Whether extremely colourful, architecturally brilliant or perfectly combined with the surroundings: streets and alleyways are a popular photo subject when travelling. Whether a charming little street in a mountain village, a promenade by the sea or a wide shopping street in the city centre – they often characterise a city very aptly.
The renowned US magazine «Architectural Digest» has been on the lookout for the most beautiful corners of the world. The list includes 71 streets, alleyways and avenues. And in some cases, entire villages, towns and islands – if the jury was impressed by the overall appearance of the streets.
Bernese Oberland is represented in the ranking
The streets and places listed include well-known ones such as the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Ocean Drive in Miami and the La Boca neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. However, the ranking also includes places that are by no means familiar to all travellers – for example, the road over Lake Sylvenstein in the Bavarian Alps, Quaint King Street in Alexandria in the US state of Virginia or, to a lesser extent, the Fontainhas in the Indian city of Panaji.
And then a Swiss road also appears on the list. But not one from the urban centres, but one in the Bernese Oberland. However, it is not a street in the true sense of the word. Rather, it is an authentic little street with the character of a village: Brunngasse in Brienz is for once mentioned in the same breath as the most famous streets and neighbourhoods in cosmopolitan cities.
The jury’s appraisal states that Brunngasse is the most famous street in the picturesque village of Brienz. «The 18th century chalets display the wood carvings for which the village is famous, and the flower boxes are filled with colourful geraniums.» Does Brienz need this extra attention? Probably not! Asian travellers in particular are already making a pilgrimage to the region in droves.
This is the complete list of the 71 most beautiful roads in the world:
- Old town of Colmar, France.
- Brunngasse, Brienz, Switzerland.
- Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain.
- Águeda, Portugal.
- Washington Street/Water Street, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
- Rua do Bom Jesus, Recife, Brazil.
- Rue de l’Abreuvoir/ Rue des Saules, Paris, France.
- Mykonos, Greece.
- Pretoria, South Africa.
- Rue du Petit Champlain, Québec City, Canada.
- Chengdu, China.
- Aldama Street, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico.
- Zrinyi Utca Street Budapest, Hungary.
- Streets and tunnels in Tehran, Iran.
- Bruges, Belgium.
- Burano, Italy.
- Tetsugaku no Michi, Kyoto, Japan.
- Västerlånggatan/Mårten Trotzig Gränd, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Shambles, York, England.
- Calleja de las Flores, Cordoba, Spain.
- La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Lombard Street, San Francisco, USA.
- Havana, Cuba.
- Chefchaouen, Morocco.
- Sagano Bamboo Forest, Kyoto, Japan.
- Elevador da Bica, Lisbon, Portugal.
- Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
- Heerstrasse, Bonn, Germany.
- Qiyi Street Chongron Alley/ Wuyi Street Wenzhi Alley, Lijiang, China.
- Bregagh Road, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland.
- Champs-Élysées, Paris, France.
- Brouwersgracht, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Steiner Street, San Francisco, USA.
- Kiremit Street, Istanbul, Turkey.
- Acorn Street, Boston, USA.
- Amalfitana, Italy.
- Colorado Avenue, Telluride, USA.
- Ocean Drive, Miami, USA.
- Ouro Preto, Brazil.
- DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, USA.
- Calle San Justo, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Royal Street/Bourbon Street, New Orleans, USA.
- Long Street, Cotswolds, England.
- Bridge over Lake Sylvenstein, Bavaria, Germany.
- Hội An, Vietnam.
- Koon Seng Road, Singapore.
- Rue Habib Thameur, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia.
- Portobello Road, London, England.
- Via dell’Amore/Via della Fortuna/Via del Buia/Via del Bacio, Pienza, Italy.
- Bull Street, Savannah, USA.
- Central Park West, Manhattan, New York.
- Soi Romanee, Phuket, Thailand.
- Carrer del Bisbe, Barcelona, Spain.
- Kohlmarkt, Vienna, Austria.
- King Street, Charleston, USA.
- Stradun/Placa, Dubrovnik, Croatia.
- Muizz Street, Cairo, Egypt.
- Celetná street, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Royal Crescent, Bath, England.
- Unter den Linden, Berlin, Germany.
- Olvera Street, Los Angeles, USA.
- Bukchon Hanok Village, Seoul, South Korea.
- Francisco I. Madero Avenue, Mexico City, Mexico.
- Circus Lane, Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Worth Avenue, Palm Beach.
- Cartagena, Colombia.
- Fontainhas, Panaji, India.
- Elfreth’s Alley, Philadelphia, USA.
- Paseo Bandera, Santiago, Chile.
- Quaint King Street, Alexandria, USA.
- Waterfront promenade in Copenhagen, Denmark.