A great way to hide an otherwise unattractive or boring sidewalk is to plant flowers in it.  That's right ~ in it, not around it.  If your sidewalk is a normal 'solid' piece of concrete, you will need to remove pieces of it to expose the dirt in between the concrete.  If you are building a new sidewalk, you can just design in the planting areas upfront.

In the entrance walkway to this lovely stone faced cottage, lobelia, allyssum and geraniums were put to good use in creating a wonderful 'sidewalk garden'.

Obviously, you must consider plants that will work well in your area.  Consider, among other things, low growing and otherwise easily controllable plants, sun and heat tolerant plants for sunny and warm locations, etc.

Given lemons ~ make lemonade!