Detourmap
Every place worth the detour, on one world map
A free atlas of ruins, beaches, caves, waterfalls, volcanoes, monuments and ghost towns — the places people plan whole days around. Click a country to start.
114,958 places · 376 countries
What Detourmap is
Detourmap is a world map of 114,958 notable places built from open data. Most of it is little-known: for every Eiffel Tower there are a few hundred quiet ruins, sea caves and abandoned villages — places like Pyramiden, a Soviet mining town left behind in the Arctic. Every pin has a photo and a Wikipedia article behind it.
The seven layers
Every layer has its own page, as does every country with eight or more places — start from all 114,958 places by country and by kind.
- 🗿 Ruins & the uncanny — ancient ruins, tombs, ghost towns, shipwrecks, catacombs, mines and battlefields (14,558 places)
- ⛩️ Sacred sites — churches, temples, monasteries, mosques and shrines (21,020)
- 🏰 Built landmarks — castles, forts, palaces, monuments, statues, towers, lighthouses and bridges (34,706)
- 🏞️ Nature & landscapes — parks, mountains, waterfalls, caves, volcanoes and coves (26,140)
- 🌳 Parks & cemeteries — botanical gardens, grand parks, arboretums and park-like cemeteries (5,998)
- 🖼️ Museums & culture — art, history and science museums, plus theatres, libraries and observatories (10,542)
- 🎡 Fun & leisure — theme parks, zoos, aquariums, ski resorts and planetariums (1,994)
Frequently asked questions
- What is Detourmap?
- A free interactive map of 114,958 places across 376 countries: ruins, beaches, caves, waterfalls, volcanoes, monuments, castles, museums and ghost towns. The Colosseum and the Taj Mahal share the map with sea caves and abandoned Arctic mining towns.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, with no account and no ads. The data is open too: place records from Wikidata (CC0), photos from Wikimedia Commons.
- How do I find hidden gems instead of famous landmarks?
- Each place has a fame tier (Iconic, Renowned, Notable or Hidden gem) computed from how many Wikipedia editions cover it. Switch off the famous tiers and the long tail appears. “Surprise me” also rolls a little-known place more often than not.
- Where does the data come from?
- Wikidata (CC0) for the place records, Wikimedia Commons for the photos. A place only makes the map if it has coordinates, a photo, an English name and a Wikipedia article — in English where one exists, otherwise in at least three other languages.
Detourmap needs JavaScript and WebGL to run the interactive map. What's shipping lately is in the changelog. Sister atlases: Castlemap, Beachmap, Sunshine Atlas and TrainRouter.