Hello! I'd love to pitch this article. I've spent more than two decades exploring the globe, with seven of those years living in Spain. My passion for Spain led me to launch the Spain Travel Blog (https://mustseespain.com/blog/). Your query piqued my interest because I love using AI as a tool to build out my trip itineraries when I travel. Ultimately, I use a paid version of ChatGPT to plan out my itineraries and then I also use it to go into detail about my itineraries. When I'm planning a trip that has a must see museum visit, such as the Prado in Madrid, I'll use ChatGPT to ask questions about what are the paintings/works of art I must see and why. Learning background and context about the pieces helps me to feel more knowledgeable about them before I visit and this helps me to appreciate them more. I believe this makes art and history more approachable and easy to understand as it's a new way of engaging with them. I'm not a big fan of audio guides or tours so this helps me connect the dots and build my own comprehension of them. Additionally, I enjoy using Google Arts and Culture, which isn't an AI tool itself but does rely on AI technology. Attribution: Kristin Espinar, Travel Blogger & Founder of Must See Spain (mustseespain.com)
ChatGPT with location-specific prompts has become my preferred AI tool for travel destination research, particularly for creating personalized historical walking tours that connect art, architecture, and local stories based on my specific interests and available time. How I Use It Specifically: Before visiting any city, I provide ChatGPT with detailed prompts like "Create a 3-hour walking route through Prague's Old Town focusing on medieval architecture and Jewish history, including specific artworks, architectural details to notice, and historical context for each stop." The AI generates comprehensive itineraries with precise directions, historical background, and cultural insights. What Makes This Approach Valuable: The customization capability distinguishes this method from guidebooks or standard tour recommendations. I can request routes that match my walking pace, specific historical periods that interest me, or particular art movements I want to explore. The AI adapts recommendations based on my preferences for crowded versus quiet locations, indoor versus outdoor sites, or morning versus evening lighting for photography. Specific Example: For a recent Rome trip, I asked for a route connecting Caravaggio paintings across different churches with historical context about Counter-Reformation art. ChatGPT provided walking directions between six locations, explained the religious symbolism in each painting, and included the historical circumstances that influenced Caravaggio's commission work - information that would have required hours of research across multiple sources. The Learning Enhancement: The conversational aspect allows follow-up questions during exploration. While standing in front of artwork or architecture, I can ask for deeper historical context, artistic technique explanations, or connections to contemporary events that shaped the work's creation. Practical Advantages: The AI generates printable itineraries with specific addresses, suggested timing, and historical background that works offline. Unlike app-based guides requiring internet connectivity, I can access comprehensive information regardless of local wifi availability. Why It Surpasses Alternatives: Traditional guidebooks provide fixed information, while ChatGPT creates dynamic, personalized learning experiences tailored to individual curiosity and travel constraints.
My favorite way to use AI for learning about the history or art of a travel destination is through AI-powered museum apps like Smartify. Before a trip, I upload the app and explore curated tours, which use AI to recommend exhibits based on my interests and previous engagement. I especially enjoy how it provides contextual information, like historical anecdotes or artist biographies, in a way that feels like a personal guide. On a recent trip to Florence, the app highlighted lesser-known works in the Uffizi Gallery that I would have otherwise missed, and even suggested related artists in nearby museums. What I love most is the way AI adapts to my pace and interests, making the experience both educational and deeply engaging. It's like having a local expert in your pocket, helping me connect more meaningfully with the culture and art of each destination.
Hi, I'm Justin Brown, co-creator of The Vessel — a personality growth platform. I live a nomad lifestyle and when I land in a new place, I like to learn its past the way you'd learn a person — by noticing the small things first. My favorite approach is a slow morning walk with Google Lens as my pocket docent. Lens turns curiosity into momentum. I'll snap a frayed fresco corner, a tile pattern, a crest above a doorway (whatever tugs) and let Lens identify the work, the artist, or even just the motif. From there, I follow the thread: the school it came from, the patron who paid for it, the period style it belongs to. In Lisbon, a blue-and-white azulejo panel on a side street led me to an 18th-century workshop and a story about how earthquake rebuilding shaped the city's visual language. In Mexico City, Lens on a fragment of a mural became a bite-sized tour of the social realism movement I wouldn't have pieced together on my own. What I enjoy about Lens is the rhythm it creates. It doesn't shove a textbook at you; it gives you just enough to ask a better next question. I save the best snippets into a single note titled "How this city learned to look," with three parts for each find: what it is, why it mattered then, what it says about the place now. By the end of a trip, that note reads like a personal guide I can share with friends — or reshape into a tiny post or two. It's simple, human, and it keeps me paying attention. Thanks for considering my thoughts! Cheers, Justin Brown Co-Founder, The Vessel https://thevessel.io/
Before traveling I enjoy using ChatGPT to simulate the role of a local historian or art guide. I provide the prompt "Show me the street art of Lisbon through the perspective of a punk graffiti artist from the 1990s" to receive detailed stories that enrich my understanding of the city even before my arrival. The application provides me with an entertaining museum guide experience through my mobile device which avoids dull date-based information. The research about Palermo's Byzantine mosaics through ChatGPT delivered an engaging narrative about historical trade paths and artistic battles and the symbolic value of golden backgrounds during that period. The information delivered through this method surpasses traditional brochure content which reads like official documents.
My favorite way to use AI when traveling is to remix the city's history into a personal walking tour. Instead of relying on a standard guidebook, I'll open ChatGPT and feed it a mix of sources—sometimes obscure blog posts, sometimes a couple of paragraphs from a museum website or even an old academic article. Then I'll ask it to stitch those fragments together into a story that connects directly to where I'm standing. One example: in Lisbon, I asked it to explain how the 1755 earthquake shaped not just the architecture but the psychology of the city. The AI wove together details about Pombaline building codes, Enlightenment philosophy, and even snippets of local poetry. Suddenly, I wasn't just looking at tiled facades—I was seeing a whole worldview encoded in brick and stone. What I love about this approach is that it turns history from a static "list of dates" into something alive and layered. You start spotting connections you wouldn't have seen otherwise, like how a piece of street art is quietly referencing a centuries-old revolution, or how the way a plaza is laid out tells you about an empire's ambitions. It's less about AI giving me answers and more about AI acting like an improvisational guide—someone who knows the backstories but tells them in a way that makes me feel like I've stumbled on a secret. That's the kind of travel memory that sticks.
When I'm planning to visit a new destination or want to deepen my understanding of a place I'm exploring, I turn to Google Arts & Culture as my go-to AI-powered resource. This platform has transformed how I connect with the cultural heritage of the places I visit, offering far more than just basic information. What makes Google Arts & Culture exceptional is its interactive approach to learning. I can take virtual museum tours before visiting in person, which helps me prioritize what I want to see and understand the context behind important pieces. The high-resolution imagery feature is particularly valuable because I can zoom into famous artworks to see brushstrokes and details that might be missed even during an in-person visit. This level of detail helps me appreciate the craftsmanship and techniques that went into creating these masterpieces. I especially love the curated thematic collections that connect different aspects of a destination's culture. These collections help me understand not just individual artworks or historical events, but how they relate to the broader cultural narrative of a place. The platform's articles about historical events and cultural practices provide context that enriches my travel experience. Rather than just seeing beautiful buildings or artifacts, I understand the stories behind them and their significance to local communities. This combination of visual exploration, detailed information, and cultural context makes Google Arts & Culture invaluable for transforming tourism into meaningful cultural engagement. It allows me to arrive at destinations already connected to their heritage, making every visit more enriching and memorable.
When I'm traveling, my favorite way to use AI is with Google Lens paired with an AI assistant. For example, during my tours in Bangkok and even when planning itineraries in Singapore for MySingaporeDriver clients, I'll snap a photo of a temple mural, statue, or even an old street sign. The AI not only identifies the object but also gives me layered context—like the artistic style, the dynasty it came from, and how it fits into the broader cultural story of the region. Sometimes, our tourist customers come with only a vague description of a place they want to see—"an old bridge with lanterns" or "a mural of serpents"—and occasionally just a photo. In those moments, I'll use the same AI tools to reverse engineer what they mean. More often than not, it not only points us to the right site but also reveals smaller, hidden spots nearby that aren't in the guidebooks. What I enjoy most is how this transforms AI from a research tool into something closer to cultural matchmaking. It helps us move beyond the obvious attractions, uncover hidden gems, and give travelers a deeper connection to the history and art of a destination—almost like having a personal historian and local guide in your pocket.
When I travel, my favorite way to use AI to learn about the history or art of a destination is through Google Lens. I'll snap a photo of a monument, painting, or even a small plaque, and within seconds the tool provides context—sometimes pulling up centuries-old history or the backstory of the artist. On a trip to Rome, I used it while wandering through lesser-known churches and discovered fascinating details about frescoes I would have otherwise walked past. That instant layer of education made the experience feel like I had a personal tour guide in my pocket. What I enjoy most is how it transforms curiosity into action. Instead of leaving with unanswered questions or relying on a guidebook, I get immediate, trustworthy insights. My advice to travelers is to use AI tools like Google Lens not just on the "famous" sites, but on the small things that catch your eye—like street art, architecture, or even food packaging in a local market. That's where the real stories come alive, and it's often those unexpected discoveries that make a trip unforgettable.
When I'm planning a trip, I love using interactive AI-powered guides to dive deeper into the history and art of a destination. One tool I often use is Google Arts & Culture. It's amazing because it allows me to explore museum collections, historic sites, and local art from anywhere, often with AI-driven tours or curated exhibits that highlight connections I might never notice on my own. What I enjoy most is how it blends visual storytelling with context. For example, before visiting Florence, I could virtually wander through the Uffizi Gallery, zoom in on paintings, and read about the techniques, history, and cultural significance behind each piece. It makes the in-person experience so much richer because I already have a sense of the stories behind the works. Beyond just viewing art, I also use the platform to explore architectural history, local traditions, and even street art, which gives me a more layered understanding of the place. It's like having a personalized museum guide in my pocket, and the AI recommendations often surface hidden gems that aren't in the typical travel guides. It's turned research into a more interactive, visual, and engaging experience, and it makes exploring new destinations feel more connected to the culture and history before I even step foot there.
I like using AI-powered chat apps as a kind of on-demand travel docent. Instead of thumbing through a guidebook, I'll ask it to unpack the backstory of a cathedral, explain the symbolism in a painting, or point out quirky historical details about a neighborhood I'm walking through. One tool I've enjoyed is Google Lens paired with AI search—you snap a photo of a statue or mural, and suddenly you're getting context, artist bios, and related works in seconds. What makes it fun is the immediacy: it feels like having a personal guide in your pocket, giving you insights at the exact moment your curiosity sparks.
When I travel, I like using AI to learn about the history and art of a place in a way that feels more conversational than a guidebook. Instead of scrolling through endless articles, I can ask direct questions and get a clear overview of the culture, key artists, or architectural styles I am seeing. It makes exploring a city feel more connected and personal. One tool I often use is ChatGPT. I will ask for context about a landmark or museum piece I have just come across, and it helps me understand the story behind what I am looking at without needing to plan hours of research in advance. I enjoy that I can shape the conversation myself. Sometimes I want a quick summary, other times I ask for a deeper dive into a particular period or style. What I value most is how it links curiosity in the moment with deeper learning. If I find a piece of street art or a lesser-known monument, I can quickly ask about its background and then explore the wider cultural or historical themes around it. It makes the whole travel experience feel richer, almost like having a knowledgeable guide in my pocket.
When I travel I like to explore more than just the sights, I want to understand the stories behind them. AI tools like Google Arts and Culture have become a favorite resource because they make local history and art instantly accessible in ways that feel interactive rather than academic. Walking through a museum or a historic street, I can pull up curated collections, 3D tours, and context about artists or movements that would otherwise take hours of research. It transforms every destination into a richer experience and makes me feel like I am uncovering layers of culture in real time. Georgi Dimitrov CEO, Fantasy.ai
When I travel, I like using AI as a personal guide to uncover stories behind the art and history I see. My favorite tool is Google Lens because I can snap a picture of a mural, statue, or building and instantly get context about the artist, the period, or even similar works nearby. What I enjoy most is that it turns a casual walk into a living history lesson — I've discovered details I would have missed in guidebooks, like local symbolism painted on street art in Lisbon. It makes exploring feel both spontaneous and deeply educational.
Hi, My favorite way to use AI when traveling is through tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity to uncover layers of context that mainstream guides often miss. For example, before visiting historic towns in Europe, I'll prompt AI to surface overlooked cultural details, then fact-check them with local sources on the ground. The catch and this is where I might be more controversial is that I never take AI's answers at face value. It's a conversation starter, not a definitive source, and the best discoveries happen when you verify AI's "hints" against real human input. This philosophy mirrors a project we ran for an outdoor travel website where strategic link building boosted organic traffic by 220%. The magic wasn't in automation alone, but in combining data-driven insights with authentic content. AI can point you toward forgotten monuments or obscure art movements, but the real value is when you take those insights, validate them, and create richer, more meaningful experiences online or while exploring.
If it is my first time going to a plcae, I always do mi prior research beforehand and I use Chat GPT and Claude AI and use a personalized prompt to give me the solid points of the history. Regarding the art, I also use a personalized prompt to know what are the best museums and art facts that can help me in my travel.
Google Lens and AI translation deliver real-time translation of historical plaques, artwork descriptions, and workshop details in more than 10 languages on local guided test tours. It converted elaborate medieval instructions for painting frescoes in family workshops, as part of books or manuals that included historical context and enriched conversations with artisans, before and after Cariani spread this knowledge further when he was near the end of his career there. This wowed craftsmen who are used to being asked idiotic travel questions. What is special about this technology is that it takes the AI translation and combines it with the human cultural interpretation, which forms meaningful learning as opposed to just digitization. Experts offer local knowledge and personal stories that no app can rival.