Cultura Atlas — AI-Powered Cultural Itinerary Planner

Inspiration

We were frustrated with generic travel apps that prioritize tourist traps over genuine cultural experiences. Cultura Atlas was born to flip that — to help people travel through their tastes, not Tripadvisor rankings.

What it does

Cultura Atlas is your AI-powered cultural guide. You tell it what you love (jazz, ceramics, indie films, etc.) and where you're going. It returns a personalized, culturally deep itinerary—morning to night—complete with context, significance, and hidden gems.

How we built it

• Frontend: Next.js 14, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Leaflet for maps
• Backend: Next.js API Routes
• APIs: Qloo for cultural recommendations, Gemini AI for reasoning and chat
• PDF export, responsive UI, and interactive chat to explain each recommendation

Challenges we ran into

• Gemini API integration and secret management
• Styling Leaflet maps for deployment on Vercel
• Making cultural taste-matching feel truly personal and not generic

Accomplishments we're proud of

• AI that not only recommends but explains cultural choices
• Beautiful, mobile-friendly UI with interactive maps
• Seamless blend of multiple APIs to create rich, human-first experiences

What we learned

• How to architect AI experiences that feel human, not robotic
• That personalization isn’t just UX—it’s cultural empathy
• Real-world deployment issues, from CSS bugs to API rate limits

What's next

• Group travel planning
• Real-time local events integration
• Cultural learning features (traditions, etiquette, stories)
• Native apps and maybe AR for on-the-go cultural overlays

Built With

• css-modules
• gemini-pro-api
• github
• leaflet.js
• next.js-14
• node.js
• openai-tools
• qloo-api
• react
• tailwind-css
• typescript
• vercel