Streets are different: typical, familiar to everyone, not outstanding at all - and those that take your breath away and about which you can say "a little too". Every traveler's dream is to see 4 of the strangest streets in the world. There are, in fact, much more of them: picturesque, originally decorated, those that become objects of attention of famous photographers around the world.
Moreover, these city arteries are constantly changing: new institutions, statues and flower beds appear on them, trees change their shape due to pruning. Therefore, the appearance of these streets a year ago may differ significantly from their current appearance.
Here's where to find the world's quirkiest streets.
Street of umbrellas in Aguede, Portugal
Agueda is a small provincial Portuguese town with a population of about 15 thousand people. It was founded in the first half of the 19th century, that is, it cannot boast of any significant historical sights. But there are always a lot of tourists here - partly because it was here for the first time in the world that they came up with the idea of covering the streets with rows of umbrellas that give good shade, which is highly valued in sultry Portugal.
This installation, which has found practical application, appreciated by local residents, was made by the Sextafeira Producoes cartel, which consists of creative and non-standard thinking people. Several central streets of Ageda were decorated with umbrellas, timed to coincide with the art festival held here every year.
Local streets have been decorated with umbrellas every year since 2012. The artists in charge of this installation are constantly experimenting with the colors of the umbrellas, so the streets will look different in the new season.
Other cities also picked up the baton with umbrellas hung on tight ropes between opposite sides of the street. For example, in the old town of Bratislava, umbrellas are used to decorate a small area near the gallery of modern art.
Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho street in Porto Alegre, Brazil
The most beautiful street in the world is to be found in the south of Brazil in the millionaire city of Porto Alegre. It is called Rua Gonçalo de Carvalho, it has a length of only half a kilometer and is famous for the fact that tipuan trees, somewhat reminiscent of acacia, grow very densely along its sides. They are also called rose trees because of their resin color.
Gonçalo de Carvalho Street was planted with tipuan natives of Germany in the 30s of the last century. For 90 years, the trees have grown up to 18 meters each, intertwined with crowns and now cover the roadway, forming a living tunnel. The view of the street from above is especially gorgeous. There is not the slightest gap in the crowns of the trees, so it seems that there is a path of foliage right in the middle of the street.
At the beginning of summer, and in Brazil it comes, when people in Europe are preparing for Christmas, the Tipuan bloom. They are covered with small yellow flowers and seem even more spectacular than in other seasons.
At the same time, liquid can drip from the leaves of the Tipuan. It seems to the person who passes under them that it is raining. In fact, these are the waste products of local pests - cicadas.
Tipuanas have very strong, sturdy roots that can punch through asphalt. Recently, on Calle Gonçalo de Carvalho, it was decided to build a shopping center and felt that the tipuans would interfere with both construction and the integrity of communications. Then a rumor spread through the city that the Tipuans on the most beautiful street would be chopping. People rebelled and were able to defend their natural treasure, which attracts thousands of tourists every year.
Lombard Street in San Francisco, USA
Lombard Street in San Francisco is quite long. It connects Boulevard Presidio and Embarcadero. Of greatest interest to tourists is its 180-meter section, which is laid along a hill at an inclination of 27 degrees. Because of him, the street received the status of the coolest in the world.
Cars that descend from the hill must overcome 8 zigzags between lush flower beds. You can only drive here at a speed of 8 km / h, which does not please the dashing motorists who are constantly stuck here in traffic jams.
The roadway is paved with red tiles, which effectively harmonize with the bright green of the flower beds. Tourists love this street. Beautiful Victorian mansions line it, there are benches on the sidewalks, and the flower beds on the roadway change from season to season.
In fact, once this street was straight, but going down from it by car at a solid speed was dangerous. Therefore, in 1922, a piece of the street was made winding, and now it has become a local landmark.
Pink street in Lisbon, Portugal
It makes no sense to come to Pink Street in the Cais do Sodre district of Portuguese Lisbon during the day. In the light of the sun, you will simply see a street whose roadway is painted in bright pink. This happened in 2013, when advertisers working on the promotion of Absolute vodka decided to paint pink paint on one of the harbor streets near the terminal where ferries dock.
It is better to go here in the evening, when all the local entertainment establishments open: bars, fado restaurants, nightclubs. So you will see the famous Pink Street in the light of bright lanterns and you can sit in the cafe you like right at the table on the sidewalk and watch the seething, merry crowd.
On Pink Street, not to be missed:
- "Pensao Amor" - a former brothel, now transformed into a trendy bar, where all the trappings of a brothel have been preserved for posterity - poles, beds, red walls, etc.;
- "Sol e Pesca" - another bar where canned food is served with beer (and earlier they generally sold fishing rods and hooks here);
- Musicbox is a disco with live music.
In general, painting the street pink, the authorities planned to create a new space for installations, for which they installed 8 light boxes here, which local artists can use at their own will. You can find them at night, making moving between bars an interesting quest.
