Calle San Francisco or Calle de las Setas in Alicante City

Giant toadstools and friendly bugs line the pedestrian street of Calle San Francisco

The calle San Francisco is a hugely popular pedestrian street in the city centre of Alicante, joining the Portal de Elche with the Plaza de Calvo Sotelo.

About 20 years ago residents of Alicante would have felt rather unsafe walking down this street, which was originally a run-down, neglected area with a grim appearance, home to illegal traders and street prostitutes. It wasn’t until 2013 that the town hall started to make positive changes to the street by closing down the illegal businesses, turning the street into a pedestrian zone and installing a variety of cultural and leisure facilities.

At the end of 2013 the Mayoress of Alicante, Sonia Castedo decided to invest 60.000 euros in completely reforming the street and redefining its image to the public by decorating it with giant, brightly coloured toadstool figures and bugs with smiley faces. The ground was painted in yellow and green and hopscotch games were drawn all the way up the street for children to play on.

Small slides designed in the same ‘bug-life’ theme were also constructed, and by the beginning of 2014 the street had completely transformed into a vibrant, attractive and trendy pedestrian area providing plenty of fun entertainment for families with young children who love running in and out of the toadstools and hopping between the slides and along the hopscotches.

Calle San Francisco, now colloquially known as La Calle de las Setas (the mushroom street) is equally popular among tourists and Alicante locals who visit the street for its quirky and unique cafés, restaurants, ice cream parlours and independent shops, all in keeping with the happy and carefree style that the rest of the street furniture emits.

Calle de las Setas is near to Plaza Gabriel Miró.

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