In the Big Surf Island Update, an Island of the same name was added off of the East coast of Paradise City, expanding Paradise's driving terrain and adding a new district and five new sub-districts. These districts are further divided into sub-districts, each with a slightly different design sense, from abandoned warehouses to beachfront hotels. Downtown Paradise, Harbor Town, and Palm Bay Heights make up the urban area, while Silver Lake and White Mountain make up the more rural area. Paradise City is divided into 5 districts, which make up two general areas of the landscape, the urban area and the rural area. However, this is all contained within one open area that players can drive freely in. As with the previous games in the Burnout Series, there is varied terrain in Paradise City ranging from downtown streets to mountains.

The player can freely drive around the city and engage an Event at any traffic signal. Burnout Paradise is set in a fictional city called Paradise City, located somewhere on the eastern coast of the United States.

Burnout paradise city