A computer-implemented method for providing landmark-assisted navigation guidance by selectively utilizing database information includes receiving navigation requests from one or more mobile computing devices, each of the requests being associated with a respective starting point, destination, and travel mode. For each navigation request, a corresponding route to be depicted in a corresponding digital map is determined. For each navigation request associated with a first travel mode, corresponding points of interest (POIs) are determined from among a plurality of POIs stored in a database. The corresponding POIs are determined based at least on whether the corresponding POIs are associated with any landmark category. For each navigation request associated with a second travel mode, corresponding POIs are determined irrespective of whether the corresponding POIs are associated with any landmark categories.