.straasha

[rotund reef]

Please be patient

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Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[real comet]

first of, "y" is very different
it does not exactly refers to a place. It might have been first explained to you that way but something else happens under the hood

"y" is what is called an object pronoun. You are using object pronouns when you don't want to repeat the object in your sentence (the object being what is being acted on by the verb)
Specifically, "y" replaces objects introduced with the preposition "à"
Je joue de la guitare (I play guitar) => J'en joue (I play it)
Je joue à Minecraft (I'm playing Minecraft) => J'y joue (I'm playing it)
As you can see, it's not really about places or not.
That said, places are often introduced using "à". So the object pronoun is often "y" (but not always, learn more about prepositions for that matter)
Je vais à Lyon (I'm going to Lyon) => J'y vais (I'm going there)
-# note: "y" is also part of the idiomatic construction "il y a", which is another use for it

"ici" and "là" are both nouns referring most often to places.
"ici" refers to the place you're at at the moment.
"là" is much more generic, and can refer to any place you're describing, it can even refer to timestamps or other points of reference that aren't necessarily places
There can be some overlap between the two, but have differences