Paris in words: a text walk for screen readers

This is Paris as a text adventure. It uses the same real, named places as the 3D version, and every building is described the way you'd find it inside. It works with any screen reader and keyboard, and you don't need graphics.

Play

Type a command and press Enter, or use the buttons. Try look, north, go to and a place name, enter, menu, order 1, sit, talk, leave or help.

🎮 Or walk Paris in 3D →

What the buildings of Paris look like inside

1,789 named places from the real map are in this walk. Here is what each kind is like when you step through the door, with real examples you can visit:

Shop — 731 in Paris

Shelves of goods run in rows toward the back, there's a display table near the door, and a register counter sits beside the entrance.

For example: Pavillon Eiffel, Kiosque Tour Eiffel, Bureau de Gustave Eiffel, Pilier Est Caisse.

Restaurant — 396 in Paris

Tables with paired chairs fill the room, and high-backed booths run down one wall. A chalkboard menu hangs over the kitchen counter at the back, where a server stands ready. Posters brighten the side wall.

For example: Snacks Et Boissons, Snacks et boissons, Madame Brasserie, Le Jules Verne.

Office — 187 in Paris

Desks with chairs, a bookcase of files and a few plants. It's quiet apart from keyboards.

For example: Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, Centre émetteur TDF de la Tour Eiffel, Salesforce, Ribault & Rushe.

Hotel — 89 in Paris

The lobby has a long front desk with a brass bell and a wall of key-card slots behind it. There's a red rug with a sofa and armchairs, tall potted plants, a brass luggage cart and two elevator doors. A chandelier glitters overhead. Past the lobby, a corridor leads to guest rooms, each with a bed, nightstands and lamps, a TV on the dresser and a window.

For example: Pullman, Mercure Paris Centre Eiffel Tower Hotel, Hôtel Mercure, Hôtel Le Derby Alma.

Café — 68 in Paris

The espresso machine hisses behind a wooden counter, next to a grinder and a glass case of pastries. A chalkboard lists the drinks. Small round tables fill the room, and a sofa corner with a rug, a lamp and a bookcase sits by the window. Warm bulbs hang low over everything.

For example: Café des vedettes, Café Gustave, Le Castel Café, Castel Cafe.

School — 67 in Paris

A front office greets you. Down the corridor, classrooms have rows of small desks all facing a whiteboard, with the teacher's desk in the corner.

For example: Cours Fidès (École secondaire privée), École élémentaire privée Fidès, Mediatheque d'Etude et de Recherche, UMIH Formation Alternance.

Grocery store — 42 in Paris

Long shelf aisles run the length of the store, stocked with colourful goods. A glowing cooler wall lines the back, and checkout lanes wait near the front.

For example: Cave Vino sapiens, G20, U Express, Thiranu Express.

Clinic — 40 in Paris

A waiting room with chairs and a coffee table faces the reception desk. Down the hall, exam rooms each have a bed, a small desk and a chair.

For example: Cabinet Catherine Gaucher, Maison De Santé Motte-Picquet Dupleix, Laboratoire Paris Bosquet, Imagerie Médicale.

Pharmacy — 39 in Paris

White aisles of boxes in blue, red and green run toward a pharmacy counter at the back under a big PHARMACY sign. Shelves of prescriptions sit behind the counter, and a blood-pressure chair waits near the front.

For example: Pharmacie de la Tour Eiffel, Parapharmacie Eiffel Para, Pharmacie du Champs de Mars, Pharmacie Brisebarre.

Civic building — 26 in Paris

A service counter faces a row of waiting chairs, and a flag stands in the corner. Offices open off a corridor.

For example: Paris Tour Eiffel, Jardin Japonais du Musee Guimet, Paris Champ de Mars, Mona Bismarck American Center.

Place of worship — 20 in Paris

Rows of pews split by a centre aisle lead to an altar at the front, with a plant standing on either side. It's calm and still.

For example: Cathédrale de la Sainte-Trinité, Adath Shalom, Rick Owens: Temple of Love, Église Saint-Pierre du Gros Caillou.

Bar — 13 in Paris

It's dim and warm. A long wooden bar runs down one side with stools and a row of beer taps, and backlit shelves of bottles glow amber behind it. Neon strips glow on the back wall, a game plays on a TV, and there's a pool table with the balls racked. Booths fill the other wall.

For example: Bar à Champagne, Bar Gustave, Makdamia chocolaterie bean to bar vegan, Frame Restaurant and Bar.

Bookstore — 9 in Paris

Tall wooden bookcases cover the walls, and tables of new releases are stacked with colourful spines. There's a reading nook with two armchairs, a rug and a standing lamp. The register is by the door, and warm pendant lights hang overhead.

For example: Librairie du Musée, Librairie du Moniteur, Librairie Presse du Trocadéro, Librairie Logos.

Salon — 8 in Paris

Styling chairs line one wall in front of mirrors, waiting chairs sit opposite, and the front counter is by the door.

For example: Le Salon, PNP Nails Paris 7, Salon Nuance, Nails Thi.

Pizzeria — 8 in Paris

It smells of wood smoke and baking dough. A brick dome oven glows orange at the back with a stack of split logs beside it. Pies sit under glass on the counter, a chalkboard menu hangs on the brick wall, and the tables have red-and-white checked cloths with shakers of chili flakes and parmesan.

For example: Pizza la Gourmandise, Pizza Crepes, Angelo Pizzeria, Pizza Fiorentina.

Clothing store — 5 in Paris

Rails of hanging clothes fill the floor, folded shirts line the wall shelves, and two mannequins stand near the door. Fitting rooms with curtains run along one side next to a tall mirror.

For example: La boutique des vedettes, Rai - Radiotelevisione Italiana, Boutique SNCF, ETS Maleville.

Fast food — 5 in Paris

A bright counter runs across the back with three registers, and lit menu screens hang above it. Behind the counter you can hear the fryers hiss and the grill sizzle. Two touch-screen kiosks stand near the door, a soda fountain hums along the right wall, and booths line the left wall, with small two-seat tables in the middle.

For example: Subway, L'Artisan du Burger, Burger King, Burger 47.

Convenience store — 5 in Paris

Fluorescent lights hum over narrow aisles packed floor to ceiling with snacks and drinks. Glass-door coolers glow along the back wall. By the register, hot dogs turn on a roller grill under a heat lamp, the slushie machine churns red and blue, and the coffee station smells burnt in the best way.

For example: Rel.Grenelle, Elan, Esso, Etna Tourville.

Library — 1 in Paris

Rows of bookcases run across the room, and reading tables with chairs sit along the front. The checkout desk is by the door, and a plant stands in the corner. It's quiet.

For example: The American Library in Paris.

Bank — 1 in Paris

A long teller counter runs across the back, a row of waiting chairs sits by the door, and banker's desks with chairs are spread across the floor.

For example: Bank of America.

Gym — 1 in Paris

Exercise mats, barbells and punching bags fill the floor. Dumbbells sit on a rack, and the front desk is by the door.

For example: Lomey Yoga Studio.