Highlights

• Grand Theft Auto is renowned for its innovative and detailed open-world design, with each city brimming with life, authenticity, and humor.
• The maps in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, such as San Fierro and Liberty City, offer expansive and immersive city experiences with diverse cultures and landmarks.
• The upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 is set to introduce a new, next-gen version of Vice City, following the success of Rockstar's revamped Los Santos and Red Dead Redemption 2 map.

Perhaps no franchise encapsulates a satirical concept of Western civilization quite like Grand Theft Auto. Not only is the franchise renowned for its great sense of humor on American subject matters, but the open-world design present in each title since Grand Theft Auto 3.

GTA is greatly innovative in its design. Each city brims with life, both from cars, NPCs, missions, and secrets. In each city, activity is abundant. From the tall skyscrapers to the spoofed landmarks, like the Statue of Liberty, or the Hollywood sign. Grand Theft Auto certainly does not lack authenticity and detail thanks to Rockstar Games’ stellar design.

Updated on December 20, 2023, by Jake Fillery: Grand Theft Auto 6 has officially been revealed, and players are heading back to Vice City in 2025. Considering the map is one of the best parts of a GTA game, it makes sense that fans want Vice City to be the best it can be, but how will it compare to other cities in the mainline GTA games? The 3D entries of Grand Theft Auto have provided endless entertainment, and the cities featured are always expansive and vast, with plenty of things to explore even years after release. As players eagerly await GTA 6, it's a good time to look back at past maps, to see where Vice City might expand and improve.

8 Ludendorff

Grand Theft Auto 5

In the state of North Yankton, there lies a small rural town called Ludendorff. It may not be a city, but it has a large scope in the 3D environments of Grand Theft Auto. This location was first seen in the prologue mission for Grand Theft Auto 5 and features the biggest beaver in the Mid-West.

This tiny town features a few churches, liquor stores, and Ammu-Nations, and is home to resident Eddie Joyner, who boasts the largest radish in the state of North Yankton. When players visit Ludendorff, twice in the game, it is often snowy, cold, and dark. There’s a restriction on long roads, and even a secret alien embedded in the iced-over lake, which adds to the weird easter eggs of GTA. Sadly, North Yankton isn't totally explorable, meaning there isn't much to this map that players can enjoy.

7 Alderney City

Grand Theft Auto 4

As the major city in the State of Alderney, this bustling and great metropolitan area serve as the central business district. This location appears in Grand Theft Auto 4, The Lost and Damned, and The Ballad of Gay Tony. All three games set place in the same cities, and feature the fan favorites: Niko and Roman Bellic.

As the urban center of Alderney, this city is the largest and most dense location with over 300,000 occupants. Exploring Alderney City will bolster a diverse life of different cultures and ethnicities. With high-rise apartments, and skyscrapers galore, Alderney City can feel intimidating for its scope but is a great location for an immersive city in a video game scope.

6 San Fierro

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

As featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, San Fierro is based on the real location of San Francisco located in California. This is in part to San Andreas being the fictional state that parodies California. San Fierro features the Gant Bridge, a clear homage to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

As the second city that players encounter in GTA: San Andreas, San Fierro boasts a large population in a small area. It’s diverse with its economy and ethnicity and resides as an urbanized city. It is also connected to Los Santos and Las Venturas. No location is quite as beautiful as the Palisades district, or a sunrise over the Gant Bridge.

5 Blaine County

Grand Theft Auto 5

Blaine County is more of a county than a city, but it has staying power that makes it worth mentioning as a grand entry into Grand Theft Auto 5. If players are getting tired of the expansive and overwhelming landscape of Los Santos' booming buildings, then they can take a break into the desert areas of Blaine County, a beautiful rural landscape, filled with dirt, mountains, wildlife, and cannibal cultists.

Blaine County is plenty of fun to explore, although equally dangerous. Players can fly planes through the freeing air, and even break into a military base to enjoy a joyride in a tank or jet. Blaine County holds plenty of mystery and proves how expansive Rockstar Games made Grand Theft Auto 5 compared to other GTA titles.

4 Liberty City

Grand Theft Auto 3 / Grand Theft Auto 4

Liberty City can be regarded as the main city of the franchise, considering it has appeared in five games in the series. The most prominent, is Grand Theft Auto 3, the first game to feature the city in a 3D space. It is also the central location for Grand Theft Auto 4 and features major differences between the two games. The latter, of course, features bowling as a minigame, one of the best in the franchise.

As a major city in the State of Liberty, it is a clear rendition of New York City, even down the mockery of the statue of liberty, which holds a coffee cup in this series. Liberty City has been divided into 25 districts and neighborhoods and houses a diverse crowd of characters. From hot dog stands to yellow cabs, Grand Theft Auto 4’s Liberty City features a great and immersive city, with cold fog and city air presented throughout. The skyscrapers are sure to make the player feel trapped in this bustling city.

3 Las Venturas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Las Venturas is the second-largest city based on its area, and lack of populous. It is also located in the State of San Andreas and is the third and final city to feature in GTA: San Andreas. In Spanish, Las Venturas translates to “The Fortunes”, which references the city’s great dependence on gambling culture, and the clear Vegas inspirations.

As a gambling city located in the desert region of northeast San Andreas, Las Venturas features a lot of casinos and fun architecture. The bright lights throughout the city make the night come alive, and visiting the fun Egyptian structures is a great adventure on its own. There are a lot of notable districts and places in Las Venturas, as well as colorful characters.

2 Los Santos

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas / Grand Theft Auto 5

Los Santos is quite clearly the real-life location of Los Angeles. This city features in both GTA: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto 5. The latter game further adapts the city and provides great detail in the city’s life. From the abundance of NPCs that traverse the city in cars, walks, and jogs, to the detailed architecture.

Los Santos brims with life, and opportunity. The satirical commercial depiction of America is throughout GTA 5, with many ads present on buildings and skyscrapers that are all too inappropriate. Vespucci Beach is a great location to relax in, and many locations are nigh on the same as the real-life counterpart of Los Angeles, including the Vinewood sign.

1 Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City / Grand Theft Auto 6

Nowadays, everyone has a love for all things 80s. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City features everything a fan of the decade could want. From the vibrant color scheme of blues and pinks to the comfort of a Hawaiian shirt. The game also features the late Ray Liotta as the protagonist, Tommy Vercetti, providing Vice City with even more personality.

Vice City features a grand population and a location based in Miami. The city’s theme is drugs and crime, as well as major islands that feature divine waters from Vice City Beach to the Vice City Mainland. The tropical climate of Vice City also makes it a dream place to live, even if the gang control can be a little out of sorts.

Grand Theft Auto 6 officially unveiled Trailer 1, which showcased a new, next-gen Vice City. Whilst fans have to wait till 2025 to explore this new version of Vice City, many are excited for the weird and wonderful, especially with how well Rockstar handled a revamped Los Santos, and the expansive Red Dead Redemption 2 map.

MORE: Grand Theft Auto 6: Things It Should Change About Online