme categories using the Assign to control.
What is the maximum search area?
When using Current map view, the maximum search span is 50 km.
When using Radius, the maximum radius is 25 km.
Can I search for a specific business or brand?
Yes. Use Search by brand or exact business name in the Choose place types step. You can use it together with selected categories and refined place types to narrow your search further.
Which Mapme plans include Add Nearby Places?
Add Nearby Places is available with the Expert plan and above.