Stimulating street: Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand

Along with San Francisco's famed Lombard Street, Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand has to be one of the world's most distinct and interesting thoroughfares. The reason? It's the steepest street in the world.

Located on Dunedin's Northern end, Baldwin Street has a 35 percent gradient, which basically means that for every 2.86 meters traveled (and that will pretty much have to be on foot as driving is heartily discouraged) the altitude rises by one meter. Said to be an extremely invigorating walk on those cold Kiwi days. Happily, there is a drinking fountain at the top and a park and botanical gardens are also nearby.
Baldwin Street is an accident of geography; the London-based planners who laid out the city od Dunedin used a strict grid pattern, with little regard given to the surrounding terrain. A popular attraction for tourists, Baldwin Street hosts the annual "Baldwin Street Gutbuster" race, which invites participants to start at the base of the street and race to the top. Another fun event originated in 2002 and involves rolling some 10,000 jaffas (round chocolates covered in a solid red coating) from the top of the street to the bottom. Each jaffa is sponsored by one person with proceeds going to charity.