10 Most Famous Streets in the World

Although most cities have thousands of streets, one or two streets always become to be better known than any other. Whether it’s because of their shopping opportunities, center of nightlife, entertainment hub or their place in history, it’s the streets that travelers always visit. These famous streets, famous boulevards, famous avenues and famous roads gets their picture snapped most often and get listed most often in top10s such as this one.

10. Lombard Street

Located between Hyde and Leavenworth streets in San Francisco, Lombard Street is famous for being the crookedest street in the world. The one-block portion of Lombard Street that contains eight hairpin turns was created to reduce the hill’s natural steep slope.

The speed limit in this section is a mere 5 mph (8 km/h). Vermont Street, also in San Francisco, and Snake Alley in Burlington, Iowa are two other famous streets claimed to be the crookedest street in the world.

9. Abbey Road

yudun / Flickr

Abbey Road is located in the north of London. The Abbey Road Studios, located at the south-eastern end of the street, was the studio where the Beatles recorded 90% of their recordings. In April 1969, they came together to record their final album as a group and titled it “Abbey Road”.

This album became their best selling work and featured the now iconic image of the zebra crossing just outside the studios on the front cover. Today, tourists typically come here to create their own Abbey Road album cover.

8. Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles consists of a series of stars embedded in the sidewalk to commemorate famous actors, musicians, directors, producers, theatrical groups and others for their entertainment contributions. More than 2,400 stars have been immortalized.

Anyone, including fans, can nominate anyone active in the field of entertainment and about 200 nominations are submitted to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce committee each year.

7. La Rambla

Lined with trees, La Rambla is the busiest and most lively pedestrian street of Barcelona, Spain. Most of the time, there are many more tourists than locals occupying the Rambla, which has changed the shopping selection and the character of the street in general. For this reason also, it has become a prime target for pick pocketing. It is often called Las Ramblas, because it is actually a series of several different streets that all have a distinct feel.

6. Orchard Road

schaazzz / Flickr

Orchard Road is the main shopping street of Singapore, regularly frequented by the locals as well as being a major tourist attraction. Named after the fruit orchards that the road led to, Orchard Road is flanked by malls, numerous upmarket restaurants, coffee chains, cafés, nightclubs and hotels.

It is also the site of the official residence of the President of Singapore, the Istana. The Christmas decorations along Orchard are famous and entirely over the top, with reindeers cavorting through palm trees and gingerbread houses topped with fake snow.

5. Khao San Road

Khao San Road is, technically speaking, a small road located about a block from the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. Khaosan translates as “milled rice”, a reminder that in former times the street was a major Bangkok rice market.

In the last 20 years, however, Khao San Road has developed into a world famous backpackers hangout. It offers cheap accommodation, ranging from dorm style hostels to reasonably priced 3-star hotels as well as bars, food stalls, restaurants, convenience stores, internet cafes and travel agencies.

4. Wall Street

Michael Daddino / Flickr

Wall Street is the historic heart of the Financial District and the home of the New York Stock Exchange. The term has become a byword for American big business and stock trading. A narrow street running downhill from Broadway to the East River, Wall Street was named for the wall that was built here in 17th century by the Dutch to protect their growing settlement.

By the late 18th century, traders and speculators would gather under a buttonwood tree at the foot of Wall Street to trade informally. This was the origin of the New York Stock Exchange that was established in 1817. Other famous streets in New York City include Broadway, Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue.

3. Via Dolorosa

betta design / Flickr

Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief) is a famous street, in two parts, within the Old City of Jerusalem that traces the last steps of Christ on the way to his crucifixion. The 0.25 km (0.16 miles) route has changed over the centuries and archaeological discoveries in the 20th century now indicate that the early route of the Via Dolorosa on the Western hill was actually a more realistic path.

Nevertheless, pilgrims traditionally walk the route, identifying with Jesus’ suffering. Along the route are 14 Stations of the Cross, each connected with a particular story or event.

2. Las Vegas Strip

The gambling mecca of the world, Las Vegas is situated in the midst of the southern Nevada desert landscape. Casinos can be found throughout Las Vegas, but the strip, a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South, contains the most of them.

It features giant mega-casino hotels, decorated with lavish care and attention to detail to create a fantasy-like atmosphere. The casinos often have names and themes that evoke romance, mystery, and far-away destination.

1. Champs-Elysees

wallyg / Flickr

With its cinemas, cafés, luxury shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Champs-Élysées is one of the most recognizable and most famous streets in Paris and France. This elegant and broad avenue runs from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. It is also one of the most prestigious shopping boulevards of Paris.

The upper stories are mostly occupied by offices as few people can afford to live on the Champs-Élysées. Since 1975, the last stage of the Tour de France traditionally finishes on the Champs-Élysées, with riders typically making six to eight circuits back and forth on the avenue.