The formats you can import
MyFavsMap accepts several inputs: the GeoJSON/CSV file from Google Takeout, a shared Google Maps list link, or plain pasted text (one address per line). You're never stuck on a format.
Before you start: does your file have coordinates?
This one question decides whether the import works or fails, and it is worth answering before you touch anything. Open your file in a spreadsheet and look for two columns of numbers — a latitude and a longitude. If they are there, every tool below will read your file straight away.
If instead you see a column of Google Maps links, or only names and addresses, your file has no coordinates. That is the normal state of a CSV coming out of Google Takeout, and it is why so many imports end with an empty map. Those links or addresses have to be resolved into positions first — a step called geocoding. Some tools do it for you; Google My Maps does it for addresses, but not for Google Maps links.
Method 1 — Import into Google My Maps
The obvious destination, and free. My Maps accepts CSV, TSV, XLSX, a Google Sheet, KML, KMZ and GPX.
- Open Google My Maps on a computer and click Create a new map.
- In the left panel, click Import under the untitled layer.
- Drop your file, then tell My Maps which column holds the location — an address column, or a latitude and a longitude pair.
- Choose the column that should name each pin, usually the place name.
- Your points appear as a layer. Repeat with another file to add another layer.
The limits are real and worth knowing before you plan around them. Google states: no more than 2,000 rows per import; KML and KMZ files up to 5 MB, other formats up to 40 MB; and 100 photos at a time. A map is also capped at ten layers, so a large collection split by category runs out of room quickly.
The other catch: styling is manual. My Maps will not sort your places by category on its own — you build each layer yourself and colour it by hand, on a desktop.
Method 2 — Import into a dedicated map
Export your places (see our export guide), open MyFavsMap, choose “Import”, drop the file or paste the link/text. Places are geocoded and placed on the map in seconds.
Method 3 — Paste a plain list, with no file at all
Often the fastest route, and the one people forget. If your places live in a note, an email or a message from a friend, you do not need to build a file: paste them as text, one place per line, and let the tool locate them.
It suits the small, real cases — the eight restaurants someone sent you, the list copied from a blog post — where making a spreadsheet first would take longer than the trip planning itself.
Preparing your file so the import works first time
Most failed imports come down to the same handful of things, and all of them are quicker to fix before the import than after.
One place per row, one header row at the top. Merged cells, a title line above the headers, or a blank row in the middle will each break the column detection.
Keep the country in the address. “12 Rue des Martyrs” exists in several countries; “12 Rue des Martyrs, Paris, France” exists once. This single habit removes most misplaced pins.
Latitude before longitude, and a dot for the decimal separator. A file exported from a spreadsheet in a French or Spanish locale often uses commas, which a CSV then reads as extra columns.
Save as UTF-8. Accents and non-Latin names turn into question marks otherwise — an annoyance in Paris, a real problem in Athens or Tokyo.
Why some places land in the wrong country
When an import puts a restaurant in the middle of the ocean or in the wrong hemisphere, the file is rarely at fault: the address was ambiguous and the geocoder guessed. Dozens of towns share a name across countries, and a street name with no city is a coin toss.
Two fixes, in order of effectiveness. Add the city and country to every address before importing. And where you already have coordinates, use them rather than the address — a latitude and longitude cannot be misread. If only a handful of pins are wrong, moving them by hand afterwards is faster than reworking the whole file.
Organise, filter and plan your itineraries
Once imported, sort your places by category (restaurants, culture, nature…), filter, then generate a proximity-optimised itinerary. Add notes and keep a travel journal by country.
Your data stays yours
Import happens in your own space: your lists are private by default and exportable anytime (GPX, KML). You keep full control, with no lock-in.
