Facebook takes on Yelp with new Facebook Places directory

Facebook has silently rolled out new “Facebook Places” directory that lets users search for “great places in every city” across the world, leveraging its Graph Search platform and other tools. From the Facebook Places page, users will be able to search for places in a city in different categories, like restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes, attractions, arts and entertainment, gyms, movie theaters, schools, landmarks, and more.

Facebook has quietly launched a new Places Directory, which lets you search for the best destinations in cities across the world. Once you’ve searched for a specific city or town, you can select from restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes, attractions, arts & entertainment, gyms, cinemas, schools and universities, theatres, supermarkets and landmarks. The results of your search are ranked by user ratings and show comments from friends and others in your Facebook network. The new Places directory taps into Graph Search, the Page Locations API and other elements of the Facebook platform. While it won’t replace other local search and travel sites yet, there’s a big benefit in tapping into trusted reviews and comments from your friends.