Good news for the Catalan capital at top spot, but was your locale in the Top 10?
Time Out reveals the coolest neighbourhoods around the world: the places that balance great local culture, food and fun with support and kindness for their communities during the turmoil of 2020.
Since 2018, the annual list has been collated from the opinions of locals via the annual Time Out Index survey of over 38,000 global city residents, answering where they most loved spending their time out around their city. To rank the list this year, Time Out's global network of editors and experts factored in not just great vibes, food, drink, nightlife and independent culture, but also community spirit, praising the neighbourhoods where people showed unconditional love and support for the communities and local businesses who represent the soul of the city.
The neighbourhood which reached the number one spot, being named the coolest neighbourhood in the world, is Esquerra de l'Eixample in Barcelona. Despite its image as a residential part of the Catalan capital, it has shown incredible community spirit in 2020 with neighbourhood initiatives like the Hidrogel Sessions, in which neighbours organised mass dance parties on their balconies during lockdown. It's also home to a number of vital gathering spaces, like the community-run Espai Germanetes garden, and great independent businesses such as Odd Kiosk: the world's first LGBTQ+ magazine kiosk.
James Manning, International Editor of Time Out, said: "With global travel in disarray, this year our annual list of the world's coolest neighbourhoods is less about planning your next trip and more about celebrating the hotspots that are pointing the way forward for city life. In tough times, neighbourhoods are more important than ever – and these are places where the soul of the city is on full display, thanks to independent businesses, local culture and community initiatives. Consider this list a worldwide shout-out to the strength, spirit and resilience of city-dwellers."
So, if you don't live in the Catalan capital, the next 10 in Time Out's survey were:
Downtown, LA
Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York
Yarraville, Melbourne
Wedding, Berlin
Shaanxi Bei Lu/Kangding Lu, Shanghai
Dennistoun, Glasgow
Haut-Marais, Paris
Marrickville, Sydney
Verdun, Montreal
Hope you're not disappointed!