Buildings, monuments, cathedrals, etc.
We usethewith some names of buildings (we usually writethewithout a capital letter,the Taj Mahal, the Alhambra, the Houses of Parliament, the Pentagon) but not with others:Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, St Paul’s Cathedral, Chichen Itza.
Roads, streets, etc.
We usethewith the names of major roads in a country:the M6, the A40, but not with the names of areas, squares, streets and roads in a town or city:Broadway, Covent Garden, Times Square, Princes Street.
Facilities in a town or city
We usually usethewith the names of hotels, cinemas, museums and art galleries:the Marriott, the Louvre, the National Gallery.
When we are referring to buildings or institutions that don’t include the name of a town or city, we usethe:the airport, the University Press, but not when the name of the town or city is included:Gatwick Airport,Cambridge University Press.
But there are some exceptions:
Have you been ontheLondon Eye?
They’ve been ontheEye at least ten times.
We saw ‘Mamma Mia’ attheBristol Hippodrome.(the name of a theatre)
Have you been totheHippodrome since they renovated it?
The sea, the coast, etc.
When we are referring to general features of a country or its landscape, we usethe:the sea, the countryside, the city, the coast.
Places: fixed expressions
There are a lot of common fixed expressions relating to places. We don’t normally usethewith these expressions. Here are some of them:
to town: I’m goingto townthis afternoon.
in town: She worksin town.
at school/university: They metat university.
from school/university: What time do they get homefrom school?
in hospital: Linda’s beenin hospitalsince Friday.
in prison: Her husband isin prison, and life is very difficult for her.