Calle San Francisco – The Mushroom Street, Alicante

The calle San Francisco, the street of mushrooms, in Alicante

The calle San Francisco, better known by the nickname of Calle de las Setas, the street of mushrooms, is a pedestrian street of Alicante populated by giant mushrooms and colourful insects. The Alicante audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this artery become an open-air children's tale, the fruit of a successful bet of urban revitalisation, today much prized by the curious.

The enchanted street of giant mushrooms

Here you are in the calle San Francisco, better known by its nickname of Calle de las Setas, the street of mushrooms. Barely a step into this street, and here you are propelled into the very middle of a children's tale, where giant insects and mushrooms four metres high stand side by side, on a ground of coloured cobblestones. This idea of a complete transformation of the pedestrian street came into being at the end of the year 2013, with the aim of revitalising a district then in poor condition, that suffered from insecurity and was gradually emptying. You like it or you do not like the result, but it must be noted that the bet, carried by the mayor of the time Sonia Castedo, was largely successful: the calle San Francisco now attracts a crowd of the curious and of photography enthusiasts, and has allowed the opening of numerous shops, bars and restaurants. The colourful sculptures, at once funny and poetic, delight young and old, and give the street a joyful and offbeat atmosphere, unique in Alicante. It is the ideal place to recover your childhood soul, to stroll aimlessly, to look up at the perched mushrooms and the multicoloured critters, before joining the lively terraces of the surroundings. An enchanted street and a successful urban bet, the calle San Francisco is a fine stop of the discovery of Alicante.

What to see

Here you discover a pedestrian street transformed into an open-air children's tale, populated by mushrooms four metres high and giant colourful insects, on multicoloured cobblestones; born in 2013 from a bet of urban revitalisation carried by the mayor Sonia Castedo, it has given back life to the district and now attracts the curious and photographers. The calle de las Setas is an unusual street of Alicante. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The calle San Francisco, the street of mushrooms, lies in the heart of Alicante, reachable on foot. It is a pedestrian street freely accessible, lined with bars and restaurants, pleasant by day as in the evening. You walk along it during a stroll in the centre.

Why is the calle San Francisco of Alicante called the street of mushrooms?

Because it is populated by sculptures of giant mushrooms four metres high and colourful insects, that make it an open-air children's tale; this transformation, born at the end of 2013 from a bet of urban revitalisation by the mayor Sonia Castedo, has given back life to a district in difficulty and today attracts a crowd of the curious and of photographers.