- Two streets in Australia make the Time Out Top 30 coolest streets in the world
- A street in Melbourne tops out the list as coolest on the planet
- European, Asian, US and South American cities dominate the list
Travel over the past year has been to cool places… in your own backyard. Often, only in your own backyard.
While few may have been able to take to the skies, most of us have been looking locally.
Media and hospitality brand Time Out normally produces lists like the world’s coolest neighbourhoods and the greatest cities to visit, but this year the rankings have gone hyper-local.
International Editor James Manning said the coolest streets list celebrated “the great local businesses and communities that make our cities and streets exciting.”
“They have kept us going through the past year and it’s more important than ever to support them as the world begins reopening.”
James Manning, International Editor of Time Out
Time Out’s methodology was to perform a global survey of 27,000 locals who nominated their city’s coolest street.
In the neighbourhood
Tokyo has a street the locals ranked 13th, called Cat Street.
The mostly pedestrian stretch between Harajuku and Shibuya is widely known as a home to fashion and culture in the city of 14 million, a hipster paradise is a common phrase used to describe the area; it is also bereft of actual cats.
Closer to home, Haji Lane in Singapore ranked eighth coolest street in the world.
When that travel bubble finally opens between Singapore and Australia, Antipodeans can be treated to the limitless palette of colour the street offers, Instagram heaven, and a melange of unique and characterful experiences.
Australian streets…
Sydney’s famed King Street in Newtown ranks 19th coolest in the world.
The Property Tribune got in touch with Sydney locals and well… it was a mixed response.
Students at nearby Sydney University praised the street. Even gentrified Eastern Suburbs visitors said they enjoyed the street’s culture, its innumerable Thai restaurants, and the famed but now closed Rowda Ya-Habibi, a choice spot for a kebab.
“It’s a really fun place for a night out! The pedestrian walk could be cleaner…”
Vic D, Darlington
Others on the other hand didn’t take kindly to what they thought to be a rowdy and rascal riddled road.
“I hate Newtown. I want no association.”
William F, Glebe
And the global winner is…
Collingwood’s Smith Street.
Between Victoria Parade and Queens Parade, the cultural melting pot beat all the famous heavyweights such as Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard, South Bank in London and 30th Avenue in New York.
The word ‘eclectic’ was perhaps conceived well after the street came into existence. However, one Melbourne local told The Property Tribune that its architecture was a “veritable smorgasbord” of styles, providing any scholar with a walk through the ages.
“If you go hungry on Smith Street something’s wrong with you. There’s something for everyone.”
Joanne C, Fitzroy
30 coolest streets
The Time Out survey’s full list of top 30 coolest streets is:
1. Smith Street, Melbourne
2. Passeig de Sant Joan, Barcelona
3. South Bank, London
4. San Isidro, Havana
5. Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
6. Witte de Withstraat, Rotterdam
7. Rua Tres Rios, Sao Paulo
8. Haji Lane, Singapore
9. Rua Rodrigues de Faria, Lisbon
10. Calle Thames, Buenos Aires
11. Krizikova Ulice, Prague
12. 7th Street, Melville, Johannesburg
13. Cat Street, Tokyo
14. 30th Avenue, New York
15. Levinsky Street, Tel Aviv
16. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago
17. Gran Via, Madrid
18. Calle Ocho, Miami
19. King Street, Sydney
20. Rua de Miguel Bombarda, Porto
21. Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City
22. Main Road, Kalk Bay, Cape Town
23. Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
24. Rue Tiquetonne, Paris
25. Mariannenstrasse, Berlin
26. Calle Jose Galvez, Lima
27. Seaport Boulevard, Boston
28. Jaegersborggade, Copenhagen
29. Allen Avenue, Lagos
30. Star Street, Hong Kong
