Rockstar doesn't just build open worlds — they mirror reality with obsessive precision. Both GTA 6 trailers are packed with real Florida locations recreated at a level of detail that borders on photographic. The community has analyzed over 4,500 frames across both trailers, identifying more than 30 real-world landmarks, neighborhoods, and geographic features that form the backbone of Leonida.
This guide catalogs every confirmed and suspected real-world location, organized by region, with confidence ratings based on architectural matching, geographic context, and community consensus from the 16,000+ member GTA mapping project.
📐 How We Identified These Locations
Each location was verified using a multi-step process: architectural silhouette matching, geographic positioning relative to other confirmed landmarks, street-level Google Earth comparison, and cross-referencing with the GTA mapping community's triangulated coordinates.
Confidence ratings: High = architecture and position both confirmed. Medium = strong visual match but position uncertain. Speculated = community theory with supporting evidence.
Vice City Downtown
The beating heart of Leonida — Rockstar's meticulous recreation of Downtown Miami and Brickell.
The most unmistakable shot in both trailers. Vice City's skyline mirrors Downtown Miami from nearly every angle — the distinctive cluster of Brickell towers, the waterfront positioning, and the overall density. The 500 Brickell condominium tower is particularly recognizable, with its curved glass facade appearing in multiple trailer shots.
In Trailer 2, the skyline appears during Jason's drive into the city, with the camera panning across what appears to be a causeway approach — perfectly matching the view from the Julia Tuttle Causeway heading east into Miami Beach.
Home of the Miami Heat in real life, the Kaseya Center's unmistakable waterfront silhouette appears in Vice City as the "Sahara Arena" — home to the Vice City Narcos basketball team. The building's distinctive curved roofline and bayside positioning are nearly 1:1 with the real structure.
Confirmed in Trailer 2 with clear signage visible. This suggests sports-themed missions or activities may be available in-game.
Miami's legendary 24-hour nightclub E11EVEN gets the Rockstar treatment as "NINE 1 NINE." In Trailer 2, Jason and Lucia are seen dancing inside the club, which features the same industrial-chic interior, dramatic lighting, and multi-level layout as the real venue. The numerical name format is a clear nod to E11EVEN's branding style.
Multiple trailer shots take place here, suggesting NINE 1 NINE will be a major social hub — possibly a property you can own or a mission location.
This luxury condominium tower with its distinctive curved glass facade is one of Miami's most recognizable residential buildings. Its GTA 6 counterpart appears in skyline shots during both trailers. The tower's unique shape — wider at the base, tapering slightly as it rises — makes it an easy architectural fingerprint to spot.
Vice Beach / South Beach
The neon-drenched Art Deco strip — Rockstar's love letter to South Beach, Miami Beach, and Ocean Drive.
The iconic Art Deco hotels lining Ocean Drive are perhaps the most emotionally resonant location for GTA veterans — this is where Vice City's identity was born in 2002, and Rockstar has rebuilt the strip at a staggering level of detail. The pastel-colored facades, neon signage, and palm-lined sidewalks are all present and accounted for.
In Trailer 1, a wide shot captures the strip at golden hour with pedestrians, roller-bladers, and classic cars. Trailer 2 shows nighttime scenes with neon reflections on wet pavement — vintage Rockstar atmosphere.
The golden sand, turquoise water, and packed sunbathers of Miami Beach are front and center in both trailers. GTA 6's version is noticeably more crowded than any previous GTA beach — hundreds of NPCs sunbathing, swimming, and socializing in what may be the most densely populated beach scene in gaming history.
Trailer 1 showcases the beach in a wide overhead drone shot. Fitness areas, volleyball courts, and the lifeguard stands all match their real-world counterparts along South Beach.
Miami's famous outdoor street art gallery appears in GTA 6 as a colorful, mural-covered neighborhood. The trailer shows buildings adorned with large-scale murals and graffiti — including one reading "Liberté – Égalité – Fraternité" that Jason drives past in Trailer 2. The warehouse-style buildings and creative vibe are unmistakably Wynwood.
Real-world Wynwood has over 70 galleries, museums, and art collections. GTA 6's version likely serves as a cultural contrast zone — artsy and bohemian amid Vice City's excess.
Miami's legendary (and now demolished) strip club was a landmark of hip-hop culture, featured in countless music videos and referenced in dozens of rap songs. Rockstar appears to have preserved it digitally in GTA 6 — the building's facade and neon signage are visible in Trailer 1. The real KOD was demolished in 2020, making GTA 6's recreation a piece of digital preservation.
Bridges, Causeways & Infrastructure
The connective tissue of Leonida — the bridges and highways that link Vice City's islands and mainland.
The main artery connecting Miami Beach to mainland Miami, the Julia Tuttle Causeway is clearly visible in Trailer 1. The long, straight bridge over Biscayne Bay — with a small island visible to the right matching real-life Biscayne Isle — serves as one of the primary routes between Vice City's beach areas and downtown core. This will likely be one of the most-traveled roads in the game.
The historic Venetian Causeway — a chain of small artificial islands connected by short bridges between Miami and Miami Beach — appears in Trailer 1's aerial shots. The island-hopping bridge design is distinctive and clearly recognizable. In real life, this is one of Miami's most scenic drives; in GTA 6, expect it to be a popular cruise route and possibly a chase scene backdrop.
Florida's tallest structure — a broadcast tower standing at 1,901 feet — appears in the opening shots of Trailer 1, silhouetted against the sky above a water-level highway. This tower serves as a geographic anchor point and, knowing GTA players, will inevitably become a base-jumping destination. The real tower is located in unincorporated Riviera Beach, suggesting GTA 6's map extends well beyond Vice City proper.
Grassrivers (The Everglades)
Leonida's untamed interior — swamps, airboats, alligators, and the eerie beauty of Florida's wetland wilderness.
Named "Grassrivers" in GTA 6's Leonida, the Everglades are one of the most visually striking locations in both trailers. Vast stretches of sawgrass marshland, airboats cutting through shallow waterways, and alligators basking on muddy banks are all visible. Rockstar's description calls it a place where "the law doesn't reach," suggesting this region functions as a no-man's-land for off-grid activities.
The real Everglades span 1.5 million acres — GTA 6's condensed version likely captures the most iconic elements: mangrove tunnels, cypress forests, and open marsh with restricted road access.
Trailer 1 shows an airboat tearing through shallow marsh — a classic Everglades tourist experience that Rockstar has turned into a traversal mechanic. The flat-bottomed fan-powered boats are the only way to navigate the shallow, vegetation-choked waters of the real Everglades, and they'll serve the same purpose in GTA 6's Grassrivers region. Expect high-speed swamp chases.
Leonida Keys (Florida Keys)
Tropical paradise at the southern tip of Leonida — Jason's home turf and a major story location.
The Florida Keys — a 120-mile chain of tropical islands connected by the Overseas Highway — appear in GTA 6 as the "Leonida Keys." Rockstar's official character bio confirms this is Jason's home territory, making it a story-critical location. Trailer 2 shows small island communities, fishing docks, and turquoise shallow water consistent with the real Keys' geography.
Expect a laid-back, sun-bleached aesthetic that contrasts sharply with Vice City's urban intensity — complete with dive bars, bait shops, and hidden smuggling operations.
One of the Florida Keys' quirkiest tourist traps — Rain Barrel Village in Islamorada, complete with its famous "Betsy the Lobster" giant sculpture — has been spotted in trailer footage. This is the kind of roadside Americana that Rockstar lives for: eccentric, photogenic, and ripe for satirical commentary. The real Rain Barrel Village is a collection of artist shops and souvenir stores along the Overseas Highway.
The crumbling remains of the original Bahia Honda Bridge — a section of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad built in 1912 — are visible in Trailer 1. The distinctive rusted concrete arches rising from shallow turquoise water are unmistakable. In real life, the old bridge is a popular photography spot and snorkeling destination. In GTA 6, it likely serves as both scenery and a potential stunt location.
Northern Leonida & Rural Areas
Beyond the neon — trailer parks, farms, highways, and the wild backcountry of Florida's interior and panhandle.
Rockstar's official description of Mount Kalaga paints it as a rugged, remote wilderness along Leonida's northern border — home to hunters, fishers, off-road adventurers, and "hillbilly mystics and off-the-grid radicals." This is GTA 6's version of rural Florida's backcountry, likely drawing from multiple real locations including Ocala National Forest and the Apalachicola region. Expect dense forests, dirt trails, and a very different vibe from Vice City.
A smaller city in northern Leonida, Port Gellhorn appears to draw from several Florida panhandle cities — most likely Panama City, based on architectural similarities and coastal positioning. Trailer 2 shows a working-class port town with industrial docks, fishing boats, and a distinctly less glamorous feel than Vice City. This region adds economic and cultural diversity to the map.
A critical story location — this is where Lucia begins the game, and where Jason picks her up after her release. The prison's architecture in Trailer 2 echoes Florida State Prison in Raiford, one of the state's most notorious facilities. Rockstar's official bio confirms "Leonida Penitentiary" by name, making this one of the few locations with an official in-game name attached.
Both trailers show scattered trailer park communities in rural areas — weathered single-wides, above-ground pools, and overgrown lots. These aren't based on any single real location but capture the general character of Florida's inland mobile home communities. In Trailer 1, a memorable shot shows a woman twerking on a car while people cheer — pure Florida chaos energy.
Additional Identified Locations
More landmarks, businesses, and points of interest spotted across both trailers.
Road signs in Trailer 2 reference "VCI Airport" — Vice City International, GTA 6's equivalent of Miami International Airport. The real MIA is the busiest airport in Florida and a major international gateway. Expect it to function similarly to GTA V's Los Santos International — potentially with heist opportunities, cargo missions, and getaway flights.
Road signs in Trailer 2 point toward "Ambrosia" — a district or neighborhood within Vice City. Based on its positioning relative to the airport and downtown, community analysts believe this corresponds to Miami's heavily Cuban-American neighborhoods of Hialeah and Little Havana. Expect Latin-flavored businesses, music, and cultural detail.
The scene in Trailer 1 where Jason and Lucia rob a liquor store — "Uncle Jack's" — mirrors countless real Florida convenience stores along strip-mall highways. The low-slung building, neon beer signs, and parking lot layout are universal Florida small-business architecture. This scene directly parallels Bonnie and Clyde's real-life pattern of hitting small businesses rather than banks.
A drag racing strip spotted in leaked footage and referenced in community analysis appears to be based on one of Florida's real drag strips. The community had hoped for a full oval circuit like Daytona International Speedway, but the quarter-mile strip format suggests organized street racing and competitive drag events in GTA Online.
Mapping community analysis places a large central lake — "Lake Leonida" — in the interior of the map, mirroring Lake Okeechobee's position as the geographic heart of southern Florida. Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in Florida (730 square miles) and the second-largest in the contiguous United States. In GTA 6, this body of water likely separates Vice City from northern Leonida regions.
A large stadium is visible in aerial shots, likely based on Hard Rock Stadium — home of the Miami Dolphins and host of multiple Super Bowls. Given Rockstar's history of including stadiums as landmarks (the Maze Bank Arena in GTA V), expect this to serve as both scenery and a potential event location.
The bridge connecting mainland Miami to Virginia Key and Key Biscayne appears in map reconstructions. In real life, this causeway leads to Crandon Park and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park — two of Miami's most beautiful natural beaches. In GTA 6, this could be a scenic drive or a race route.
Trailer 2 shows Jason lifting weights on the beach — matching the outdoor gym equipment found in real-life Lummus Park along South Beach. This suggests GTA 6 may bring back fitness mechanics, potentially similar to GTA San Andreas's gym system where working out affected character stats and appearance.
License plates spotted in Trailer 2 reference "Gloriana State" — believed to be GTA 6's version of Georgia. Whether Gloriana is explorable at launch or reserved for DLC remains uncertain. The state border area near Mount Kalaga shows rural, southern landscapes consistent with the Georgia–Florida border region, including pine forests and small farming towns.
Multiple trailer shots feature the quintessential Florida strip mall — sun-bleached stucco buildings with flat roofs, palm trees in the parking lot, and a mix of restaurants, nail salons, and laundromats. These aren't modeled on any single location but capture the universal character of Miami-Dade's suburban commercial landscape. In GTA 6, these are likely robbery targets, mission meeting points, and ambient flavor.
The Mapping Community
None of this analysis would be possible without the GTA 6 mapping community — a Discord server with over 16,000 members who have collaboratively analyzed every frame of both trailers in 4K resolution. Using techniques like triangulating building positions from multiple camera angles, overlaying skyline silhouettes onto satellite imagery, and cross-referencing road sign text, this community has assembled a remarkably detailed pre-release map of Leonida.
Their work has identified nearly 500 real-world buildings and landmarks — far more than the 30+ highlighted in this guide. For those who want to go deeper, the interactive map at stateofleonida.net remains the most comprehensive community resource.
How Accurate Is Rockstar?
GTA V set the standard for real-world accuracy in open-world games. Rockstar's Los Angeles (Los Santos) was so detailed that players could navigate using their real-world knowledge of LA streets. GTA 6 appears to push this even further — the architectural fidelity in trailer footage suggests Rockstar used photogrammetry and extensive on-location reference photography to build Vice City.
That said, Rockstar always takes creative liberties. Distances are compressed, neighborhoods are rearranged for gameplay flow, and some buildings are composites of multiple real structures. The goal isn't a 1:1 recreation but a version of Miami that feels more real than reality — exaggerated, satirical, and optimized for fun.
FAQ
How many real locations are in GTA 6?
The community has identified over 500 real-world buildings and landmarks across both trailers and leaked footage. This guide covers the 30 most significant and recognizable ones, but the full count continues to grow as new analysis is completed.
Is GTA 6's map bigger than GTA V's?
Community estimates suggest GTA 6's map is roughly twice the size of GTA V's, with the addition of the Keys, Grassrivers (Everglades), and northern Leonida significantly expanding the playable area beyond what Vice City alone would cover.
Can you visit these real locations in Florida?
Absolutely. Many of the landmarks in this guide are public locations you can visit in Miami, the Florida Keys, and across the state. Ocean Drive, Wynwood, Miami Beach, and the Everglades are all popular tourist destinations. Several YouTubers have already filmed comparison videos visiting trailer locations in person.
Will GTA 6 include all of Florida?
No — Leonida is a condensed and fictionalized version of Florida. It focuses on southern Florida (Miami / Vice City), the Keys, the Everglades, and some northern rural areas, but it won't include the entire state's geography. Think of it as Florida's greatest hits compressed into a playable area.
Updated April 2026. Compiled from Trailer 1 (Dec 2023), Trailer 2 (May 2025), leaked footage, and the GTA mapping community. We'll update this guide as new footage emerges.