| A | B |
|---|
| l'hôtel de ville / la mairie | city hall / town hall |
| la place | (public) square |
| le château | castle |
| la centre-ville | downtown |
| le centre historique | historic area of a city (cities developed concentrically so this area is usually dead center of the city, containing the castle and the cathedral) |
| une ville /un village | city/village [the political concept of "town" is not known in Fr. due to the historic development in medieval times, the population demographic is different than in the USA] They have huge cities, bigger even with suburban sprawl, or small country village in rural areas] |
| les noms des rues et des places | streets/squares or other public facilities such as schools in Fr. are always named for famous people |
| la salle de bains | bathrooms in Fr. are strictly for bathing no toilets |
| les toillettes | the toilet is located in it's own separate little room the size of a closet |
| WC | nickname for the toilet room, from the British term for it "water closet" |
| Thomas | nickname for a toilet equivalent in Eng. to calling it "the John" |
| le jardin | due to historic development, the concept of a (back/front)yard is differnt in Fr. / a "yard" is a work zone, such as in Eng."farm yard" is the work area in front of the barn. "garden" is considered a planted area whose sole function is beauty. Only the wealth had time, historically, for frivolous things such as a garden, land is very costly and must be used for earning money. |
| le parking | parking area (public) / driveway (homes) the area in front of a home is usually strictly for parking. Only houses built since the 1980's have front lawns. Land is extremely expensive, most single family homes have very small lots of land, too small to waste on lawns. |
| La Seine | a principal river of Fr. which divides Paris into 2 distinct parts |
| La Rive Droite | The Right Bank area of Paris, area for expensive shops/haute couture houses/ embassies & other important government facilities |
| La Rive Gauche | The Left Bank area of Paris, location of La Sorbonne and other academic institues, cheaper(college student affordable) shops, restaurants |
| Les Champs-Élysée | the main street of Paris, runs from Place de la Concorde at the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe, referred to as the most beautiful avenue in the world, huge, six lanes of traffic each direction, super-wide sidewalks, embassies, exclusive shops & restaurants |
| Le Centre Pompidou | controversial center for the modern arts. distinct glass & tubular architecture that contrasts with the historic architecture of the neighborhood where it's located. Building it required tearing down a popular, centuries old market place. |
| Le Parc de la Villette | popular science museum complex |
| la Géode | movie theater at the Parc Villette which shows panorama style films |
| le Zénith | popular amphitheater for modern music concerts, part of the Parc Villette complex |
| Le Musée D'Orsay | former railroad station converted to art museum, houses the works of the famous Impressionists such as Monet and Renoir |
| l'Alliance Française | the French Cultural Center, branches exist in cities in many other countries, goal is to foster interest/appreciation in the Fr. language and culture, Washington, DC has one. |
| le transport/le métro | due to the extremely high quality, frequency, and affordability of public transportation, people living in cities rarely own cars, certainly if they do...only one per family, people under 25 rarely own their own cars |
| les voitures | owning a car is much more expensive outside the USA. consequently most people who own private vehicles have motorbikes or other small modes of transport. Only the wealthy or adults with good paying jobs can afford to own cars |
