Place categories

Place categories

The Place categories used in Waze are not always directly applicable to the Netherlands, for they are global categories. At this time, it is not possible to adapt these categories to local customs. Waze has several major categories, which includes quite a number of subcategories.

If you choose a main category within WME, you automatically get to see the sub-categories to choose from. It is also possible to directly type in a category. If you cannot find an applicable sub-category, just use the main category. Categories that require special handling are described briefly in this section. A complete list can be found in the table below. It also lists the keywords that can be used in the app to search for the category.

This overview shows the categories used for the Waze Places. It shows examples, lock levels and search strings (scroll to the right of the table). Also, there is an indication to the use of a Point or an Area Place. Area Places should have a minimum area size of 500 m2 (e.g., 50m x 10m) to be visible in the client's display.

Car Services / Garage

Petrol Station	Tankstation	Area L3	{Brand} {Name}	LPG, Benzine, e.a.
Garage / Car mechanic	Garage / Automaterialen	Point	{Brand} {Name}
Car Wash	Autowasstraat	Point	{Name}
Charging Station	Laadpunt	Point L2	{Provider} {MaxPower} ({Amount} {Type}

Transportation / Vervoer

Airport	Luchthaven	Area L3
Bus Station	Bushalte	Point	{Location} {Name}	Busstation Uithoorn
Ferry Terminal	Veersteiger	Area
Marina / Harbour	Haven	Area
Underground Station	Metrostation	Point	{City} {Station Name}
Railway Station	Treinstation	Area	Station + {Station Name}	Station RAI, Station Rotterdam Centraal
Bridge	Brug	Area
Tunnel	Tunnel	Area	{Tunnel Name}
Taxi Rank	Taxistandplaats	Point
Junction / Interchange	Kruispunt / Knooppunt	Area		Robert Kochplein. See also the roundabout page
Rest Area	Verzorgingsplaats	Area
Carpool Spot	Carpoolplaats	Area
Transportation	Vervoer	Point		Hectometerpaaltjes langs de snelweg als A1 Li 13,7

Professional and public / Professioneel en Openbaar

For public buildings or services such as fire departments, town halls and the like, we set the location of the name after the name, e.g., Stadhuis Amsterdam. For Organisations that have several locations, specify the location after a hyphen, after the general name of the organisation, e.g., UZ Leuven - campus Gasthuisberg.

College / University	Hogeschool / Unikversiteit	Area
School	School	Area
Conventions / Event Centre	Congres-/Evenementencentrum	Area
Government	Overheid	Point		Draw only large ones as Area
Library	Bibliotheek	Point	{City} {location}
City Hall	Stadhuis	Area	{Municipality}
Organisation or Association	Organisatie	Point
Prison / Detention Centre	Gevangenis	Area
Courthouse	Rechtbank	Area
Cemetry	Begraafplaats	Area
Fire Station	Brandweerkazerne	Area	{City} {department}
Police Station	Politiebureau	Area	{City} {department}
Military	Militair	Area
Hospital / Urgent Care	Ziekenhuis / Spoedeisende Hulp	Area		Hospitals, First Aid Posts and other places that offer emergency aid. Use Doctor / Clinic for non-urgent medical care.
Doctor / Clinic	Dokter / Kliniek	Point		Use this category for non-urgent medical care. See for urgent medical care Hospital / Medical Care
Offices	Kantoren	Point
Post Office	Postkantoor	Point
Religious Centre	Religieus Gebouw	Point		Churches are often well recognisable and can be drawn as Area
Playgroup / Nursery	Kinderopvang	Point
Factory / Industrial	Industrieterrein	Area		Add always to the map when it is mentioned on signs or otherwise if it is big enough to be relevant on the map.
Embassy / Consulate	Ambassade / Consulaat	Point
Information Point	Informatiepunt	Point
Emergency Shelter	Noodopvang	Point
Household Recycling Centre	Afvalverwerking	Point

Shopping and services / Winkels en Diensten

Arts & Crafts	Kunst en Ambachten	Point
Bank / Financial	Bank	Point	{Brand}
Sporting Goods	Sportwinkel	Point
Bookshop	Boekwinkel	Point
Photography	Fotografie	Point
Car dealership	Autodealer	Point	{Brand} {Name}	In case there is a gas station, use Gas Station as the primary category
Fashion and Clothing	Kledingwinkel	Point
Shop	Gemakswinkel / Kiosk	Point		AH to Go, Kiosk
Personal Care	Persoonlijke Verzorging	Point
Department Store	Warenhuis	Point
Pharmacy	Apotheek	Point
Electronics	Electronicawinkel	Point
Flowers / Gardening	Bloemenwinkel	Point
Furniture / Home Store	Meubelwinkel / Woonwarenhuis	Point
Gift Shop	Cadeauwinkel	Point
Gym / Fitness	Sport / Fitness	Point
Swimming Pool	Zwembad	Point		Solely public swimming pools
DIY / Hardware Store	Doe-het-zelfwinkel	Point		Gamma, Karwei, Praxis, etc.
Market	Markt	Area	{City} {Location}
Supermarket / Grocery	Supermarkt / Buurtsuper	Point	{Brand} {Location}
Juwellery	Juwelier	Point
Laundry / Dry Clean	Wasserette / Stomerij	Point
Shopping Centre	Winkelcentrum	Area
Music Shop	Muziekwinkel	Point
Pet Shop / Veterinarian	Dierenwinkel / Dierenarts	Point
Toy Shop	Speelgoedwinkel	Point
Travel Agents	Reisbureau	Point
Cash Machine / ATM	Geldautomaat	Point	Geldautomaat {Brand}	Pinautomaat, Geldmaat
Currency Exchange	Geldwisselkantoor	Point
Car Rental	Autoverhuur	Point		Rental-car facilities and returns, including at airports, should be marked as a Point with the “Rental Car” Place category. If the return location is a normal Parking Lot, then mark it with the Parking Lot category and the building with the Car Rental category
Telecom	Telecom	Point		Telefoonwinkel

Food and Drink / Eten en Drinken

Restaurant	Restaurant	Point
Bakery	Bakkerij	Point
Dessert	Dessert	Point
Coffee shop / Cafe	Koffiebar	Point
Fast Food	Fastfood-restaurant	Point		McDonald's may include drive-thru, then draw Parking Lot Road
Food Court	Foodcourt	Point		Not applicable in the Netherlands
Pub / Bar	Bar	Point
Ice Cream	Ijssalon	Point

Culture and Entertainment / Cultuur en Vermaak

Art Gallery	Kunstgalerie	Point
Casino	Casino	Point
Club	Club	Point
Tourist Attraction / Historic Site	Toeristische attractie / Historische	Point		If the place functions as a landmark it may be represented as an Area.
Cinema	Bioscoop	Point
Museum	Museum	Point
Music Venue	Concertzaal	Point
Performing Arts Venue	Theaterzaal	Point
Game Club	Game Club	Point
Stadium / Arena	Stadion	Area
Theme Park	Pretpark	Area
Zoo / Aquarium	Dierentuin / Dolfinarium	Area
Racing Track	Racecircuit	Area
Theatre	Theater	Point

Other / Overige

Construction Site	Bouwplaats	Area		Construction sites are not necessariliy mapped but it may be useful for editors checking roadworks under way. Ask your Country Manager in case of doubt.
Other	Overige	Point		Corona / COVID-19 test- and vaccinatie locaties

Lodging / Logies

Hotel	Hotel	Point
Hostel	Motel / Herberg	Point		F1 hotel Waalwijk; Used for Motels and Inns.
Camping / Caravan Park	Camping / Vakantiepark	Area
Cottage / Cabin	Cottage / Huisje	Point
Bed & Breakfast	Bed and Breakfast	Point

Outdoors / Buiten

Park	Park	Area
Playground	Speeltuin	Point
Beach	Strand	Area
Sports Pitch / Court	Sportpark	Area
Golf Course	Golfbaan	Area
Plaza	Plein	Area
Promenade	Promenade			Probably not used in the Netherlands
Pool	Recreatieplas	Area
Services / Layby	Panorama	Point
Ski Area	Skigebied / Skihal	Area

Natural features / Natuur

Island	Eiland	Area
Sea / Lake / Pool	Zee / Meer / Plas	Area		Use only if water itself is visually obvious to drivers on nearby roads.
River / Stream	Rivier	Area		Use only if water itself is visually obvious to drivers on nearby roads. Do not map if not visible from nearby roads. Features under approximately 20 meters wide will not be visible in the app.
Forest / Wood	Bos / Bomen	Area
Farm	Boerderij	Area		Farmlands should never be mapped as areas. Editors should remove farmland areas immediately.
Canal	Kanaal	Area
Marsh / Bog	Moeras / Drasland	Area
Dam	Dam	Area

Car Park / Parkeerplaats

Car Park

Parkeerplaats

Area

A distinctly-marked area where cars can park, separated from the road and with its own driveable segments.

Residential Place / Eigen woning

Residential Place

Woning

Point

Contain photos and an exact address, without all the other properties of a Place

Tipː for splitting place areas of this category the script WME Split POI can be used.

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