About and methodology

01

What the site is

Backstreet Maps is a map-first travel reference. Each city is described by structured data: the areas a visitor would base themselves in, the places worth the trip, public transport times and a weekly hotel price sample. Pages are generated from that data in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

02

Where the data comes from

Area and place records list their sources, usually official sites, operators and reference works, together with the date they were last verified. Translations are made from the English record and never add facts.

Travel times are typical door-to-door public transport times to fixed reference points in each city, such as the main station.

03

Hotel prices

The hotel price index samples live rates every Tuesday for a two-night stay 30 days ahead, around each area centre, and publishes the minimum, quartiles and median in US dollars. Small samples are flagged. The method is described on each city's price index page.

04

Rankings and verdicts

Verdicts and rankings are computed from the data fields: traveller-type tags, prices, travel times and mapped places. No area pays for its position.

05

How the site is funded

Hotel maps, hotel searches and some booking links are provided by Stay22. When a traveller books through them, the site can earn a commission from the booking site, at no extra cost to the traveller. Commissions do not change rankings.