Unique and Amazing Streets

The street you grew up on probably holds a slew of great memories for you, but I would be willing to bet there are a lot more amazing streets out there in the world, even more awesome than the one upon which you grew your first pube. One of my favorite things to do when I am traveling is take photos of unique and interesting streets, and then Instragram the Hell out of them. Here are five unique streets from around the world, to get your inspiration flowing.
 

Blue Street, Chefchaouen, Morocco

Yes, it looks like Smurfette had explosive diarrhea after ingesting some spice-laden Morrocan food, but you can still absolutely enjoy the beauty of the Blue Street. The street was originally painted blue by the Jewish refugees who lived there during the 1930s, but now it just serves as a beautiful backdrop for the surrounding mountains.

Vila de Gracia, Barcelona, Spain.

Vila de Gracia stands for historic old center, and the streets contained within are uniquely laid out for street parties, involving contests for the best decorated streets.

Floating Umbrella Street in Águeda, Portugal

Agueda in Portugal is the setting for this wonderful installation by Sextafeira called Floating Umbrellas. This colorful creation is a part of the Agitagueda art festival.

Due to the fact that the same idea was used the year before this is the second time the streets of this town have been covered with loads of vivid umbrellas, providing shade as well as a wonderful sight. The people loved it so much that the repetitive nature of the installation does not carry the risk of becoming boring, but rather turning into a wonderful tradition.

Cracked Stones Street in Enschede, The Netherlands

Roombeek is a commercial street and also the urban core of the district. The small stream, which gives its name to the street and has in the past flowed underground, has been restored and brought up to the surface again. Now, the water is part of the urban environment and has become the district's new central point. Its asymmetrical design, which widens and narrows along the street, accentuates its different spatial features. The base of the stream is treated with a rough structure that reduces the flowing speed of the water and creates a constant reflective pattern on the water's surface. A distinctive composition of sharp edged stepping stones refers to the randomness of natural processes and is also a reference to the fireworks explosion (the street was partially destroyed by a fireworks explosion on May 13, 2000).

The Magic Carpet Streets in La Orotava, Canary Islands

The Canary Island of Tenerife, off the coast of Africa, may be better known for the fun in the sun reputation of its southern tourist resorts. However, anyone looking for more than just a suntan should head north, especially to the historic and noble township of La Orotava where in June the streets are decorated with elaborate flower carpets during the Corpus Christi celebrations.

The streets of its old town remain perfectly preserved; beautiful 17th and 18th century town houses with exquisitely carved wooden balconies border narrow cobbled streets. It's a feast for the eyes at the best of times, but during Corpus Christi, when the cobbles are covered with evocative images created from rose and geranium petals, the town literally blooms.

Technically, this isn't a flower carpet at all; it's entirely made from volcanic sand taken from Las Cañadas del Teide in the Mount Teide crater, which makes the subtle skin tones and lifelike expressions on the faces of the people depicted in the tapestry all the more astounding. In 2007, the sand tapestry deservedly achieved worldwide recognition when it was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest sand painting in the world.

Geometric Streets in Vercorin, Switzerland

Every year, the small Switzerland ski town village of Vercorin asks artists to come and create works during the summer months. They're not looking for a singular sculpture, they're interested in creative projects that incorporate the entire village.

In 2010, Lang/Baumann was asked to take on this challenge. "Most of the houses and their facades are very old, historical wood surfaced and it seemed interesting to us to contrast them with bright colors on the street," Sabina Lang of Lang/Baumann explained.

Using only maps, they first measured everything out. Then, "we started at the point of the geometry of the street directions leading to this central village square," Lang says. "This was the base for a grid out of which we developed our drawing."

What resulted was a stunning street painting that ran through the entire village and got the whole town buzzing. "Many of the village inhabitants passed by and followed the process of painting," says Lang. "They used it in a very playful way later, especially the children used it to cycle or skate or walk on the lines."

The Pink Street in Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon's urban project to rehabilitate the Cais do Sodré area resulted in a new epicenter for creative and cultural industries that works 24 hours a day.

In the project created by José Adrião in collaboration with Lisbon's City Council and Cais do Sodré Association, the architect decided to have the pedestrian street painted in a vibrant pink. In addition, panels have been place along the sidewalk as an outdoor art gallery.

The Only Right-Hand-Drive Street in London, England

Savoy Court street, where the luxury Savoy Hotel is located, is the only named street in the United Kingdom where vehicles are required to drive on the right. This is said to date from the days of the hackney carriage, when a cab driver would reach his arm out of the driver's door window to open the passenger's door (which opened backwards and had the handle at the front) without having to get out of the cab himself. Additionally, the hotel entrance's small roundabout meant that vehicles needed a turning radius of 25 ft (8 m) to navigate it.