Google Maps MCP Server

Summary

The Google Maps MCP server provides comprehensive location services including geocoding, place search, directions, and autocomplete. Perfect for building location-aware assistants, navigation bots, and local business finders.

Authentication

This server requires a Google Maps API key. The key must have the following APIs enabled:

Places API (for place search, details, autocomplete, nearby search)
Geocoding API (for geocoding and reverse geocoding)
Directions API (for routing and navigation)

Getting Your API Key

Go to Google Cloud Console

Visit Google Cloud Console

Create or Select a Project

Create a new project or select an existing one

Enable Required APIs

Enable Places API, Geocoding API, and Directions API for your project

Create API Key

Go to “Credentials” and create an API key. Add appropriate restrictions (HTTP referrers or IP addresses) for security.

Use in Requests

Include the key in your request header:

X-Google-Maps-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

Important: Secure your API key by restricting it to specific domains, IP addresses, or API endpoints in the Google Cloud Console.

Use Cases

Finding Nearby Restaurants

User: “Find Italian restaurants near 123 Main St, Seattle” Tool Calls:

geocode - Convert “123 Main St, Seattle” to coordinates
nearby-search - Search for restaurants with type “italian_restaurant” near those coordinates
get-place-details - Get full details for top results (hours, reviews, phone)

Result: List of Italian restaurants with ratings, hours, distance, and contact info

Getting Directions with Traffic

User: “How do I get from my office to the airport? I need to leave now.” Tool Calls:

get-directions - Calculate route with mode: "driving" and departure_time: "now" for traffic estimates

Result: Turn-by-turn directions with current traffic conditions and estimated travel time

Location Autocomplete

User: “I’m trying to remember the full address… it’s something like ‘123 Mai’” Tool Calls:

autocomplete-places - Get suggestions for “123 Mai” with types: "address"

Result: Complete address suggestions the user can select from

Available Tools

geocode

Convert an address or location name to geographic coordinates.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`address`	string	Yes	Street address, city, postal code, or landmark (e.g., “Eiffel Tower, Paris”)
`language`	string	No	Language code for results (default: “en”). Examples: “es”, “fr”, “de”, “ja”
`components`	string	No	Component filter to bias results (e.g., “country:US” or “country:FR\|locality:Paris”)

Returns: Latitude/longitude coordinates, formatted address, place ID, and address components breakdown. Example:

Input: "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA"
Output: Coordinates (37.4224764, -122.0842499), place_id, formatted address

reverse-geocode

Convert coordinates to a human-readable address.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`latitude`	number	Yes	Latitude coordinate (-90 to 90)
`longitude`	number	Yes	Longitude coordinate (-180 to 180)
`language`	string	No	Language code for results (default: “en”)
`result_type`	string	No	Filter by type: “street_address”, “route”, “locality”, “country”, etc.

Returns: Multiple detail levels from specific street address to country. Example:

Input: latitude: 48.8584, longitude: 2.2945
Output: "Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France" + neighborhood, city, country

search-places

Search for places using natural language queries.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	Yes	Search query (e.g., “coffee shops in Seattle”, “hotels near Central Park”)
`location`	string	No	Bias results near this location as “latitude,longitude”
`radius`	integer	No	Search radius in meters from location (1-50000, default: 5000)
`type`	string	No	Filter by place type (restaurant, cafe, hotel, etc.)
`language`	string	No	Language code (default: “en”)
`limit`	integer	No	Max results to return (1-20, default: 10)

Returns: List of places with names, addresses, ratings, open status, and place IDs. Common Place Types:

Food: restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery, meal_takeaway
Lodging: hotel, lodging, motel
Services: gas_station, parking, car_repair, hospital, pharmacy, bank, atm
Activities: gym, park, zoo, museum, movie_theater
Shopping: store, supermarket, shopping_mall
Transit: airport, train_station, bus_station, subway_station

get-place-details

Get comprehensive information about a specific place.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`place_id`	string	Yes	Google place_id from search results (e.g., “ChIJN1t_tDeuEmsRUsoyG83frY4”)
`language`	string	No	Language code (default: “en”)

Returns: Full place details including:

Name and business status
Complete address and coordinates
Rating, review count, and sample reviews
Contact info (phone, website)
Opening hours with current status
Price level

Example:

Input: place_id from previous search
Output: Complete business information with hours, reviews, and contact details

nearby-search

Find places of a specific type near coordinates.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`latitude`	number	Yes	Center latitude (-90 to 90)
`longitude`	number	Yes	Center longitude (-180 to 180)
`type`	string	No	Place type (restaurant, cafe, gas_station, etc.)
`keyword`	string	No	Keyword filter (e.g., “pizza”, “sushi”, “vegan”)
`radius`	integer	No	Search radius in meters (1-50000, default: 1500)
`open_now`	boolean	No	Only return currently open places (default: false)
`min_rating`	number	No	Minimum rating filter (1.0-5.0, default: 0)
`language`	string	No	Language code (default: “en”)
`limit`	integer	No	Max results (1-20, default: 10)

Returns: Places sorted by distance with ratings, open status, and distance from center point.

Use with geocode: If you have an address instead of coordinates, call geocode first to get lat/lon coordinates, then use those with nearby-search.

autocomplete-places

Get autocomplete suggestions for partial addresses or place names.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`input`	string	Yes	Partial address or place name (minimum 2 characters)
`location`	string	No	Bias results near “latitude,longitude”
`radius`	integer	No	Bias radius in meters (1-50000, default: 50000)
`types`	string	No	Restrict to types: “geocode”, “address”, “establishment”, “(regions)”, “(cities)“
`language`	string	No	Language code (default: “en”)
`limit`	integer	No	Max suggestions (1-10, default: 5)

Returns: Autocomplete suggestions with place IDs for detailed lookup. Type Filters:

geocode - All geocoding results
address - Precise street addresses
establishment - Businesses and points of interest
(regions) - Geographic regions (cities, states, countries)
(cities) - Cities only

get-directions

Get routes and turn-by-turn directions between locations.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`origin`	string	Yes	Starting location (address, place name, or “lat,lon”)
`destination`	string	Yes	Ending location (address, place name, or “lat,lon”)
`mode`	string	No	Travel mode: “driving”, “walking”, “bicycling”, “transit” (default: “driving”)
`waypoints`	string	No	Intermediate stops, pipe-separated (e.g., “Seattle, WA\|Portland, OR”). Max 25.
`avoid`	string	No	Features to avoid (comma-separated): “tolls”, “highways”, “ferries”, “indoor”
`departure_time`	string	No	When to leave: “now” or Unix timestamp. Enables traffic estimates for driving.
`arrival_time`	string	No	When to arrive (transit only): Unix timestamp. Cannot use with departure_time.
`alternatives`	boolean	No	Return alternative routes (default: false)
`units`	string	No	Distance units: “metric” or “imperial” (default: “metric”)
`language`	string	No	Language code (default: “en”)

Returns:

Step-by-step directions with distances and times
Total distance and duration
Traffic information (if departure_time specified for driving)
Alternative routes (if requested)
Warnings and notices

Examples:

# Current traffic conditions
departure_time: "now"
mode: "driving"

# Arrive by 3pm tomorrow (transit only)
arrival_time: 1704123600
mode: "transit"

# Multi-stop route
waypoints: "Seattle, WA|Portland, OR"

Traffic Estimates: Use departure_time: "now" with driving mode to get current traffic conditions and adjusted travel times.

Common Workflows

Finding a Place

Use search-places with a descriptive query

Get Details

Use get-place-details with the place_id from the best match

Getting Directions

Calculate Route

Use get-directions with origin and destination (addresses work directly)

Add Traffic

Add departure_time: "now" for current traffic conditions (driving mode)

Location-Based Recommendations

Geocode Address

Use geocode to convert address to coordinates

Search Nearby

Use nearby-search with coordinates and desired type

Get Details (Optional)

Use get-place-details for top results

Tips & Best Practices

Include geographic context in search queries for better results (e.g., “pizza in downtown Seattle” vs “pizza”)
Use place_id from search results to get details - never guess or construct place IDs
Addresses work directly in get-directions - no need to geocode first
Check opening hours by day if relevant - hours vary by day of the week
Use departure_time with driving mode for traffic-aware travel estimates
Results are cached briefly - very recent changes may not appear immediately

API Reference

View the complete API specification for Google Maps MCP server endpoints

Get Started

Bots

Agent Loops

MCP Servers

Use Cases

Summary

Authentication

Getting Your API Key

Use Cases

Finding Nearby Restaurants

Getting Directions with Traffic

Location Autocomplete

Available Tools

geocode

reverse-geocode

search-places

get-place-details

nearby-search

autocomplete-places

get-directions

Common Workflows

Finding a Place

Getting Directions

Location-Based Recommendations

Tips & Best Practices

API Reference

​Summary

​Authentication

​Getting Your API Key

​Use Cases

​Finding Nearby Restaurants

​Getting Directions with Traffic

​Location Autocomplete

​Available Tools

​geocode

​reverse-geocode

​search-places

​get-place-details

​nearby-search

​autocomplete-places

​get-directions

​Common Workflows

​Finding a Place

​Getting Directions

​Location-Based Recommendations

​Tips & Best Practices

API Reference

Summary

Authentication

Getting Your API Key

Use Cases

Finding Nearby Restaurants

Getting Directions with Traffic

Location Autocomplete

Available Tools

geocode

reverse-geocode

search-places

get-place-details

nearby-search

autocomplete-places

get-directions

Common Workflows

Finding a Place

Getting Directions

Location-Based Recommendations

Tips & Best Practices