With the launch of Cities: Skylines 2 comes a variety of different maps inspired by real-world locations, ripe for you to plan and build your very own towns, suburbs, and cities. Unlike the first game,Cities: Skylines 2 has a much larger scale, which carries over to the maps you can choose from.

For example, multiple maps with snow-capped mountains reach up much higher than the original game ever could, while others feature small islands surrounded by flowing rivers and oceans. Overall, while every map within the game is suitable for building, there are some that are so breathtaking that they demand your attention.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Waterway Pass, which features a winding river in between two mountains.

All the maps were rated on visual appearance, availability of resources, the amount of outside connections, and how difficult the terrain is to terraform and build on.

10Waterway Pass

Although every map available in Cities: Skylines 2 is gorgeous, Waterway Pass certainly has some odd design choices that make it stand out, and not in a good way. Specifically, this map features a meandering river that bisects a flat valley, eventually flowing into the open ocean when the river meets the coast.

While this coast is certainly nice, you can not purchase any of the tiles in this area, making the coastline a completely unplayable zone. This is quite a strange design choice, since many people want to create thriving industrial ports for their coastal cities, thus making this map feel like a missed opportunity.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Lakeland map, which is a flat area dotted with many different lakes.

9Lakeland

If you are looking for a relatively flat map to build on, but still want bodies of water to break up your build, then Lakeland is the perfect option for you. This map features some pretty average terrain, so you don’t have to break out the editing tools to find a flat patch of land to build on.

Furthermore, this map has every available connection, ensuring that you may easily create a reliable transport hub and take advantage of every mechanic in the game. Sadly, while this map certainly fulfills the role of a basic starter map, there just is not much individuality in Lakeland to make it stand out.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Windy Fjords Map. This map is made of many bulbous mountains that create small fjords filled with coastal tiles.

8Windy Fjords

Windy Fjords is one of the most stunning maps in the entire game, as it is inspired by northern European geography. As the title of the map proclaims, a majority of the space is taken up by fjords, or a deep inlet of the ocean in between two cliffs.

The game’s new engine allows for some stunning views while building on this map, but the landscape itself is not exactly advantageous to creating a bustling metropolis. Although this map does have every available connection and lots of natural resources, we recommend constructing a small-scale countryside build on this map, as this type of creation easily blends in with the natural aesthetics.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Twin Mountains map, which features a river flowing into a coast, and two large snow-capped mountains.

7Twin Mountain

Twin Mountain is one of two maps that feature almost identical terrain, which is a large mountain range that slowly slopes down to a coast where you can freely build and connect your industries to the sea. This map does have a defining characteristic, the two large mountains in the background of the map are covered in snow and showcase the game’s new seasonal mechanics.

While these white peaks are gorgeous to look at from the ocean, moving closer inland showcases some weird visual features with the terrain. Specifically, there is a gully between the two mountains that is always covered in snow even though the entire area is level with the sea, creating a weird never-ending blanket of white behind the mountains.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Great Highlands map. This map is a flat valley in between mountains that is split up by multiple rivers.

6Great Highlands

Inspired by the famous Table Mountain in South Africa, the Great Highlands map consists of a valley flanked by flat-topped mountains on either side. Interestingly, the map also has several thick rivers that flow between this valley, breaking up the space and providing sea access.

The main draw of this map is clearly the gorgeous mountain peaks that flank each side of the valley, since they provide a massive amount of natural splendor that can contrast against your city. Also, keep in mind that this map is a great choiceif you are still new to the game, as it provides you with both flat and hilly terrain for you to experiment with.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Barrier Island map. This map is inspired by New York, and features a large flat island connected to the mainland with a bridge.

5Barrier Island

Barrier Island is definitely the perfect map for anyone creating their first city, as the location offers a large amount of terrain that is very easy to build on. Barrier Island is actually based off Long Island, so anyone from the East Coast will recognize this large landmass,

Furthermore, the relatively flat area means you will never have to manipulate the terrain, which is helpful if you are a new player. Finally, while a flat island may seem bland to more experienced players, there are more mountainous and unique areas of the map if you continue to expand into the mainland.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the River Delta map. This map is another valley seperated by two mountains, however this map also includes a costal connected with many small islands.

4River Delta

You may recognize certain parts of the River Delta map, as it was heavily used in promotional footage from the game where core gameplay mechanics were slowly introduced to the player base. River Delta is such a great map because it combines every unique terrain that you can dream of into one centralized map.

Specifically, River Delta has a sea connection with many small islands, flowing rivers, flat terrain, and two larger mountains. No matter where you build on this map, there will be both easy and challenging terrain to work with, making it an excellent choice for any type of player.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Sweeping Plains map. This map featurees tall mountains that slope down to the coast.

3Sweeping Plains

Similar to the Twin Mountains map, Sweeping Plains also features a massive mountain range that slowly slopes down to a gorgeous coastline. However, this specific map does not have a valley, showcasing just how tall the massive mountains in Cities: Skylines 2 can reach.

This map is inspired by Californian coasts, so there is no snow on any of the coastal mountains, ensuring there will be no strange visual glitching at the edge of the map. Luckily, unlike its predecessor the terrain manipulator in Cities: Skylines 2 does notrequire creative modeor any amount of money to change the terrain, so the uneven coastal terrain can easily be rectified.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Archipelago Haven map, which is made up of a bunch of smaller islands that have various levels of elevation.

2Archipelago Haven

Similar to the island mapin the original Cities: Skylines, Archipelago Haven is another fantastic challenge for new or skilled players to partake in. Since this map is largely made up of water, there are only small islands containing varying levels of terrain.

This significantly increases the challenge level of the game, since you may have a hard time building on such a small area. Luckily, creating a large downtown can still be achieved on this map, or you’re able to build smaller towns that blend into the island landscape.

An image from Cities Skylines 2 of the Mountain Village map, which features extremely rough terrain and tall mountains.

1Mountain Village

Without a doubt, Mountain Village is the most stunning map available in the entire game. Inspired by the Swiss Alps, this map features a valley and a river that is completely surrounded by gargantuan snow-topped mountains.

With that being said, if you are new to the game, then you may want to steer clear of this map, since there is no sea connection and many intense variations in the terrain that must be manipulated for easier building. However, if you are up to the challenge, then your city will look absolutely stunning with these massive snow-capped mountains as a backdrop.