The GE/Keyhole Community BBS has some limited means of showing you which are the most popular Google Earth places. You can go to the subject forum of your choice – say “Earth Browsing” and then select the “Views” link (as shown to the right). This will sort the forum according to the most viewed threads. Reading the resulting threads will probably lead you to some interesting places, but it is not really a very good measure of the most popular downloaded GE files. I have yet to find a way to view the most downloaded GE files on the BBS. I assume Google will do this someday.
Another choice is the very nice gallery of Google Earth places at: www.gearthhacks.com. This site has a much nicer interface for determining good places to visit (note: you will have to do a minimal free registration to download from here). First, after going to their home page, click on “File Downloads”. Then, select “Most Popular“. Today’s top 5 places are:
- 747 on SCL final approach
- Eiffel Tower – 3d
- Statue of Liberty – 3d
- Pyramids of Giza – 3d models
- Golden Gate Bridge – 3d
To see the places themselves go here (after you have registered with GE Hacks you can load them into GE).
Another even nicer feature Google Earth Hacks has done is provide a network link which automatically shows you their current top rated places.