TrueCitySize

A little curiosity. A good pair of shoes.

Self-guided city walking tours

Choose a city for a free walking map with local highlights and walking times, then compare the route with a place you know.

111 cities to explore

Loading the world…

Choose your city

112 walks

A route to follow, places to discover, and a new perspective on the city.

A familiar place is a good starting point

How TrueCitySize works

Understand a new city by comparing it with one you know. Explore a neighbourhood, trace a familiar walk, or see how a park fits across the world.

  1. 01

    Choose your cities

    Search for a city on each side, then pan to the places you want to explore. Both maps zoom together.

  2. 02

    Put a place in perspective

    Drop markers on a familiar place. Matching dots appear on the other map. Switch between side-by-side, overlay and divider views.

  3. 03

    Share what you discover

    Use Share to save your view, copy a link or download an image. Anyone can open the comparison, with no account needed.

Maps, styles and comparison modes

Use the palette control to cycle through Liberty, Positron, Bright, Dark and Fiord map styles. The eye controls hide or show either city.

The mode icon sits between the city inputs on desktop and beside the map controls on mobile. It shows the next available mode. Mobile uses overlay and divider views; desktop also offers side-by-side maps.

In overlay mode, adjust the opacity slider. In divider mode, drag the line or use its arrow keys to reveal either city.

Adding, labelling and rotating markers

Choose a source map and click to add markers. The other map shows the same pattern, connected by dotted lines. On desktop, click a source pin to add a label or remove it. On mobile, tap a source pin to remove it.

Drag a matching dot on the second map to rotate the pattern. You can also focus it and use the arrow keys: 1° per press, or 15° with Shift. Both maps stay north-up. The bin control clears the markers and resets rotation.

Tour stops are fixed. You can compare and rotate their copied route without changing the original walk.

Why the maps can look different in size

Web Mercator map scale changes with latitude. TrueCitySize adjusts the view farther from the equator when the scale difference between the map centres reaches about 5%.

This helps compare the local footprint of streets, parks and neighbourhoods. It does not calculate population, administrative boundaries or exact land area, and the correction is not exact across a continent.

Saving and sharing your comparison

Wait for the maps to load, then select Share. Your saved snapshot includes the cities, markers and labels, zoom, rotation and display settings.

Copy its link, choose a social app or download the image. Regular comparison links are kept for 14 days. Saved tour comparisons are permanent. Keep a downloaded image if you want your own copy.

Exploring a walking tour

Choose a city on the walking tours map or in its city list. Each tour includes a pedestrian route, numbered highlights and an itinerary.

Pick a city you know to see how the walk fits into familiar streets. Select a stop in the itinerary to zoom to it, or use Show the full walk to return to the complete route.

Route estimates cover walking only; visits and breaks add time.

Where the maps and search results come from

Maps use OpenStreetMap data, with vector map styles from OpenFreeMap. City search uses Photon.

Tour itineraries include their research and route sources. Place names and coverage depend on the underlying data.