Central City Park, May Day, 1876 - DPLA - b42178cb2f6ff2dfd3c7d07b805cd814

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 A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress's guns. In modern usage, the space allows the area to be paved 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.

History

In the 19th century, the razing of city fortifications and the relocation of port facilities made it possible in many cities to create promenade paths on the former fortresses and ramparts. The parts of the former fortifications, such as hills, viewpoints, ditches, waterways and lakes have now been included in these promenades, making them popular excursion destinations as well as the location of cultural institutions. The rapid development of artificial street lighting in the 19th century also enabled safe use in the evening. One example of this is Vienna's Ringstrasse. 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'. Beach promenades such as the Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes, the famous Promenade des Anglais on the Mediterranean coast in Nice or the Lungomare of Barcola in Trieste still play a central role in city life and in the real estate market. In the United States, ''esplanade'' has another meaning, being also a

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...

(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. ''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. 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'', such as La Rambla in Barcelona, but more widely used terms in the rest of the Hispanic world are ' ("esplanade"), ' ("promenade") or ' ("esplanade").

Examples

Asia

India

* Esplanade, also known as the Central Business District in Kolkata * Kamarajar Salai, Chennai in Chennai * Marine Drive, Kochi in Kochi * Marine Drive in Mumbai * Bandstand Promenade in Mumbai * Promenade Beach in Pondicherry

Malaysia

* Esplanade, George Town,

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

Gurney Drive Gurney Drive (,, ) is a popular seafront promenade within George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The road is also famous for the street cuisine at the seafront's hawker centre and has been listed as one of the 25 best streets worldwide to visit by the A ...

, George Town,

Karpal Singh Drive Karpal Singh Drive is a seafront promenade within the suburb of Jelutong near George Town in Penang, Malaysia. It is named after Karpal Singh (1940-2014), a prominent opposition politician and lawyer who hailed from George Town. Along Karpal Sin ...

, George Town,

Philippines

Baywalk The Baywalk is a popular seaside promenade and beachfront overlooking Manila Bay along Roxas Boulevard in the Manila, Philippines. The Baywalk is a two-kilometre stretch from the US Embassy near Rizal Park up to the Cultural Center of the Phil ...

, Manila * Dipolog Boulevard, Dipolog City * Rizal Boulevard Promenade, Dumaguete City *

Iloilo River Esplanade The Iloilo River Esplanade is a esplanade and linear park along the Iloilo River in Iloilo City, Iloilo. It stretches on both sides of the river, from Carpenter's Bridge in Mandurriao and Molo districts to Muelle Loney (Drilon) Bridge in the C ...

, Iloilo City * Bai Walk, Cotabato City * Paseo del Mar, Zamboanga City *Mandulog River Esplanade, Iligan City

Others

Tsim Sha Tsui East Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim ...

, Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong *

West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade () is a promenade running alongside Victoria Harbour on reclaimed land in Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon peninsula of Hong Kong. It opened to the public on 17September 2005. The promenade starts at the junction ...

, West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong *

Tel Aviv Promenade Tel Aviv Promenade ( he, טיילת תל אביב-יפו, commonly referred to in Hebrew simply as the Tayelet, - "The Promenade") runs along the Mediterranean seashore in Tel Aviv, Israel. History In the late 1930s, the city council decided ...

, Tel Aviv, Israel * Corniche Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon * The Esplanade, Singapore *

Galle Face Green Galle Face is a ocean-side urban park, which stretches for along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, although t ...

, Colombo, Sri Lanka *

Breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

Corniche or Al-Kasr in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates * Doha Corniche, Doha, Qatar * The Bund, Shanghai, China

Americas and Caribbean

United States

* The Camelback Esplanade, Phoenix, Arizona * The Charles River Esplanade, Boston, Massachusetts * The Eastern Promenade, Portland, Maine *

The Esplanade, Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

* The Esplanade,

Rio del Mar Rio del Mar (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Río del Mar'', meaning "River of the Sea") is an unincorporated area, unincorporated village in Santa Cruz County, California. Rio del Mar is one of several small villages that form the unincorporated com ...

, California * Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica,

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

Eastbank Esplanade The Eastbank Esplanade (officially Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade) is a pedestrian and bicycle path along the east shore of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Running through the Kerns, Buckman, and Hosford-Abernethy neighb ...

, Portland, Oregon *The East River Greenway,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Others

* Calçadão de Copacabana and Calçadão de Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *

Malecón, Puerto Vallarta The Malecón is a 12-block, mile-long esplanade in Puerto Vallarta's Centro and Zona Romántica, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. The waterfront crosses the Cuale River via Puente Río Cuale. Features include the Malecón Lighthouse. Sculpt ...

, Mexico *

Malecón, Havana The Malecón (officially Avenida de Maceo) is a broad esplanade, roadway, and seawall that stretches for 8 km (5 miles) along the coast in Havana, Cuba, from the mouth of Havana Harbor in Old Havana, along the north side of the Centro Habana ...

, Cuba * Rambla de Montevideo, Uruguay *

Terrasse Dufferin Terrasse Dufferin (Dufferin Terrace) is a boardwalk that wraps around the Château Frontenac in Quebec City, Quebec, towards the Citadelle, overlooking the St. Lawrence River. History The terrace was built under the direction of the Marquess of ...

, Quebec City, Canada * Esplanade,

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

, Canada

Europe

* Barcola, Trieste, Italy * Esplanade,

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...

, England * Esplanade,

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

, England * Esplanade, Aberdeen, Scotland * (The) Esplanade,

Lerwick Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...

, Scotland *

Esplanaden, Copenhagen Esplanaden (English: The Esplanade) is a street in Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends eastwards from Store Kongensgade and runs along the south side of the city's 17th-century fortress Kastellet and Churchillparken until it reaches the waterfront a ...

, Denmark * La Promenade des Anglais, in Nice, France *

Esplanade de La Defense 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 fortification, fortress or city walls ...

, France *

Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra The paseo marítimo of Pontevedra is a pedestrian way along the seafront facing the ria of Pontevedra, in Pontevedra, Spain. This coastal public space is built in the urban and semi-urban area of the city and defines its encounter with the sea ...

, in Pontevedra, Spain * Usedom Beach Promenade, Western Pomerania, Germany (Europe's longest beach promenade)Europe’s longest beach promenade from Bansin to Świnoujście
(12 km) *

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, 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 * Esplanadi, in Helsinki, Finland * Valletta Waterfront, in Floriana, Malta *

Spianada The Spianada ( el, Σπιανάδα, , "esplanade") is a large square in the city of Corfu, Greece. It is the largest square in Greece and is located in front of the Old Fortress of the city of Corfu. History The square's name derives from the V ...

, in

Corfu town Corfu (, also ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, ; grc, Κόρκυρα, Kórkyra, ; ; la, Corcyra; sq, Korfuzi) is a city and a former municipality on the island of Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government refor ...

, Greece * Salthill Promenade, in Galway, Ireland

Others

* St Clair Esplanade in Dunedin, New Zealand * Marine Parade, in

Napier, New Zealand Napier ( ; mi, Ahuriri) is a city on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay Region, Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a Napier Port, seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lin ...

* The Golden Mile, Durban, South Africa *

Sea Point, Cape Town Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is one of Cape Town's most affluent and densely populated suburbs, situated between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). Moving from ...

, South Africa

Inland

* Esplanade of the European Parliament, in Brussels, Belgium *

Ministries Esplanade The Monumental Axis ( pt, Eixo Monumental) is a central avenue in Brasília's city design. The avenue begins on the National Congress of Brazil building and is considered part of the DF-002 road. Its first section is known as "Ministries Espla ...

, in Brasília, Brazil * The Esplanade (Toronto), in Toronto, Canada * Thames Embankment, in London, England *

Brühl's Terrace Brühl's Terrace (german: Brühlsche Terrasse) is a historic architectural ensemble in Dresden, Germany. Nicknamed "The Balcony of Europe", the terrace stretches high above the shore of the river Elbe. Located north of the recently rebuilt Neumar ...

, Dresden, Germany * The

Danube Promenade The Danube Promenade ( hu, Dunakorzó) is located on the Pest side of Budapest, Hungary. The promenade itself lies on the left bank of the Danube, extending from the Széchenyi Chain Bridge to the Erzsébet Bridge. History From the middle of ...

in Budapest, Hungary * Esplanade, in Calcutta, India *

in Iloilo City, Philippines *

Błonia Błonia Park is a vast meadow with an area of 48 hectares directly adjacent to the historic centre of the city of Kraków, Poland. The history of the park began in 1162, when a wealthy nobleman Jaksa z Miechowa – founder of the Polish branch o ...

, Kraków, Poland * L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., United States * Charles River Reservation, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States * The

, in Portland, Oregon, United States

Gallery

File:StrandDüne.JPG, Usedom, Western Pomerania, Germany - longest beach promenade in Europe ( Ahlbeck here) File:Pärnu rannapromenaad 2014.jpg, Pärnu's beach promenade,

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( et, Pärnu maakond or ''Pärnumaa''; german: Kreis Pernau) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the nor ...

, Estonia File:Mumbai 03-2016 46 evening at Marine Drive.jpg, Marine Drive, Mumbai, India File:St Clair Beach, Dunedin, New Zealand.jpg, St Clair Beach and esplanade, Dunedin, New Zealand File:Beirut Corniche, Beirut, Lebanon.jpg, The Corniche, Beirut, Lebanon File:Dumaguete Boulevard.jpg, Promenade at Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete City, Philippines File:Sliema Strandpromenade, Malta.jpg, Sliema promenade, Malta File:Colombo - Galle Face.jpg, The

esplanade, Colombo, Sri Lanka File:Gurney Drive Penang.jpg,

, Malaysia File:Krakow Blonia (Meadow) view to W,Krakow,Poland.jpg,

, Kraków, Poland File:Blackpool promenade - DSC07204.JPG,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

's regenerated Promenade, England File:Esplanade Row East.jpg, Esplanade Row East, Kolkata, India File:Iloilo River Esplanade.JPG,

, Iloilo City, Philippines - the longest linear park in the Philippines File:Charles River Esplanade - IMG 3777.jpg, Boston Esplanade, Boston, United States File:Promenade in Adler.jpg, Esplanade in the Olympic Park of

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia

References

{{Authority control Types of streets Waterfronts Greenways

History

Examples

Asia

India

Malaysia

Philippines

Others

Americas and Caribbean

United States

Others

Europe

Others

Inland

Gallery

See also

References