Select platform: [Android](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/android-sdk/icons.md.txt "View this page for the Android platform docs.") [iOS](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/ios-sdk/icons.md.txt "View this page for the iOS platform docs.") [JavaScript](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/place-icons.md.txt "View this page for the JavaScript platform docs.") [Web Service](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/icons.md.txt "View this page for the Web Service platform docs.") **European Economic Area (EEA) developers**
> [!NOTE]
> If your billing address is in the European Economic Area, effective on 8 July 2025, the [Google Maps Platform EEA Terms of Service](https://cloud.google.com/terms/maps-platform/eea) will apply to your use of the Services. Functionality varies by region. [Learn more](https://developers.google.com/maps/comms/eea/faq.md.txt).
## Introduction
Place icons indicate the various types of places (for example coffee shops,
libraries, and museums). You can request URLs for icons in PNG or SVG format,
as well as the corresponding icon background color, with Find Place,
Place Details, Nearby Search, and Text Search requests. Icons can be used inline.
Each icon is defined by two response fields:
- The **icon base URI** contains the base URL for a non-colored icon, minus the file type extension. You must append `.svg` or `.png` to the URI to request the icon.
- The **icon background color** contains the default HEX color code for the place's category.
> [!CAUTION]
> Icon URLs may change, so be sure to always use **icon base URI** to look up the URL for an icon. Places API (Legacy) supports the `icon` response field. Don't use `icon` field but instead use `icon_background_color` and `icon_mask_base_uri` with Places API (Legacy).
## Example
The following examples show how to request an icon URI and background color for
Places API (New) and Places API (Legacy). Notice that the request and responses are different
for the two versions of the API.
### Places API (New)
The following example uses
[Text Search (New)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/text-search.md.txt)
to return the display name of a place as well as the `iconMaskBaseUri` and
`iconBackgroundColor` response fields:
```curl
curl -X POST -d '{
"textQuery" : "skog haus",
"maxResultCount" : 1
}' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' -H 'X-Goog-Api-Key: API_KEY' \
-H 'X-Goog-FieldMask: places.displayName,places.iconMaskBaseUri,places.iconBackgroundColor' \
'https://places.googleapis.com/v1/places:searchText'
```
The response is in the form:
```json
{
"places": [
{
"iconMaskBaseUri": "https://maps.gstatic.com/mapfiles/place_api/icons/v2/cafe_pinlet",
"iconBackgroundColor": "#FF9E67",
"displayName": {
"text": "SKÖG Haus Coffee & Tea",
"languageCode": "en"
}
}
]
}
```
### Places API (Legacy)
The following example shows a
[Find Place (Legacy)](https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/places/web-service/search#FindPlaceRequests) request
which includes the `icon_mask_base_uri` and `icon_background_color`
fields:
```
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/findplacefromtext/json?input=skog%20haus&inputtype=textquery&fields=name,icon_mask_base_uri,icon_background_color&key=API_KEY
```
The following example shows how the `icon_mask_base_uri` and
`icon_background_color` fields appear in a response from a Find Place (Legacy)
request.
### JSON
```json
{
"candidates" : [
{
"icon_background_color" : "#FF9E67",
"icon_mask_base_uri" : "https://maps.gstatic.com/mapfiles/place_api/icons/v2/cafe_pinlet",
"name" : "SKÖG Haus Coffee",
}
],
"status" : "OK"
}
```
### XML
```xml
SKÖG Haus Coffee
#FF9E67
https://maps.gstatic.com/mapfiles/place_api/icons/v2/cafe_pinlet
OK
```
To display an icon, append the file type extension (.png or .svg) you want to the returned icon
URI, and combine the icon with the returned background color. For example, to display the .svg icon
on a web page:
```html
```
## Place icon and background color requests
The following tables show all of the available place icons by category. By
default these display with a black glyph. The icon background color
is dictated by the place's category.
| **Place category: Food and drink** (icon background color #FF9E67) ||||
|---|---|---|---|
|  Bar, Night club |  Cafe |  Restaurant, Bakery |
|  Books, Clothing, Electronics, Jewelry, Shoes, Shopping center/Mall |  Convenience store |  Grocery, Supermarket |  Pharmacy |
|  ATM |  Bank |  Gas |  Lodging |
|  Post office |
|  Aquarium, Tourist |  Golf |  Historic |  Movie |
|  Museum |  Theater |
|  Airport |  Bus, rideshare, taxi |  Train/Rail |
|  Cemetery |  Civic building |  Library |  Monument |
|  Parking |  School (primary, secondary, university) |  Worship (Christian) |
|  Worship (Hindu) |  Worship (Islam) |  Worship (Jain) |  Worship (Jewish) |
|  Worship (Sikh) |  Generic business |
|  Boating |  Camping |  Park |  Stadium |
|  Zoo |
|  Hospital |  Police |