Participants were asked to examine a set of images depicting over 50 of the world’s most picturesque roads, and AI technology was used to analyse their eye movements in order to rank which streets are truly the most eye-catching.
From New Orleans’ iconic Bourbon Street, to the beguiling blue lanes of Moroccan city Chefchaouen; sometimes it’s not the dazzling skyscrapers or fancy facades of a famous building that attract tourists to a specific road, but minute details like street art, flora and old-school architecture that make for an eye-catching stroll.
The top 3 most attractive streets in the UK
In the UK, Scotland came out on top with Edinburgh’s Circus Lane ranking as the most attractive British street in the study (placing sixth worldwide). The charming street is inundated with hanging baskets, colourful front doors and a cobbled street that meanders through the quaint mews houses; and participants focused on it for almost four full seconds, with the image garnering over 272 views overall within the study.
Following behind in second place is The Circus, a famed ring of townhouses in the Roman city of Bath, Somerset. Viewers spent 3.74 seconds each fixating on an image of the luxury street, with 259 glances at it being taken overall. The beautiful row of houses was designed by John Wood the Elder, an architect that took his inspiration from the Colosseum in Rome, and the houses located within each of its three segments are now all grade-I listed.
Completing the top three most attractive British streets is the infamous Gold Hill (pictured), a cobbled street located in Shaftesbury and famous across the country as the filming location for the iconic Hovis ‘Boy on Bike’ advert that it’s synonymous with. Study participants stared at a picture of Gold Hill for 3.4 seconds each, on average, and the image received 348 views overall.
The top 3 most attractive streets in the world
The most eye-catching street on the globe is the Philosopher’s Path, located in Kyoto, Japan. Once frequented by a famous Japanese philosopher - hence the name - this two-kilometre-long path is one of Kyoto’s most famous cherry blossom viewing spots, with the trees adorning either side blossoming around April each year and showering the path in an explosion of pink. The study’s participants both fixated on the image of this street for the longest time, on average 6.2 seconds, and the most times (550 views).
In second place, the French street known as Rue Principale clocked up 363 views overall and had viewers locking eyes on it for 4.64 seconds on average. Located in the idyllic village of Rocamadour, the spot sees over a million visitors each year, while the population consists of just 600 people. The location itself is a famous pilgrimage destination and has been visited as part of the Santiago de Compostela for over 1,000 years.
Closing out the top three most attractive streets in the world is none other than the Via Baldassarre Galuppi, a multi-coloured street that can be found on the Venetian island of Burano in Italy. There are no cars on this island, and an assortment of vibrantly coloured houses are nestled in between a vast network of canals that participants in the study stared at for 4.22 seconds on average, and 252 times overall.
Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of GetAgent, comments: "A good estate agent can tell you that the value of your home can be increased via a variety of different features and home improvements - from planting certain flowers, to even painting your front door a certain colour - and the street your home sits on can impact its value just as much. Whether it’s dotted with cherry trees, nestled amongst cobblestones or sat on a canal - where your house is located can have a real impact.
With summer on the way, many people are heading off abroad or opting for a stay-cation, and our research has revealed a huge number of picturesque streets dotted around the globe for those looking for inspiration for their next move. Whether you’re looking to sell with the help of an estate agent, or are hoping to buy in a new location - don’t underestimate the impact of being satisfied with the view from your bedroom window!”
To view the full list of the top 10 most attractive UK streets and top 20 most attractive streets in the world, click here
