Shapefile / GeoJSON
Natural Earth Populated Places
Curated global cities and towns with population ranks from Natural Earth — hosted as a 110m GeoJSON with an instant map and population summary.
Basemap reference City mapping
POI & places
Points of Interest & Places
Global points of interest and populated place datasets including Natural Earth populated places, Overture POI, and GeoNames.
Quick answer: compare official sources, download formats, coverage, licensing, and practical GIS workflows in this POI & places directory.
Populated places GeoNames Overture POI Natural Earth cities Geocoding Mountain Peaks Castle Locations Waterfalls Caves
Downloadable datasets in this category
14
Each dataset page captures official source links, access notes, and related GIS workflows.
Official sources and direct access
Mixed delivery
Find provider portals, available file downloads and instructions for accessing each source.
Spatial data guidance
Choose a source
Compare geographic coverage, file formats and reuse terms before choosing data for your map or analysis.
POI and populated places pages help GIS users find location data for cities, towns, and cultural features worldwide.
These datasets serve as essential reference layers for basemaps, geocoding, and location-based analysis.
Downloadable datasets in this category
Category directory
Open a dataset guide for source links, download steps and practical answers about working with the files.
GeoJSON / Parquet
Overture Maps Places
Global POI dataset combining OSM, Meta, and Microsoft data with consistent schema.
POI mapping Location search
TXT / API
GeoNames Global Gazetteer
The largest free global gazetteer with millions of place names, coordinates, and feature classification.
Geocoding reference Place name lookup
GeoJSON / Shapefile / PBF
OpenStreetMap POI Extracts
Global point-of-interest data from OpenStreetMap including shops, restaurants, services, and cultural venues.
Point-of-interest mapping Local search applications
GeoJSON / Parquet
Overture Maps Addresses
Global point address dataset from Overture Maps with street names, house numbers, cities, postal codes, and administrative hierarchy.
Geocoding Address validation
Point (peaks)
Global mountain peak locations from OpenStreetMap, filterable by country and elevation.
Mountain mapping Hiking route planning
Point (castles)
Global castle and fortification locations from OpenStreetMap, filterable by country.
Heritage mapping Historical GIS
Point (filming locations)
15,716 real filming locations for films, series, anime and games, with per-location production lists and filming notes.
Film tourism and location scouting research Entertainment geography and media studies
Point (waterfalls)
Global waterfall locations from OpenStreetMap, filterable by country.
Waterfall mapping Hydrological analysis
Point (caves)
Global cave entrance locations from OpenStreetMap, filterable by country.
Speleology research Natural feature mapping
Point (settlements)
Global settlement locations (city/town/village) from OpenStreetMap, filterable by country and type.
Settlement mapping Population geography
Point (company HQs)
2,500+ headquarters of the world's most valuable public and private companies, mapped with market value, industry, and ticker data.
Corporate geography analysis Economic geography teaching
JSON (point list)
World Food Dish Map — 19,900+ Iconic Dishes by Origin
Nearly 20,000 iconic dishes mapped to the places they are eaten, each with a photo, name, and detail link.
Food tourism planning Culinary culture research
Point (photo locations)
Global dataset of 418,880 geotagged Flickr photos from 2026, visualizing worldwide photography density and travel hotspots in PMTiles format.
Tourism and travel hotspot analysis Urban photography density mapping
Recommended POI workflow
How to choose a source
- Use Natural Earth Populated Places for a lightweight global city layer with population ranks.
- Use Overture POI or GeoNames when you need detailed point-of-interest categories beyond just settlements.
- Try Mountain Peaks for elevation-focused POI or Castle Locations for heritage and tourism GIS projects.
- Explore Waterfall Locations or Cave Locations for natural feature mapping.
- Convert to GeoJSON for web map use and combine with boundary layers for regional analysis.
Category FAQ
Category FAQ
What is the best free dataset for global city locations?
Natural Earth Populated Places provides a clean, curated set of global settlements with population classification. GeoNames offers a more comprehensive database with millions of place names worldwide.
Are points of interest available with OpenStreetMap quality?
Yes. Overture Maps Foundation provides curated POI data derived from OpenStreetMap, Facebook, and other sources with consistent schema and global coverage.