Electron energy loss spectroscopy performed in transmission electron microscopes is shown to directly render the photonic local density of states with unprecedented spatial resolution, currently below the nanometer. Two special cases are discussed in detail: (i) 2D photonic structures with the electrons moving along the translational axis of symmetry and (ii) quasiplanar plasmonic structures under normal incidence. Nanophotonics in general and plasmonics, in particular, should benefit from these results connecting the unmatched spatial resolution of electron energy loss spectroscopy with its ability to probe basic optical properties such as the photonic local density of states. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.106804 PACS numbers: 73.20.Mf, 78.20.Bh, 79.20.Uv While a plethora of nanophotonic structures is currently being devised for diverse applications like achieving single molecule sensitivity in biosensing [1] or molding the flow of light over nanoscale distances for signal processing [2], no optical characterization technique exists that can render spectroscopic details with truly nanometer spatial resolution. The need for that kind of technique is particularly acute in nanometric plasmonic designs that benefit from sharp edges and metallic surfaces in close proximity to yield large enhancements of the electromagnetic field.Scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEM) can plausibly cover this gap, as they perform electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) with increasingly improved energy resolution that is quickly approaching the width of plasmon excitations in noble metals [3] and with spatial resolution well below the nanometer [4]. The connection between EELS and photonics can be readily established when low-energy losses in the sub-eV to a few eV range are considered, compatible with typical photon energies in photonic devices. A formidable amount of information is available in the literature for this so-called valence EELS, including for instance studies of single nanoparticles of various shapes [3,5], interacting nanoparticles [6], thin films [7], composite metamaterials [8], and carbon nanostructures [9]. Many of these reports are relevant to current nanophotonics research, in which the optical response of nanoparticles, nanoparticle assemblies, and patterned nanostructures plays a central role. In this context, EELS has been recently demonstrated to image plasmon modes with spatial resolution better than a hundredth of the wavelength in triangular nanoprisms [3]. However, despite significant progress from the theoretical side [10], no synthetic and universal picture has emerged to explain the spatial modulation of EELS measurements on arbitrary nanostructures.In this Letter, we show that EELS provides direct information on the photonic local density of states (LDOS), and thus it constitutes a suitable tool for truly nanometric characterization of photonic nanostructures. A rigorous derivation of this statement is offered, illustrated by numerical examples for both translationally invariant geomet...