Describing places

Vocabulary: describing places,types of houses, areas in town, buildings, shops and adjectives.

1. DESCRIBING
PLACES
Venice
Pyramids
Houses of
Parliament
Images creative
commons

2. QUESTIONS
WHICH CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE IS IT?
WHERE IS IT?
WHAT IS THERE TO SEE AND DO?
WHAT IS THE CITY LIKE?
IT’S FAMOUS FOR…
WHY IS IT MEANINGFUL TO YOU?
HOW ARE THE PEOPLE?
WHAT’S THE WEATHER LIKE?
HOW IS THE FOOD?

3. USEFUL
EXPRESSIONS
It offers… It’s well known for…
•The views are … It’s possible to…
•You shouldn’t miss … It’s got...
•The atmosphere is … You can see…
•It’s located in … It’s close to…
•It’s far away from …
•What I don’t like about it is …
•The good thing about this place is …
•A popular tourist attraction is …
•It’s popular with tourists because…

4. LOCATION
BY THE SEA
ON THE COAST
IN THE COUNTRY
IN THE NORTH/SOUTH/WEST /EAST OF
ON THE RIVER (NAME)
IN A VALLEY
ON A PLAIN
IN THE MOUNTAINS
NEAR A FOREST/DESERT

5. ATMOSPHERE/ADJECTIVES
•PEACEFUL/QUIET: not busy, calm, free from activities
•ANCIENT: with a long history
•BEAUTIFUL: very pleasing on the eye
•CHARMING/PICTURESQUE: nice, very pleasant in a unique way
•COSMOPOLITAN: with a varied mix of cultures and languages
•BORING: dull, uninteresting
•BUSTLING: a crowded, busy place
•COMPACT: not very big, within a small area
•NOISY: full of noise, busy
•UNSPOILT: having an unaltered character, pure, immaculate
•STUNNING: very attractive, impressive, astonishing

6. ATMOSPHERE/ADJECTIVE
S
•LIVELY: with lots of things going on
•FASCINATING: very interesting
•HUGE: very big, enormous
•POLLUTED: dirty, contaminated
•TOURISTIC/TOURISTY: visited by lots of tourists
•EXCITING: thrilling, with lots of enjoyable things to do
•POPULAR: liked by a lot of people
•CROWDED: very full of people
•CONTEMPORARY: modern, very up to date
•EXPENSIVE: costing a lot of money
•HOSPITABLE: welcoming to guests or strangers
•HISTORIC: with a lot of ancient buildings

7. ACTIVITIES
•LOTS OF NIGHTLIFE
•SPECTACULAR VIEWS
•GOOD SHOPS/TRANSPORT
•GO SIGHTSEEING/SHOPPING/HIKING
•VISIT MUSEUMS/ART GALLERIES
•TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS
•GO TO CONCERTS/THE THEATRE/EXHIBITIONS
•DO BUSINESS
•PRACTISE A SPORT: horse-riding, windsurfing, paragliding, cycling, mountain biking,
snowboarding
•MEET PEOPLE
•RELAX ON THE WONDERFUL BEACHES
•WANDER ROUND THE TOWN/SHOPS
•GO FOR A BOAT RIDE ON THE LAKE/RIVER
•GET ON THE TOURIST BUS

8. AREAS IN TOWN
Downtown: the central or lower part of a city, esp the
main commercial area
Outskirts: bordering areas or districts of a city
Suburbs: a residential district situated on the
outskirts of a city or town
Industrial zone: an area for the purpose of industrial
development
Residential area: suitable for residence

9. BUILDINGS
CATHEDRAL CHURCH
SHOPPING CENTRE DEPARTMENT STORE
LIBRARY CHAPEL
SWIMMING POOL SUPERMARKET
THEATRE/CINEMAS CASTLE
SPORTS CENTRE HOTEL/MOTEL/INN/HOSTEL
MUSEUM ART GALLERY
HOSPITAL UNIVERSITY
BANK SKYSCRAPER
POLICE STATION

10. PLACES IN TOWN
BUS/TRAIN/ STATION
AMUSEMENT PARK
ZOO
PARK
COUNTRYSIDE
PIER: EMBARCADERO, MUELLE
HARBOUR: PUERTO
PORT: PUERTO PARA BARCOS
AIRPORT
PETROL STATION

11. SHOPS
BOOKSHOP OPTICIAN’S
BUTCHER’S SHOE SHOP
BAKER’S BOUTIQUE
CHEMIST’S IRONMONGER’S
FISHMONGER’S GREENGROCER’S
STATIONER’S OFF LICENCE
KIOSK/TUCK SHOP JEWELLER’S
SWEETS SHOP FURNITURE SHOP
FLORIST’S GROCER’S
LAUNDERETTE DRY-CLEANER’S
TOBACCONIST’S NEWSAGENT’S

12. Types of houses
DETACHED
HOUSE
SEMI-DETACHED
HOUSES
TERRACED HOUSES

13. Types of houses
LIGHTHOUSE
VILLA
BEAMED HOUSE

14. Types of houses
BUNGALOW
COTTAGE
WINDMILL

15. A COASTAL CITY

16. A MOUNTAINOUS
PLACE

17. VENICE

18. A BIG CITY

19. A POLLUTED CITY

20. A CROWDED STREET

21. A CONTEMPORARY
CITY

22. SOME LINKS ON THE WEB
http://www.saberingles.com.ar/lists/places.html
Places and buildings
http://www.lingolex.com/shopsen.htm Shops and
public places
http://cerquella.com/bilingual/deploy/Unit6/vocabul
ary_1.html Places to visit: easy vocabulary
http://www.english-online.at/geography/cities/cities-
and-metropolitan-areas.htm Cities: parts of a city, life
in cities, history of cities, etc