Esplanade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress's guns. In modern usage the space allows people to pave the area as a pedestrian walk; esplanades are often on sea fronts, and allow walking whatever the state of the tide, without having to walk on the beach. Esplanades became popular in Victorian times when it was fashionable to visit seaside resorts. A promenade, often abbreviated to '(the) prom', was an area where people – couples and families especially – would go to walk for a while in order to 'be seen' and be considered part of 'society'.
In the United States of America, esplanade has another meaning, being also a median (strip of raised land) or berm dividing a roadway or boulevard. Sometimes they are just strips of grass, or some may have gardens and trees. Some roadway esplanades may be used as parks with a walking/jogging trail and benches.[1]
Esplanade and promenade are sometimes used interchangeably. The derivation of "promenade" indicates a place specifically intended for walking, though many modern promenades and esplanades also allow bicycles and other nonmotorized transport.[2] Some esplanades also include large boulevards or avenues where cars are permitted.
A similar term with the same meaning in the eastern coastal region of Spain is rambla, but it is more widely referred to as paseo marítimo ("esplanade"), paseo ("promenade") or explanada ("esplanade") in the rest of the Hispanic world.
Examples[edit]
India[edit]
- Esplanade, also known as the Central Business District in Kolkata
- Kamarajar Salai, Chennai in Chennai, India
- Marine Drive, Kochi in Kochi, India
- Marine Drive in Mumbai
- Bandstand Promenade in Mumbai
- Promenade Beach in Pondicherry
- Esplanade One Bhubaneswar, One of the Biggest Shopping Mall in India located at Rasulgad Bhubaneswar
Malaysia[edit]
- Esplanade, George Town, Penang
- Gurney Drive, George Town, Penang
- Karpal Singh Drive, George Town, Penang
Philippines[edit]
- Baywalk, Manila
- Dipolog Boulevard, Dipolog City
- Rizal Boulevard Promenade, Dumaguete City
- Iloilo River Esplanade, Iloilo City
- Bai Walk, Cotabato City
- Paseo del Mar, Zamboanga City
Others[edit]
- Tsim Sha Tsui East, Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong
- Tel Aviv Promenade, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Corniche Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
- The Esplanade, Singapore
- Galle Face Green, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Breakwater Corniche or Al-Kasr in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Doha Corniche, Doha, Qatar
Americas and Caribbean[edit]
United States[edit]
- The Camelback Esplanade, Phoenix, Arizona
- The Charles River Esplanade, Boston, Massachusetts
- The Esplanade, Redondo Beach, California
- The Esplanade, Rio del Mar, California
- Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California,
- Eastbank Esplanade, Portland, Oregon
Others[edit]
- Calçadão de Copacabana and Calçadão de Ipanema (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- Malecón, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Malecón, Havana, Cuba
- Rambla de Montevideo, Uruguay
- Terrasse Dufferin, Quebec City, Canada
Europe[edit]
- Barcola, Trieste, Italy
- Esplanade, Redcar, England
- Esplanade, Exmouth, England
- Esplanade, Aberdeen, Scotland
- Esplanaden, Copenhagen, Denmark
- La Promenade des Anglais, in Nice, France
- Usedom Beach Promenade, Western Pomerania, Germany (Europe's longest beach promenade)[3]
- Riga, Esplanade, Latvia
- Świnoujście, by the Baltic Sea, Poland
- Trzebież, by the Szczecin Lagoon, Poland
- The Esplanade, in Weymouth, England
- The Promenade, at Portobello, in Edinburgh, Scotland
- Motherwell Promenade, at Motherwell Waterfront, Motherwell, in Motherwell, Scotland
- Esplanadi, in Helsinki, Finland
- Valletta Waterfront, in Floriana, Malta
- Esplanade, Corfu town, Greece
- Salthill Promenade, in Galway, Ireland
Others[edit]
- St. Clair Esplanade in Dunedin, New Zealand
- Marine Parade, in Napier, New Zealand
- The Golden Mile, Durban, South Africa
- Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa
Inland[edit]
- Esplanade of the European Parliament, in Brussels, Belgium
- Ministries Esplanade, in Brasília, Brazil
- Thames Embankment, in London, England
- Brühl's Terrace, Dresden, Germany
- The Danube Promenade in Budapest, Hungary
- Esplanade, in Calcutta, India
- Iloilo River Esplanade in Iloilo City, Philippines
- Błonia, Kraków, Poland
- L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., United States
- Charles River Reservation, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- The Eastbank Esplanade, in Portland, Oregon, United States
Image gallery[edit]
Usedom, Western Pomerania, Germany - longest beach promenade in Europe[3] (Ahlbeck here)
St Clair Beach and esplanade, Dunedin, New Zealand
Promenade at Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete City, Philippines
The Galle Face Green esplanade, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Esplanade in the Olympic Park of Sochi, Russia
_view_to_W,Krakow,Poland.jpg)
See also[edit]
- Boardwalk
- Foreshoreway
- Malecón
- Oceanway
- Processional walkway
- Similar areas inland: Boulevard, mall
References[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Esplanades. |
- ^ Adopt-An-Esplanade - City of Houston, [1], May 2013
- ^ Tony Russell, Cycling England Archived 2011-01-31 at the Wayback Machine, January 2010
- ^ a b Europe’s longest beach promenade from Bansin to Świnoujście (12 km)
