# Most Beautiful Boulevards in the World



## DrJekyll (Sep 23, 2004)

Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

I just HAVE to post the Bahnhofstrasse 

















And don't forget the very similar Ramblas:


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## redstone (Nov 15, 2003)

AmericanLove said:


> @*WANCH *
> the widest boulevard in the world (according to the 2004 Guiness World Record) is the Melrow Avenue in Northern Estonia which spans 1 kilometre from building to building.


Any pics?


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

I thought the widest is this one:


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

yeah but that's not considered a boulevard


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## AMS guy (Jun 27, 2003)

Kuesel said:


> I thought the widest is this one:


What is this city? Bucharest in Romania?

Anyway, for me the most beautiful boulevards are:

1. Champs Elysees/ Paris.
2. Gran Via/ Madrid.
3. Ramblas/ Barcelona.
4. Michigan Avenue/ Chicago.


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## Pobbie (Jul 16, 2005)

^^that looks like Brasilia to me.

Anyway, Speke Boulevard is obviously the best.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

That's Brasilia! To me, the craziest is Nathan Road!


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## wjfox (Nov 1, 2002)

Champs Elysee without a doubt. Nothing else even comes close.


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## willo (Jan 3, 2005)

a pic of Gran Via (Madrid)


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## Grygry (Nov 24, 2004)

I'd add :
Nanjing Lu in Sanghai
Avenue de l'Opera or Rue de Rivoli in Paris
5th Avenue NY
La croisette in Cannes


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## JCarlos (Apr 3, 2004)

I'm not sure Gran via can be considered a boulevard.

From the cities I've seen:

-Castellana/ Paseo del prado/ Recoletos/ Alfonso XII - Madrid
































-Alameda - Lisboa









-unter den linden - Berlín


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

Juan Carlos:

What city and street is depicted in the first photo that you posted. Es una lugar muy linda.


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## JCarlos (Apr 3, 2004)

Duplicated post


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## JCarlos (Apr 3, 2004)

The first photo you can view "Paseo del prado" and the begining of "Carrera de los Jerónimos" street in Madrid.


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## Bombay Boy (May 6, 2005)

please delete


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## Bombay Boy (May 6, 2005)

marine drive, bombay. around 6 kms long with a beach at one end and probably the longest stretch of art-deco buildings in the world. can also be called the largest amphitheatre in the world with its elegant sweep


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## Maarten (Nov 28, 2004)

Cour Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

JCarlos said:


> The first photo you can view "Paseo del prado" and the begining of "Carrera de los Jerónimos" street in Madrid.


Esta calle es excellente. Me gusta tambien Paseo Castellano. Viaje a Madrid dos veces y amo esta ciudad.


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## DrJekyll (Sep 23, 2004)

Maarten said:


> Cour Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence


 ey, i already said this one. isn´t it beautiful with those huge trees?


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## samsonyuen (Sep 23, 2003)

Champs Élysée


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## jesarm (Dec 26, 2004)

Champs Elysee in Paris


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## Mekky II (Oct 29, 2003)

Unter den Linden, Berlin

A boulevard of linden trees was planted from 1647 before the gates of the city by the Great Elector, who wanted to ride from his castle to the hunting grounds in the Tiergarten more comfortably. Over the course of its long history, this stretch became the best known and grandest street in Berlin. Around the end of the seventeenth century it became the central axis of the newly built suburb Dorotheenstadt. After his ascension to the throne in 1740, Friedrich II expanded the boulevard by adding his "Forum Fridericianum" with the opera, library, Prince Heinrich Palace - today, the Humboldt University - and St. Hedwig's Cathedral. These structures were built on the space freed up by the demolition of the militarily obsolete Memhardt fortifications.
The art-loving king christened his "Forum" with the motto "Fridericus Rex Apollini et Musis" (dedicated to King Friedrich, Apollo and the Muses), written on the gable of the Deutschen Staatsoper (German National Opera). This agenda was by all means meant as a political manifesto: Friedrich wanted to link his kingship with the sciences (Apollo) and the arts (Muses). The realization of this grandiose construction program was delayed by the Frederican wars, however, which started at the same time and lasted until 1780. The king's ambition for power politics long outweighed his partiality for culture.
After the wars of liberation from 1813-15, the street was converted to a "via Triumphalis" to commemorate the victory over Napoleon and furnished with new, monumental buildings as well as statues of deserving generals. Thus an urban space was created between the Brandenburg Gate and the Schlossbrücke (Castle Bridge) which, along with the castle district, comprised the architectural climax of the capital.
The Second World War left most of the promenade in rubble. Its appearance today is characterized by the reconstruction efforts of the fifties and sixties. Damaged monumental buildings in the eastern section, for instance the Zeughaus (Armory), the Opera or the Humboldt University, were restored on the outside and their destroyed interiors usually renovated in accordance with historical studies. The gaps in the western section of Unter den Linden could not be closed until after the wall was built in the sixties. Constructed near the border were predominantly the embassies of allied states and office buildings. After the rejection of the exorbitantly expensive building style of the "National Tradition", with its elaborate, historicizing forms such as those which still dominate the boulevard Karl-Marx-Allee today, the buildings built on the western section of Unter den Linden were industrially produced, in imitation of international currents in architecture. They were to demonstrate the GDR's competitiveness and the modernity of the young state.
Since the dissolution of the GDR, the western end of the boulevard, Pariser Platz, is being reconstructed along the old ground plan. The horticultural installations already have been restored.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

Copacabana - Beach, highrises, density and a beautiful avenue... It became famous and started to grow in the 1940s. Before it was difficult to reach. Only after a tunnel system connected the neighbourhood and beach to the center it became a world tourist hot spot.


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## JDRS (Feb 8, 2004)

willo said:


> a pic of Gran Via (Madrid)


Very beautiful. :happy:


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

Mekky II said:


> Unter den Linden, Berlin
> 
> A boulevard of linden trees was planted from 1647 before the gates of the city by the Great Elector, who wanted to ride from his castle to the hunting grounds in the Tiergarten more comfortably. Over the course of its long history, this stretch became the best known and grandest street in Berlin. Around the end of the seventeenth century it became the central axis of the newly built suburb Dorotheenstadt. After his ascension to the throne in 1740, Friedrich II expanded the boulevard by adding his "Forum Fridericianum" with the opera, library, Prince Heinrich Palace - today, the Humboldt University - and St. Hedwig's Cathedral. These structures were built on the space freed up by the demolition of the militarily obsolete Memhardt fortifications.
> The art-loving king christened his "Forum" with the motto "Fridericus Rex Apollini et Musis" (dedicated to King Friedrich, Apollo and the Muses), written on the gable of the Deutschen Staatsoper (German National Opera). This agenda was by all means meant as a political manifesto: Friedrich wanted to link his kingship with the sciences (Apollo) and the arts (Muses). The realization of this grandiose construction program was delayed by the Frederican wars, however, which started at the same time and lasted until 1780. The king's ambition for power politics long outweighed his partiality for culture.
> ...


The Unterlinden is really beautiful. It's amazing to think that it was destroyed and yet rebuilt so magnificently. It would be nice if the government moved the Neptune Fountain from its current location and moved it to the Unterlinden, which would be a far more prominent site.


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## Paradise (Dec 6, 2003)

9 de Julio Av. in Buenos Aires, the widest in the world...


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## edubejar (Mar 16, 2003)

Perhaps this thread should have been called "Most beautiful or impressive ARTERIALS, as many of those mentioned and shown are not avenues or of similar importance and dimensions (i.e. boulevards, paseo, cours). I guess it's hard to categorize the greatest arterials of the world but I think that a city's one or two major arterials should be considered. Also, we could consider the world's two or 3 greatest ones based on factors such as those listed below. Does any one city highly meet all factors?

1) Fame/Popularity (among people; name copied in another city; most photographed)
2) Historic and/or Contemporary architectural grandeur
3) Dimensions (length and width)
4) Busiest (both in motor traffic and PEDESTRIANS)
5) Value and desirability of office and commercial property
6) Location (preferably passes through downtown/city-center/core
7) Connectivity (connections to other major arterials; n-s, e-w, nw-se etc. axis)
8) Contains or leads to skyscraper cluster (this is a skyscraper site afterall)


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

While BA is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, many of the gorgeous, old buildings lining 9 de Julio Av. have been razed and replaced by unattractive modern ones. Therefore, I did not include that avenue in my initial list.


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## kiretoce (May 26, 2004)

Roxas Boulevard in Manila, famous for its flaming sunsets! kay:


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

Did anyone mention 
- Ginza, Tokyo
already?


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

The Ginza has great stores, but I don't think that it's beautiful.


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## Jakob (Feb 28, 2004)

*Istiklar Avenue (Grande Rue de Pera):*


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## Jakob (Feb 28, 2004)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!


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## ZOHAR (Jul 16, 2005)

great pics!
i liked of Course Taxim(i was there wonderful place) also 9 of jule(Argentina) and in Madrid is awesome


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## Jakob (Feb 28, 2004)

*Bagdad Avenue:*


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## Jakob (Feb 28, 2004)

*Kennedy Avenue:*


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## ZOHAR (Jul 16, 2005)

Tel Aviv,Israel
Herbert Samuel boulevard


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## streetscapeer (Apr 30, 2004)

*Las Vegas Blvd*


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## ZOHAR (Jul 16, 2005)

OMG Las Vegas is so cute!!!


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

Mannerheimintie(Mannerheim street) in Helsinki


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## Alejandro_MEX (Aug 23, 2005)

*Beautiful boulevards*

In order to make this little ranking, I have to make a separation:

Most Impressive Boulevards:
1. Las Vegas Boulevard (Las Vegas).
2. Ginza (Tokyo).
3. Times Square (New York).

Most Beautiful Boulevards:
1. Paseo de la Reforma (Mexico City). It was built for a French Emperor who wanted to make the Champs Elysees in Mexico. Actually it's more beautiful than the Champs Elysees.
2. Champs Elysees (Paris).
3. Avenida 9 de Julio (Buenos Aires).


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## ChicagoSkyline (Feb 24, 2005)

For Chicago, Michigan Ave.
For Miami or South Beach, Ocean drive
For NYC, Wall St or 5th Ave.


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

Park Ave also has a mall in the middle just like Broadway.


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## A42251 (Sep 13, 2004)

I just got back from Chicago. How come Michigan Avenue ain't gettin' any love? If you like skyscraper canyons, the Mag Mile is pretty much as good as it gets. Plus there is literally endless shopping on this street. 

Besides the Mag Mile itself, the stretch of Michigan Avenue south of the river is pretty awesome too, with Millennium and Grant Parks on one side and a street wall of pre-WWII skyscrapers on the other side.


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## London™ (Jan 12, 2003)

Teheran-ro (Teheran Street), Seoul


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## Khanabadosh (Nov 16, 2004)

Boulevards in Seoul is awesome.


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

Khanabadosh said:


> Boulevards in Seoul is awesome.


I concur.


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## micro (Mar 13, 2005)

SuomiPoika said:


> Mannerheimintie(Mannerheim street) in Helsinki


I like the Esplanadi in Helsinki. The buildings on the left and right are hardly visible in this photo because of the many trees, but they are there! A nice urban boulevard:


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## elsonic (Aug 21, 2003)

Croisette - Cannes









Regent St - London









Commonwealth ave - Boston









Grand Canal - Venezia


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## firmanhadi (Aug 3, 2005)

Teheran-ro in Seoul looks very similar to Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo.
http://www.tonyvella.it/www/foto/sao_paulo_avenida_paulista_full.jpg


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## Bitxofo (Feb 3, 2005)

In Barcelona:
-Avinguda Diagonal, 13km. long.
-Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 16km. long.
-Rambles, always alive, human statues, etc.
-Passeig de Gràcia, with hundreds of Modernism houses and buildings.
:wink2:


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## Poly_Technique (Aug 22, 2005)

Hokkaido, Japan


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## VansTripp (Sep 29, 2004)

Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles

























































































































































Near to Wilshire Blvd.









The Ambassador Hotel closed in 1991, it's on Wilshire Blvd.


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## United-States-of-America (Jul 19, 2005)

5th Avenue in New York-


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## elsonic (Aug 21, 2003)

Grande-Allée - Québec City


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## Paradise (Dec 6, 2003)

Paradise said:


> 9 de Julio Av. in Buenos Aires, the widest in the world...



a picture at night...


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## eklips (Mar 29, 2005)

This Buenos Aires boulevards looks almost like a highway right in the middle of the city


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## A42251 (Sep 13, 2004)

NewYorker1 said:


> 5th Avenue in New York-


This picture is of Sixth Avenue, not Fifth.


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## Bitxofo (Feb 3, 2005)

Avinguda Diagonal in Barcelona, please check it here:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=220152

One of the most beautiful Avenues in the world!
:wink2:


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Shanghai has The Bund


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## alejandro (Aug 16, 2005)

For me, the best are:

1.- Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City. Originaly designed to look like Champs Elysees, but then it got it's own beauty and soul. When I first saw it I was shooked by the beauty of this avuenue. You might see pictures, or even in movies, but, in real life... My God!!! Also, all the tall buildings in this avenue, make it feel like it's being protected by all the skyscrapers, creating a very stunting skyline, mixed with all the nature of the trees. And the avuenue has to crowns, the Chapultepec Castle and it's forest, with the most impresive view of the avuenue. And my favorite... The Independence Angel, build to celebrate the first 100 years of the Mexican Independence. Just speechless with that Angel!!! Plus, it has the Tallest Skyscraper in Latinamerica, and several projects between 100 and 140m height.

Picture from Chapultepec Castle, around October 2004, to early 2005.









The "Ángel de la Independencia"









2.- Avenida 9 de Julio, Buenos Aires. It's amazingly wide, and amazingly beautiful. The architecture of the buildings next to it. Make me feel in Europe, but not, is Argentina!!! Just love it.

3.- Champs Elysees, Paris. Just look at the view. No words, exept "Perfection"!!!

4.- Avenida Paulista, Sao Paulo. The endless line of skyscrapers run through it. Just unvelibable.

:cheers: :rock: :cheers:


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## HirakataShi (Feb 8, 2004)

Illovo Boulevard just north of Johannesburg, ZA.

]


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## firmanhadi (Aug 3, 2005)

bitxofo said:


> Avinguda Diagonal in Barcelona, please check it here:
> 
> http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=220152
> 
> ...


 Barcelona has some of the most fantastic boulevards in the world. I love Passeig de Gracia too!


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## Iwano (Aug 29, 2005)

*deleted*

deleted


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

Does anyone have photos of the Via Venutto in Rome? It truly epitomizes_ la dolce vita_!


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## gutooo (Jan 30, 2005)

Paulista Av. - São Paulo


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## gutooo (Jan 30, 2005)

Paulista Av again


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

No offense but Avenida Paulista has lame buildings, and they're not even tall. It does not rank among the world's most beautiful cities in my opinion. While Sao Paulo is the most important city in Latin America, it is not attractive.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

Sorry, but have you ever walked through Av. Paulista? It's more impressive than you might think - the center of LA's economy and power. 5th Av. in NYC is maybe the only compareable power boulevard that I know. It was the park avenue of the coffee barons 100 years ago and changed into the center of Brazilian economy in the 1950s. Here a short history of Paulista (I already posted somewhere else) 


























Some of the old villas are still standing:


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

Yes. I was there last winter and was not impressed. Avenida Paulista has many boring, modern buildings, and like the rest of Sao Paulo, they're not very tall. Perhaps, on average, they're 30 stories. Sadly, very few of the old villas (like the yellow one that you posted) are still standing.

My wife lived in Sao Paulo, and her father still does. She thinks that Brazil is the best country in South America, and I think that Argentina is. We cannot agree.


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## gutooo (Jan 30, 2005)

MikeHunt said:


> No offense but Avenida Paulista has lame buildings, and they're not even tall. It does not rank among the world's most beautiful cities in my opinion. While Sao Paulo is the most important city in Latin America, it is not attractive.












Lame buildings??
Not tall???
Does not rank among the worlds most beautiful cities??
And its not attractive!!??

Funny.....i desagree in all aspects.....

Im glad we have different opinions!


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## MikeHunt (Nov 28, 2004)

The nice thing is that you and I disagree, but unlike some people on this site, we are respectful in our disagreement.


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## Karsh (Jun 13, 2005)

Avenida Paulista is a truly amazing boulevard and i think it tops high in world's rank. Just look at this pic and try to find the lame buildings (if you can):










IMPRESSIVE! :eek2:


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## DonQui (Jan 10, 2005)

The Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid or the Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona are very beautiful too.


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## Jaye101 (Feb 16, 2005)

University Avenue, Toronto, Canada








[/QUOTE]


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## Khanabadosh (Nov 16, 2004)

Diagonal AV., Passiage de gracia and Rambla in Barcelona are extremely beautiful boulevards.


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## [email protected] (Jun 29, 2004)

hkskyline said:


> Champs-Elysées


definitely the best


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## reluminate (Aug 3, 2004)

*Park Avenue, Manhattan*


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## reluminate (Aug 3, 2004)

*Central Park West, Manhattan*


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## Detroit_Mahn (May 3, 2005)

*Fifth Avenue, NYC*

(courtesy of Flickr)

While, it may not be as beautiful as the almight Champs-Elysee or some of the fancy boulevards of Latin America. It is undeniably one of the most striking, dramatic, and glamourous boulevards that exist.


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## Jules (Jun 27, 2004)

5th avenue is stunning. i'd take it over the one in Paris any day of the week


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## vivayo (May 6, 2003)

for me there are to types of impressive boulevards, one is the fancy, elegant, perfectly porportioned blvd like Champs Elysee, Paseo del Prado, or The Mall,,,

on the other hand you get stuning thing like 5th. Avenue, or Michigan Av, in AMerica,,,,or Paulista av, in Brasil

ass for the wow factor i'll go for the full packed highrise type.

but i could stay all day long walking and watching with pleasure avenues like champs elysee.,,

still some combine both factors like Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City.


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## absalon (Apr 26, 2009)

Passeig de Gràcia, in Barcelona. Modernist boulevard


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## absalon (Apr 26, 2009)

:banana:


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## absalon (Apr 26, 2009)




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## Paddington (Mar 30, 2006)

Surely Toledo's own Central Ave. Strip must rank amongst the greats. :yes:


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## absalon (Apr 26, 2009)

*PASSEIG DE GRÀCIA, BARCELONA, CATALONIA*














































http://farm1.static.flickr.com
/112/314260318_ce7bd5770e.jpg?v=0


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

absalon said:


> Passeig de Gràcia, in Barcelona. Modernist boulevard


Don't resurrect ancient threads please


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