The GTA 6 Map in Real Life: Leonida is Florida
Leonida is a fictional state, but almost nothing about it is invented from scratch. The coastline, the regions, the cities and most of the landmarks map onto real Florida closely enough that you can put the two side by side. Here is the full correspondence.
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Where the name comes from
Florida was named by Juan Ponce de Leon, who landed on the coast in 1513. Rockstar took the other half of that name and made it the state: Leonida. The state motto in the game is The Goodtime State, against Florida’s real Sunshine State, and the state seal carries an alligator. The joke is consistent all the way down.
The geography lines up
On the leaked layout Leonida reads as a compact version of Florida: land running south to an island chain off the southern tip, a western arm where the panhandle would be, and a large lake inland. Nobody outside Rockstar has seen the finished map, so that shape is what the leaked material and the trailers together describe rather than a confirmed picture. Vice City sits where Miami sits, on the south-east coast, split by a bay with a barrier island on the ocean side, and the wetlands occupy the same southern interior as the Everglades. Every marker on this site is placed from the real coordinate of its counterpart for exactly that reason.
Every place and its real counterpart
Regions
| In Leonida | In real life |
|---|---|
| Ambrosia | Clewiston, Florida |
| Grassrivers | The Everglades |
| Leonida Keys | Florida Keys |
| Mount Kalaga National Park | Providence Canyon, Georgia |
| Port Gellhorn | Panama City, Florida |
| Vice City | Miami, Florida |
Cities
| In Leonida | In real life |
|---|---|
| Hamlet | Homestead, Florida |
| Vice Beach | Miami Beach |
Districts
| In Leonida | In real life |
|---|---|
| Design District | Miami Design District |
| Downtown Vice City | Downtown Miami and Brickell |
| Gloriana Key | Marathon, Florida Keys |
| Key Lento | Key Largo |
| La Perle | Little Haiti, Miami |
| Little Cuba | Little Havana, Miami |
| Ocean Beach | South Beach, Miami Beach |
| Starfish Island | Star Island, Miami |
| Stockyard | Wynwood, Miami |
| Waning Sands | South Broward County |
| Washington Beach | Mid-Beach, Miami Beach |
Landmarks
| In Leonida | In real life |
|---|---|
| Nine1Nine | E11EVEN, Miami |
| Sahara Arena | Kaseya Center, Miami |
Transport
| In Leonida | In real life |
|---|---|
| Port of Vice City | PortMiami |
| Vice City International Airport | Miami International Airport |
Water
| In Leonida | In real life |
|---|---|
| Catalan Bay | Biscayne Bay |
| Lake Leonida | Lake Okeechobee |
Landmarks people have already identified
Trailer footage has been matched to specific Miami buildings. The downtown arena on the bay front lines up with the real home of the Miami Heat. The nightclub shown in the second trailer is modelled on a well-known 24-hour Miami club. Several art deco hotel facades along the beach strip are recognisable from the real South Beach. These are reported identifications rather than Rockstar confirmations, so they carry the reported grade on the map.
Where Leonida is not Florida
The map is compressed. Real Florida is about 720 kilometres from the western panhandle to Miami, and no game world is that big. Distances between regions are shortened, the panhandle is far closer to the peninsula than it is in life, and whole stretches of the real coast have no counterpart. Rockstar has also moved the northern wilderness area: Mount Kalaga is described as a national park in the north, and its inspiration is generally read as Providence Canyon in Georgia rather than anywhere in Florida.
FAQ
Is Vice City in GTA 6?
Yes, and it is the main city. Rockstar confirmed a modern-day Vice City inside the fictional state of Leonida, the first return to the city since the 2002 game.
What is the GTA 6 map based on?
Florida, closely enough that you can lay the two side by side. Leonida is a fictional version of the state, named after Ponce de Leon. On the leaked layout it keeps the broad shape: land running south to an island chain off the southern tip, a western arm where the panhandle would be, and a large lake inland. Vice City stands in for Miami, Grassrivers for the Everglades, Port Gellhorn for Panama City, and Ambrosia for the sugar country around Clewiston. Mount Kalaga reaches north into a Georgia that the game calls Gloriana.
What does the GTA 6 map look like?
A compact Florida, wider and shorter than the real state. Vice City sits on the south-east coast, split by a bay with a barrier island on the ocean side, and wetlands fill the southern interior. The Leonida Keys trail off the bottom, the panhandle runs west along the top toward Port Gellhorn, and Mount Kalaga National Park sits on the northern border. Nobody outside Rockstar has seen the finished map, so this is the layout that the leaked material and the trailers together describe rather than a confirmed picture.
Is Leonida a real place?
No. Leonida is a fictional version of Florida, named after Ponce de Leon, with the motto The Goodtime State and an alligator on its seal. Vice City stands in for Miami, Grassrivers for the Everglades and Port Gellhorn for Panama City.