Overpass query example

Steps and stairs in a city

Find every flight of steps in a city, useful for accessibility and routing. Example: hilly Lisbon.

Steps are ways tagged highway=steps. Extra tags give the number of steps (step_count) and whether there is a handrail or ramp.

The query

[out:json][timeout:60];
area["name"="Lisboa"]["admin_level"="7"]->.a;
way["highway"="steps"](area.a);
out geom;

Run it

Running the query…

Live result from overpass.ch, cached for up to 12 hours. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

How it works

Each flight of steps is one way, so the result is a set of short lines.
out geom; returns the lines with coordinates.

Variations

Steps with a ramp for bicycles or prams: add ["ramp"="yes"].
Long staircases: (if: number(t["step_count"]) > 100).

Run it from your code

curl https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter \
  --data-urlencode 'data@query.overpassql'

import requests

query = open("query.overpassql").read()
r = requests.post("https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter",
                  data={"data": query}, timeout=120)
r.raise_for_status()
print(r.json()["elements"][:3])

const res = await fetch("https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter", {
  method: "POST",
  body: new URLSearchParams({ data: query }),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
console.log(await res.json());

Save the query as query.overpassql. It works the same in Overpass Turbo, QGIS and JOSM.

More examples

Cycleways and bike lanes

Map the cycling infrastructure of a city: separate cycleways plus lanes and tracks along roads. Example: Copenhagen.

Bike sharing stations

Find bike rental and sharing docks. Example: the Vélib’ stations of Paris.

Hiking routes in a region

Get marked hiking trails as route relations with their geometry. Example: around Zermatt.

Ski lifts and cable cars

Draw every aerial lift of a ski area. Example: Zermatt.

Playgrounds

Find every playground in a large city. Example: Greater London.

Your first query: cafés in a bounding box

The simplest useful Overpass query: every café inside a rectangle of latitudes and longitudes, with a line-by-line explanation.

All examples →