Crafting a Personalized Travel Itinerary with ChatGPT-4, and Mapping it

We've all been there: you're planning a short trip to an unfamiliar city. ChatGPT-4 can provide you with a personalized itinerary, tailored to your interests and available time. Here's how ChatGPT-4 helped me plan a perfect two-day trip to Frankfurt, including some of the city's top Jewish historical sites.

Itinerary

First, I asked ChatGPT-4 to suggest a general two-day itinerary for exploring Frankfurt. It came back with a list that showcased the variety of Frankfurt's attractions. (Full itinerary below, at the end of the blogpost.)

I then requested ChatGPT-4 to merge both itineraries and provide hyperlinks to the Wikipedia entries for the featured places. The AI was able to blend the general itinerary with the Jewish heritage sites smoothly.

To double-check that I wouldn’t be missing anything important, I asked ChatGPT-4 to list the top 10 tourist attractions in Frankfurt by the number of Google Maps reviews. While the AI could not provide real-time data due to its September 2021 knowledge cut-off, it listed ten popular attractions based on the last update. The good news was that all ten attractions were already included in the generated itinerary.

Mapping

Here’s a simplified overview of the technical process involved in creating the customized map. I used Google Colab to code this. (Colab is Google’s cloud-based on Jupyter notebook tool.)

Using a mapping library called Folium, I plotted each location as markers on the map, representing the attractions. I adjusted the map's zoom level to focus on the area where the attractions are located, providing a clearer view. Additionally, I added labels to the markers, to identify each attraction without needing to hover over them.

I provide the full code at the end of this blogpost.

In conclusion, using AI for travel planning, such as ChatGPT-4, can result in an easy-to-create personalized itinerary. Not only does it provide the best places to visit, but it also adjusts the itinerary based on specific interests, in this case - Jewish heritage sites. The future of travel planning is looking more personalized and detailed, all thanks to the advancements in AI technology. So why not give it a try for your next trip? Bon voyage!

The Itinerary

Day 1:

●        Morning:

●        Start your day at Römer (6.5k reviews), the historic city hall.

●        Next, visit the Frankfurt Cathedral (Kaiserdom) (2.3k reviews).

●        From there, make your way to the Eiserner Steg (4.9k reviews).

●        Afternoon:

●        Have lunch at the Kleinmarkthalle (5.6k reviews).

●        After lunch, head to the Städel Museum (3.9k reviews).

●        Next, visit the Goethe House and Museum (2.1k reviews).

●        Evening:

●        Dine at one of the traditional German restaurants in the Sachsenhausen district (variety of reviews based on the chosen restaurant).

●        After dinner, enjoy a stroll along the riverbank.

Day 2:

●        Morning:

●        Start your day by visiting the Palmengarten (2.7k reviews).

●        Next, visit the Senckenberg Natural History Museum (2.4k reviews).

●        Afternoon:

●        Grab lunch at one of the cafés in the Fressgass area (variety of reviews based on the chosen café).

●        After lunch, take a trip to The Frankfurt Zoological Garden (5.1k reviews).

●        Later, visit the Jewish Museum (Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt) (392 reviews).

●        Evening:

●        Visit the Main Tower (5.8k reviews).

●        For dinner, try some modern German cuisine in the Bahnhofsviertel district (variety of reviews based on the chosen restaurant).

●        Wrap up your evening with a performance at the Oper Frankfurt (703 reviews).

Please note: For the Holocaust Memorial Wall and Anne Frank's Birthplace, I couldn't find a specific number of Google reviews because they are more informal sites. The Westend Synagogue and Museum Judengasse may have limited reviews because they might be less frequented by tourists or because people may choose not to review them out of respect for their historical and religious significance. Enjoy your trip!

Holocaust Memorial Wall (Gedenkstätte der jüdischen Opfer des Nationalsozialismus): Located at the old Jewish cemetery (Alter Jüdischer Friedhof) on Battonstraße, this memorial lists the names of Frankfurt’s Jewish citizens who were murdered during the Holocaust. It's a sobering, poignant reminder of the tragedies of that time.

Anne Frank's Birthplace: While the famous diary writer is more associated with Amsterdam, Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt. There's a commemorative plaque marking her birthplace at Ganghoferstraße 24.

Screenshot of the map

The code

!pip install folium
!pip install geopy
import folium
from geopy.geocoders import Nominatim
import numpy as np
from folium.features import DivIcon
geolocator = Nominatim(user_agent="myGeocoder")


# Define locations
itinerary = {
    "Day 1": [
        'Römer, Frankfurt',
        'Frankfurt Cathedral, Frankfurt',
        'Eiserner Steg, Frankfurt',
        'Kleinmarkthalle, Frankfurt',
        'Städel Museum, Frankfurt',
        'Goethe House and Museum, Frankfurt',
        'Sachsenhausen district, Frankfurt'
    ],
    "Day 2": [
        'Palmengarten, Frankfurt',
        'Senckenberg Natural History Museum, Frankfurt',
        'Fressgass area, Frankfurt',
        'The Frankfurt Zoological Garden, Frankfurt',
        'Jewish Museum, Frankfurt',
        'Main Tower, Frankfurt',
        'Bahnhofsviertel district, Frankfurt',
        'Oper Frankfurt, Frankfurt',
        'Holocaust Memorial Wall, Frankfurt',
        'Anne Frank Birthplace, Frankfurt'
    ]
}


# Define latitude and longitude lists
latitudes = []
longitudes = []


# Fetch latitudes and longitudes of the locations
for day, locations in itinerary.items():
    for loc in locations:
        location = geolocator.geocode(loc)
        if location is not None:
            latitudes.append(location.latitude)
            longitudes.append(location.longitude)


# Calculate mean latitude and longitude
mean_latitude = np.mean(latitudes)
mean_longitude = np.mean(longitudes)


# Create the map
m = folium.Map(location=[mean_latitude, mean_longitude], zoom_start=14)


# Add markers and labels to the map
colors = ['red', 'blue']
for i, (day, locations) in enumerate(itinerary.items()):
    coords = []
    for j, loc in enumerate(locations):
        location = geolocator.geocode(loc)
        if location is not None:
            coords.append([location.latitude, location.longitude])
            folium.Marker(
                location=[location.latitude, location.longitude],
                icon=folium.Icon(color=colors[i]),
            ).add_to(m)
            folium.Marker(
                location=[location.latitude, location.longitude],
                icon=DivIcon(
                    icon_size=(150,36),
                    icon_anchor=(0,0),
                    html='<div style="font-size: 12pt">%s</div>' % loc,
                )
            ).add_to(m)
    if coords:
        folium.PolyLine(coords, color=colors[i], weight=2.5, opacity=1).add_to(m)


# Display the map
m