‘World’s coolest’ neighborhood for 2026 named by Time Out
By Francesca Street and Gage Goulding, CNN
(CNN) — One of the best things about a city break is when it starts to feel like a home away from home. Maybe you find a bar that becomes your local for the weekend, get a bunch of great recommendations from a family-owned hotel, or stumble upon a cozy bookstore filled with staff picks and local authors.
If you’re trying to figure out where to go on your next city break to maximize this impossible-to-bottle feeling, Time Out has just announced its annual round-up of the “world’s coolest” neighborhoods.
Taking the top spot this year is Jongno 3-ga in Seoul, South Korea.
A vibrant foodie hub that’s no stranger to Time Out’s list (the neighborhood came in at number three in 2021) the area is known for its amazing street food and independent businesses.
“Sometimes, formerly featured neighbourhoods have held their own and only become cooler,” Grace Beard, Time Out’s travel editor, told CNN. “Take Jongno 3-ga – this was our third-coolest neighbourhood in 2021, and has now risen to the top spot thanks to the rise in late-evening alfresco dining, indie businesses and shops.”
Anna Barra, a Portuguese tourist, is among those drawn by what Jongno 3-ga has to offer, particularly its street market stalls.
“You have a mix of culture and foods and you can taste different foods,” she told CNN. “It’s a mix of old and new and everything together, it’s very cool.”
Coolest spot
Time Out suggests the perfect day in Jongno 3-ga begins with fluffy steamed bread at Mil Toast, one of the district’s numerous cafes.
Cafe employee Myung Guen said the area was great for history – and food, with long morning lines regularly forming outside Mil Toast.
“There’s really good dessert in this neighborhood,” he said.
Number two on Time Out’s list is L’Ocean District in Rabat. This beachy district of Morocco’s capital city, is now home to a swanky Four Seasons, but is still full of independent businesses and local culture.
The artsy Athens district of Neos Kosmos is third on the list, while Chinatown in Los Angeles is the highest-ranking US city in fourth. Time Out praises LA’s Chinatown for “honoring its history and consistently reinventing itself.”
Rounding out the top five is Govanhill in Glasgow, Scotland. The neighborhood is described by local business owner Aimée Ballinger as the “most welcoming and culturally rich place I have ever lived.”
Ballinger owns Burning House Books with her partner, Benjamin. The indie book store is one of several stores transforming the area and namechecked by Time Out.
“I’m so honored to be part of the community in Govanhill, to be raising my kid here and bringing the most challenging, beautiful and inspiring books I can find into our neighborhood,” she told CNN.
Fellow Govanhill local and owner of LGBTQ+ bar Adrian’s Tommy Nicholls told CNN the area is a “real hub of community and culture in a way that’s so rare to find these days.”
Reawakened city centers
Time Out’s Grace Beard noted that, unlike past years, many of the neighborhoods on this year’s list are central and downtown-based.
“City centers have been reawakened, with new creative spaces, bars, brilliant places to eat, and everything in between,” she said, pointing out this shows how far we’ve come from the Covid era of city center ghost towns.
Time Out’s annual list is produced by its global network of writers and editors, who nominate their city’s coolest districts.
“A lot of the time, there are neighbourhoods that have only just reached their moment and that only in-the-know locals are aware of — that sense of ‘nowness’ is really what we’re looking for on this list,” said Beard.
Time Out’s Coolest Neighborhoods for 2026
- Jongno 3-ga, Seoul, Korea
- L’Ocean District, Rabat, Morocco
- Neos Kosmos, Athens, Greece
- Chinatown, Los Angeles, United States
- Govanhill, Glasgow, Scotland
- Kitakagaya, Osaka, Japan
- Chapinero Alto, Bogotá, Colombia
- Koenji, Tokyo, Japan
- Downtown, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
- Esquilino, Rome, Italy
- Russafa, Valencia, Spain
- Tân Định, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- São Bento, Lisbon, Portugal
- Talat Noi, Bangkok, Thailand
- Slakthusområdet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Humayunpur, Delhi, India
- Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- West Town, Chicago, USA
- Rákóczi tér, Budapest, Hungary
- Jalan Besar, Singapore
- Crooswijk, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Chacagiales, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Bandra West, Mumbai, India
- Cathedral Quarter, Belfast, United Kingdom
- República, São Paulo, Brazil
- Changning, Shanghai, China
- Oost, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Financial District, New York, United States
- New Farm, Brisbane, Australia
- Quartier d’Aligre, Paris, France
- Kalk Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
- North Hobart, Hobart, Australia
- Newington Green, London, United Kingdom
- Yulin, Chengdu, China
- Mount Pleasant, Vancouver, Canada
- Centro Histórico, Lima, Peru
- Boavista, Porto, Portugal
- Starstreet Precinct, Hong Kong
- South Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Distillery District, Lexington, United States
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