Hi DS, please, i was asked: Дим, я давно хотел спросить, можно ли с викимапии закачать себе на комп полностью отдельный регион, петербург, например? — what can be maybe option to do this, if possible?

Hi! This is a great question. While Wikimapia doesn't have a single «Export Region» button, you definitely have options to download data for a whole city like Saint Petersburg. It requires a bit of technical work, but it's absolutely possible.

Here is the breakdown of your best options, from most DIY to most user-friendly:

### ⚙️ Option 1: The Official API (Developer Required)
Wikimapia has an official **API (Application Programming Interface)** that allows you to request data directly from their servers . This is the most direct method, but there are catches.

* **How it works:** You write a script (in Python, R, etc.) that sends a request to the API for a specific area (a «bounding box») around Saint Petersburg and asks for all the «places» inside it .
* **The Catch:** Reports suggest the official API has been unreliable or non-functional since around 2017 . However, even if the main API is down, the tools listed below use workarounds.

### 🛠️ Option 2: Third-Party Tools & Scripts (The Best Bet)
The community has built tools to solve this exact problem. These are the most realistic solutions:
* **ShapeMapia (Python):** A Python script designed specifically to extract shapes (polygons of buildings/regions) from Wikimapia and import them into **QGIS** (a free mapping program) .
* **wikimapR (R):** If you use the **R** programming language for data analysis, this library imports Wikimapia data as «Simple Features» directly .

### 🌐 Option 3: External Websites (Easiest Method)
If you don't want to write code, these websites act as bridges, letting you search for data and download it without an API key .

* **Geodeg.com:** This is likely your best bet for «Петербург». You do not need an API key.

1. Go to the website.

2. Enter a category (e.g., «museum,» «cafe») or location («Saint Petersburg»).

3. It will show you the «POIs» (Points of Interest) found.

4. You can export the selected data as **KML** (for Google Earth), **GPX** (for GPS devices), or CSV .
* **Motomapia.com:** Works similarly. You pan the map to the area you want (Saint Petersburg), and it saves the visible features to its database. You can then download the list as a **CSV** file .

### 💡 Important Notes Before You Start
* **No Lines or Roads:** A major limitation is that you cannot download linear features like roads, rivers, or railways through the API or these tools. You can only download «polygons» (areas like buildings, parks, lakes) and «points» .
* **Be Patient:** If you are writing a script to download a huge area, make sure your code adds random delays between requests so you don't overwhelm the Wikimapia servers .

### ⚡️ Simple Recommendation
1. For a **quick result**, go to **Geodeg.com**, search for «Saint Petersburg,» pick a category, and export a **KML** file. You can drag and drop that file directly into **Google Earth** to explore all the data .
2. For a **full region with complex shapes** (like building outlines), use the **ShapeMapia** script with **QGIS** .

Let me know if you need a step-by-step for any of these tools!