Tour guide vocabulary

Vocabulary (nouns)

Word	Meaning	Example sentence
activities	things to do	There are lots of activities that the whole family will enjoy.
architecture	design of a building	The architecture of this building is typical of the Renaissance age.
art gallery	place to look at professional paintings and drawings	We are going to visit the art gallery where local painters exhibit their art.
attractions	places for tourists to see	The water park is our most recent attraction .
bearings	feeling for understanding one's location/surroundings in an unknown area	If you're having trouble getting your bearings just remember that the mountains are west.
business district	area in a city that has many offices	Keep in mind that this is the business district so that grocery store may be expensive.
castle	a building for royalty	No one has lived in this castle since the last king died twenty years ago.
church	a place to worship God	The church is the central meeting place in this town.
conveniences	things that make life easier	There you will find all of your conveniences, from suntan lotion to shampoo.
custom	something people of a region do often	It's a custom to hang beads in the windows at this time of year.
en route	on the way	While we are en route to the hotel I will point out the beach and the golf course.
entertainment district	a place where there are theatres and concert halls	If you want to catch a movie while you're here, the entertainment district is off to your left.
exception	something/someone that does not follow the usual rules or expectations	With the exception of Johnson Street, it is safe to walk around here at night.
exhibition	objects (i.e. art) displayed for a short time for the public to view	It may be tough to find parking with the car exhibition on this week.
grocery store/supermarket	place to buy food to take home	Since you have a kitchenette at your hotel you will need to know where the grocery store is.
highlight	the best part	People often say that the highlight of their trip is the botanical gardens.
legend	a person or story known for a long time	According to an old legend, a sea monster lives in this lake.
lobby	front entrance	We will meet in the lobby at 8 am sharp.
locals	people who live in an area	The locals are usually happy to show tourists around.
location	place where something can be found	This location is the best because you don't need to bother renting a car.
map	shows roads and directions to places	I'll give you each a map so you can follow along as we walk.
market	place to buy fresh food and homemade items	Every Sunday there is a farmer's market on Wade Street.
monument	a statue/structure that honours an event or person	This monument honours the men and women who died during the war.
museum	a place where historical items are displayed	The museum charges a small fee for adults, but children are free.
necessities	things that people need for every day living	We recommend that you only carry necessities in your purse and leave everything else at the hotel.
original state	the way something appeared from the beginning	Except for the roof, this home has been left in its original state.
photograph	picture taken with a camera	You may not take photographs here, but you can purchase a postcard.
postcard	a card with a picture on one side(usually an object or place that tourists see) that can be mailed without an envelope	The gift shop has many great souvenirs, such as postcards of the beautiful waterfalls.
questions or concerns	things that tourists may want to say or ask	The plane almost missed the runway because it was such a bad storm.
request	something that has been asked for politely	The driver has made a request that you throw all of your garbage in the bin at the front on your way out.
restaurant district	part of a town/city with many places to eat	You will see there are many more eateries to choose from when we head to the restaurant district.
ritual	tradition, custom, action (religious or cultural) that people do often	It is an old native ritual to dance during the sunrise.
scenery	natural beauty to look at	It is impossible to capture the beauty of this scenery in pictures.
settlers	people who first made a home in an area	The original settlers relied on oxen to carry their wares.
shopping district	area of town where there are many stores	You may want to save some spending money because we'll be visiting the shopping district this afternoon.
site	place,location	This is the site of a very famous battle.
stairway/stairwell	steps going up or down	The stairwell is very steep, so please watch your step.
street people	people who live on the street, often begging for money	You may be surprised how many street people ask you for money.
surroundings	things that you see around you	I hope you enjoy the castle and its surroundings, including the secret garden.
voice	the sound you make when speaking	I apologize for my voice today as I have a bit of a cold.
voucher	a piece of paper that shows you have paid	Don't forget to bring your voucher for a free coffee in the hotel lobby.
waterfront	piece of land next to an ocean, lake, or river	There will be plenty of live entertainment down at the waterfront.
window	glass that you look out	We can peer in the window but I think they are probably closed for the day.

Vocabulary (verbs)

Word	Meaning	Example sentence
arrive	reach a destination	I am glad to see you all arrived safely.
close	to finish	We will close the tour with a view of the city at sunset.
continue on	keep going	If you're all finished looking here, we will continue on with the tour.
depart	leave	The last ferry departs at 4pm, so make sure you don't miss it.
enjoy	have a good experience	I have enjoyed meeting all of you today.
expect	think that something will be/happen a certain way	You probably weren't expecting to see snow.
permit	allow	You are permitted to have a beverage on the bus, but please do not eat any food.
proceed	go forward	Please proceed all the way to the back of the bus.
raise (a hand)	lift	If you have any questions during the tour, please raise your hand.
recommend	suggest	We recommend that you only keep a small amount of cash in your wallet.
refer	suggest	I will gladly refer you to my favourite restaurants, if you are interested.
relax	sit back and enjoy time in peace	Tomorrow you will have a day to just relax on the beach.
show someone around	take people to see an area	When we get to the museum someone else will show us around.
sit back	relax in a seated position	Please sit back and enjoy the bus tour.
speak up	talk louder	If you need me to speak up or slow down, please let me know.

Vocabulary (adjectives)

Word	Meaning	Example sentence
ancient	very old	The ancient village has been left untouched.
beautiful/gorgeous	very nice looking	You will find beautiful homemade jewellery in that shop.
breathtaking	when a view is very impressive	Under the starlight the waterfall is simply breathtaking.
customary	traditional	It is customary to shake hands and bow as you enter.
dangerous	not safe	It is dangerous to accept a ride from a local.
devastating	very sad, unfortunate	The tsunami was devastating for local hotels.
elegant	attractive, yet simple	There is an elegant dining room for guests to eat in.
enormous	very large	This enormous sculpture stands one-hundred feet high.
exciting	makes one feel very happy/energetic	It's so exciting to see new places, isn't it?
extensive	covers a lot	This house has an extensive history, and you can read more in the brochures.
fascinating	very interesting to learn about/see	It is fascinating to know how people lived back then.
haunted	believed to have ghosts living there	The house is said to be haunted and no one has lived in it for fifty years or more.
heritage	of historical importance	The government named this school as a heritage site last year.
international	around the world	Every year it is an international celebration, with people coming from as far away as Africa.
lovely	very nice (appearance or personality)	This is a lovely place to sit and watch the local birds.
magnificent	amazing	This part of town is known for its magnificent wall murals.
popular	liked by many	June is the most popular time for tourists to come here.
prevalent	very noticeable	Crime is prevalent in the old parts of town.
reconstructed	built again	The village was reconstructed after the major fire in 1910.
restored	returned to its original state	All of the antique furniture has been professionally restored.
safe	not dangerous	The water is safe to drink here.
scenic	nice to look at (nature)	We will go up to the balcony for a scenic view of the grounds.
superb	very good (i.e. service, food, entertainment)	The children put on a superb concert at Christmas time.
thrilling	exciting	Cliff jumping is a thrilling experience for those of you who aren't afraid of heights.
unbelievable	too amazing/strange to seem true	It is unbelievable what some of these street entertainers can do.
visible	able to be seen	The top of the tower may not be visible because of the fog.

Exercise!
Fill the blank with the correct word!

Bearings  Voucher  Sit back  Permit  Scenic   Reconstructed  Devastating  Architecture  Locals   Attractions

1. There are many ____ for kids including a zoo and a museum.
2. It is difficult to get your ____ in this city, so please carry a map at all times.
3. The ____ will try to sell you their homemade jewellery and housewares.
4. You will find a free shuttle____with your airline ticket.
5. In order to appreciate the of the ____ building, you really need to get off the bus and get closer to it.
6. We're going to be driving by farmland for the next ten minutes or so, so just ____ and relax until we're closer to the city.
7. As you can see, the damage caused by the recent hurricane is very ____.
8. We do not ____ smoking on the bus at any time.
9. The ____  north tower is the only part of the castle that has been changed since the early 1900's.
10. We are coming up to the waterfall I mentioned earlier, which in my opinion is the most ____  part of this tour.

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