Real Miami vs Vice City: the places GTA 6 is based on

Vice City has always been Rockstar's version of Miami, and GTA VI's trailers have kept fans busy matching shots to real streets. Here's how the game lines up with real South Florida, and where the comparisons are still guesswork.

A quick note on sourcing: Rockstar doesn't confirm real-world inspirations. The matches below come from side-by-side comparisons by press and fans. We've only included ones that have been widely reported.

Ocean Drive and South Beach → Ocean Beach

The real place: Ocean Drive on Miami Beach is the classic postcard: pastel Art Deco hotels facing the sand, neon at night, and slow-moving traffic showing off. The Miami Beach Architectural District, better known as the Art Deco Historic District, was added to the US National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

In the game: The beachfront strip in the trailers, called Ocean Beach in the gameplay reveal, has the same palette and layout. Fans have matched individual buildings too. One hotel in the trailers closely mirrors the real Hotel Victor.

PortMiami → Port Vice City

The real place: PortMiami calls itself the "Cruise Capital of the World", with giant cruise ships and a container terminal on islands in Biscayne Bay, right next to downtown.

In the game: Press comparisons point to Vice City's port as its counterpart. Expect cruise ships, cargo and plenty of chances for crime.

Wynwood and street art

The real place: Wynwood, just north of downtown Miami, is famous for walls covered in murals and graffiti.

In the game: Colourful, heavily painted streets show up in the trailers. Local Miami media have mapped dozens of landmarks seen in GTA VI footage, and the arts-district look is one of the clearest.

The Everglades → Grassrivers

The real place: Everglades National Park was set up in 1947 to protect the vast "River of Grass" wetland west of Miami: mangroves, sawgrass, airboats and a lot of alligators.

In the game: Grassrivers is a direct nod to that nickname, and the trailers show exactly that mix of swamp, boats and wildlife.

The Overseas Highway → the Leonida Keys bridges

The real place: US-1, the Overseas Highway, runs about 113 miles from the mainland to Key West, crossing dozens of bridges. The most famous is the Seven Mile Bridge.

In the game: The Leonida Keys are linked by long, low ocean bridges that look a lot like it. The Keys are also where Jason lives and works at the start of the story.

What hasn't been matched yet

Some famous Miami neighbourhoods haven't clearly shown up in trailer footage yet, at least not in a way press has confirmed:

• Little Havana and its main street, Calle Ocho
• Brickell, Miami's financial district and skyline of glass towers
• Key West and the Southernmost Point marker

Rockstar might have its own versions of these, renamed or folded into other districts. We'll find out on November 19.

Explore every match on the map

These are just the headline spots. The gtadb.org community has matched nearly 1,900 places in Leonida to real addresses: hotels, condos, shops, bridges and more. Open our map and switch on Real-world landmarks to browse them, with a link to each real place.

Help us map it

Once the game is out, our community map opens for pins. If you spot a real Miami landmark in Vice City, pin it as an easter egg so others can find it. For the bigger picture of the state, see our guide to every region of Leonida.