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The most unusual streets in the world

Explore the unique architecture of some of the world's most unusual streets. From a scheduled train track in Wales to a common stairwell connecting skyscrapers in Tokyo, these oddly designed streets feature bizarre sights from around the globe. These locations offer surprise and delight to those seeking unusual urban experiences, making them a must-see for any traveler.

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Traveling around the world, you can see not only a lot of attractions created by nature itself, for example, amazingly beautiful beaches, waterfalls, dense forests and stunning mountain peaks, but also unique corners that are the creation of human hands.

Throughout its history, mankind has created many interesting buildings and structures, temples and palaces that attract the attention of tourists and are the pride of local residents, however, in addition to individual unique buildings, there are whole streets that, due to their characteristics, have received the status of the best and have become famous all over the world. Such streets have proven that two rows of houses, separated by a road for cars, can be a very entertaining sight and become the main decoration of the city..

Young Street is the longest street on the planet

Young Street, located in Toronto, Canada, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world. Its total length is 1896 kilometers.

The street begins in the very center of Toronto, stretches from the embankment of Lake Ontario, cuts the city into two almost equal parts, and then goes north, bends around Lake Simcoe and reaches the Canadian town of Cochrane. This is the northernmost point where the streets of Ontario reach, then Young Street turns west and ends at the Canadian-American border, on the outskirts of Minnesota.

The longest street in the world has an interesting and long history – it was originally an Indian trail, back when European settlers explored the vastness of Canada, travelers used these paved paths. The troops of the British and French moved along it, the discoverers and fur traders traveled.

In 1793, John Graves Simcoe, the first governor of Upper Canada, who did a lot for the formation and development of the country’s statehood and vans. The street was named in honor of Sir George Young, in 1816 regular carriage traffic began on it, and by the middle of the 19th century, Young Street became the main street of the city of Toronto.

Today Young Street is a modern street surrounded by skyscrapers (in the urban part) and wide sidewalks, the Toronto metro line passes here, there are many restaurants, shops, cafes, clubs, bars and boutiques.

By the way, for the title of the longest street in the world from Young Street, the Pan-American Highway, whose length reaches 48 thousand kilometers, “argues”, this highway connects North and South America and passes through the USA, Canada, Peru, Mexico, Argentina and El Salvador. However, this is a highway, not a residential, city street.

The longest streets in Russia are considered to be Primorskoe Highway in St. Petersburg (length – 59 kilometers), Kurortny Avenue in Sochi (length – 10 kilometers), as well as the Second Longitudinal Highway in Volgograd (50 kilometers).

The most unusual streets in the world Young Street, Downtown Toronto, Canada

Lombard Street is the most winding street in the world

The city of San Francisco, California, is nestled in numerous, rather steep hills. This information, of course, is not a secret either for local residents or for tourists, however, without visiting Lombard Street, it is quite difficult to imagine how uneven the landscape here is..

It is Lombard Street that clearly demonstrates what difficulties developers faced during the construction of San Francisco. This street has received the status of the most winding on the planet – its length is only 400 meters and during this period it turns 8 times! Moreover, all the turns are very steep, at an acute angle..

The most unusual streets in the world View of Lombart Street, San Francisco, from the Coit Tower

This unusual shape of the street is due to the fact that the builders tried to smooth the rise of 27 degrees in this way, without the turns the street would be too steep.

Lombard Street starts off Military Town Boulevard and runs east towards Telegraph Hill. The most popular among tourists and famous all over the world is the section of the street that runs along the slope of the Russian Hill; it is here that Lombard Street most resembles a roller coaster ride.

The street looks very picturesque – the sections between its sharp turns are pleasing to the eye with an abundance of greenery, and the road itself is lined with red brick. However, such beauty could not solve transport problems – in 2001, the San Francisco authorities even intended to completely ban car traffic along the winding street, as this is fraught with danger. Then the mayor’s office abandoned such plans, a special task force was created to deal with the city’s transport problems, Lombard Street turned into a one-way street, and cornering speed is limited to 8 kilometers per hour..

For the convenience of pedestrians, there is a staircase along the street, which does not have so many turns.

Baldwin Street is the coolest street on the planet

Bodwin Street, which is located in New Zealand, in the second largest and most important city of the South Island – Dunedin, about 3.5 kilometers northeast of the city center, has become one of the most unusual and famous streets in the world.

The street starts from North Rd and stretches (or rather rises) to the intersection with Buchanan St. This street is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the coolest residential street in the world, and not because of the mass of fashionable mansions or billionaire residents (Baldwin Street just cannot boast of these advantages), but in the truest sense of the word.

The most unusual streets in the world View of Baldwin Street, New Zealand

The length of the street is only 359 meters, along its length it rises uphill to a height of almost 80 meters. If in the lower part the rise is still quite gentle and allows cars to accelerate, then in the steepest part (161.2 meters) the angle of inclination reaches 38 degrees, that is, the rise is 47.22 meters.

The history of the appearance of such an unusual street is very simple and at the same time entertaining. The city of Dunedin was founded in 1848, while all urban development plans for New Zealand were developed and approved in the UK, without reference to the area. The British found it difficult to imagine how steep the local hills could be, and the local authorities meticulously followed the instructions of the government of the British Empire. That is why Charles Kettle’s plan was carried out exactly, despite the fact that the northeastern part of Dunedin is clearly not the best place for laying highways..

Baldwin Street is covered in concrete, since the asphalt would simply melt in the hot New Zealand sun and run down to the foot of the hill, pedestrians can move on the stairs that have replaced the sidewalks here.

Such an outstanding street, of course, has become a venue for large-scale events: since 1988, the Baldwin Street Gutbuster race has been held here, when competitors (not necessarily professional athletes) must climb to the very top of Baldwin Street and then go down.

Also, since 2002, the Cadbury Jaffa Race, organized for charitable purposes, has been held here, during which 30,000 Jaffas chocolate balls are launched down Baudwin Street. The balls usually need only 15-25 seconds to reach the bottom point, the first five candies that fall into a special funnel are recognized as winners. Each candy has a number and a sponsor.

The most unusual streets in the world Private home in Baldwin Street, Dunedin

Gonçalo di Covalho is the greenest street in the world

It would seem that many streets in the world can boast of green spaces, bright flower beds and a lot of flowers, but it was Goncalo de Carvalho, which is located in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, that received the title of the greenest on the planet.

The most unusual streets in the world The greenest street in the world, hidden under the treetops

The street looks like a real green tunnel, it is completely hidden under the crowns of tropical trees overgrown with lianas and moss, so if it were not for cars parked on the side of the road and the road surface, it is easy to imagine yourself in the center of the rainforest. In addition, a whole colony of monkeys lives in the trees, perfectly adapted to urban conditions and amusing passers-by with their antics.

The most unusual streets in the world Gonçalo di Covalho, Porto Alegre, Brazil, top view

In general, the city of Porto Alegre itself is considered one of the greenest and most beautiful in Brazil, during its construction century-old trees were preserved, all buildings were very neatly integrated into the natural landscape.

Ebenezer Place is the shortest street on the planet

It is very difficult to call Ebenezer Place a street – its length is only 206 centimeters, and it is almost impossible for a visitor to find it in the Scottish town of Wick. There is only one building on the street – its address is Ebenezer Place, 1.

The most unusual streets in the world Ebenezer Place, Wick, Scotland

Such a street appeared in 1883, when the building of the McKase Hotel was erected, which looks like an elongated trapezoid, whose smaller side just became a separate street.

Ebenezer Place was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest in the world in 2006 and only then appeared on city maps.

Street “July 9” – the widest street in the world

Buenos Aires, Argentina has the widest street in the world, covering an entire block. The street was named in honor of Argentine Independence Day – “9th July” (9 de Julio Avenue), has 12 lanes – six in each direction.

The width of the avenue itself – from 230 to 430 meters, “July 9” runs through the whole of Buenos Aires and is famous for an abundance of attractions, including the statue of Don Quixote, two airports, Republic Square and the building of the Ministry of Communications. An obelisk was installed on the street in the city center and a circular traffic zone was created.

The most unusual streets in the world Street “July 9”, Buenos Aires, top view

The construction of the avenue was conceived back in 1899, but the global project was only implemented by 1973. Now the authorities of Buenos Aires are planning to remove the main traffic from the avenue under the ground (there is already a metro line) and leave only the walking area at the top.

It is interesting that several contenders are competing for the title of the narrowest street in the world: Parliamentary Street in English Exeter, only 64 centimeters wide, Vicolo della Virilita in the town of Ripatransone, Italy, which on average has a width of 43 centimeters, and in some places narrows to 38 centimeters, as well as Spreuerhofstrasse in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with a width of 43 centimeters (at its narrowest point – 31 centimeters).

The most unusual streets in the world Parliament Street, Exeter, England

In general, in old European towns, such streets are far from uncommon, besides, local authorities often give the status of streets to ordinary gaps between houses in order to attract travelers with another attraction, in fact, such corners cannot claim the title of streets..

The narrowest street in the Russian Federation is Sheikh Tazhudin Street, located in the city of Khasavyurt. At the junction with Toturbiev Street, this street is just over one meter wide. And last year in Syktyvkar, unofficially, the narrowest street was named the gap of house No. 17 on Kuratov Street, which was named Gribnoy Lane. In reality, such a street simply does not exist.

The road to Giza is the oldest street on the planet

The oldest street in the world that has survived to this day is located in Egypt. This old stone-paved “highway” was used to transport the stones used in the construction of the pyramids from the quarry to the southwestern part of Cairo.

The most unusual streets in the world Road to Giza, Egypt

The street in Giza abuts against the Nile embankment, its length is 12 kilometers, its width is only 2 meters, and its age exceeds 4.6 thousand years.

Princess Grace Avenue – the street with the most expensive real estate

The rating of the most expensive streets is usually compiled on the basis of information on the cost of renting retail space, and as such, Fifth Avenue in New York has been the constant leader for several years in a row with an average rental price of one square meter of 16.7 thousand euros per year. The second place was taken by Causeway Bay Street in Hong Kong, here renting one “square” of usable area costs 14.4 thousand euros per year, and the third – Ginza Street in the center of Tokyo, where one square meter costs tenants 7.75 thousand euros annually. By the way, Tverskaya Street in Moscow took only 14th place in this rating – on average, renting a square meter of commercial real estate on the most prestigious Moscow street costs tenants 3.1 thousand euros per year.

However, the most expensive residential property is located on Princess Grace Avenue, Monaco. This street with a charming palm tree lane stretches along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, was named after Grace Kelly, wife of the ruler of Monaco Rainier III, famous Hollywood actress and Princess of Monaco.

The most unusual streets in the world Night lights of Princess Grace Avenue, Monaco

Not so long ago, an apartment with 4 living rooms with a total area of ​​213 square meters was sold here for 41 million dollars, that is, the price of one “square” reached 190 thousand dollars, which became an undoubted record. Apartments on Princess Grace Avenue are sold very rarely – so rich people live here, and the housing itself is considered so prestigious that even the heirs of billionaires are in no hurry to get rid of it.

The second place in the list of the most expensive streets in the world was taken by Chemines de San Hospice in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, one of the most luxurious places on the French Riviera. One square meter of residential real estate here will cost the buyer 100 thousand dollars.

But it was not possible to name one, the most famous street on the planet. Several world-famous streets claim this honorary title:

  • The Champs-Elyses in Paris with its many boutiques, shops, cinemas and beautifully trimmed chestnut trees, the most famous street in the French capital is visited by millions of tourists every year;
  • Wall Street in New York, as a symbol of financial power and big money with the building of the New York Stock Exchange;
  • and the Road of Sorrow (Via Dolorosa) in Jerusalem – the path along which Jesus Christ went to Calvary, and today thousands of pilgrims pass annually.

And it is very difficult to single out the most beautiful street – Muscovites will unanimously name Arbat, Kievites – Khreshchatyk or Andreevsky Descent, Odessa residents – their favorite Deribasovskaya, Petersburgers – Nevsky Prospect, and residents of some small town – such a quiet and dear Grape or Apricot. And even if these streets cannot claim the status of the best, but for their city and local residents they will remain the most beautiful place on the planet..

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Comments: 2
  1. Luna Foster

    What are some of the most unusual streets in the world that you have come across? I’m always fascinated by unique places and would love to hear your recommendations. Feel free to share any interesting facts or stories about these streets too!

    Reply
    1. Leo Wells

      One of the most unusual streets I have come across is Lombard Street in San Francisco, California. Known as the “crookedest street in the world,” Lombard Street features eight hairpin turns within a single block, making it a popular tourist attraction. Another unique street is the Snake Alley in Burlington, Iowa. Inspired by the vineyard paths of France and Belgium, this street features a serpentine layout with tight turns and a steep incline. In Japan, there is a peculiar street called Avenida da Praia in Nagasaki. What makes it unusual is that the street has escalators instead of stairs due to its steep gradient. These streets offer fascinating experiences and intriguing stories that make them stand out in the urban landscape.

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