The 33 Coolest Streets in the World, according to TimeOut respondents
August 26, 2022 8:28 AM Subscribe
Street life is what makes the places we live feel alive. From grand avenues and shopping strips to pedestrianised backstreets and leafy squares, these streets are manageable microcosms of the world’s most exciting cities – each one chock-full of independent businesses, creative humans and everything else that makes urban life brilliant. Ready to take a stroll?
TimeOut asked more than 20,000 people the question: what’s the coolest street in your city?
I can't speak for most of these, but ... Ossington? C'mon.
That's not even the coolest street walking distance from Ossington Station, much less in Toronto, much less in the world.
posted by mhoye at 8:47 AM on August 26, 2022 [9 favorites]
That's not even the coolest street walking distance from Ossington Station, much less in Toronto, much less in the world.
posted by mhoye at 8:47 AM on August 26, 2022 [9 favorites]
Rue Wellington in Montreal is fine. It's got a lot of super-hip local businesses. The idea that it's "the coolest street in the world" is kind of depressing, because I don't think there's really any public art on Wellington, and I feel like cool public art is what makes a place really memorable, more than fancy sandwiches.
posted by oulipian at 8:49 AM on August 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 8:49 AM on August 26, 2022 [8 favorites]
I visited Toronto recently and was near Ossington and heard about the recent hype so checked it out. It's certainly changed (for the better?) but I agree there are other cool/er streets in Toronto.
I thought Wellington was an interesting pick for Montreal - I think I'd agree, but was suprised not to see something in Mile End/The Plateau.
posted by Laura in Canada at 8:51 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
I thought Wellington was an interesting pick for Montreal - I think I'd agree, but was suprised not to see something in Mile End/The Plateau.
posted by Laura in Canada at 8:51 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
Nah mate.
Gertrude Street is cool and all, but you're basically talking about the Builder's Arms (which is great, but often very busy) and a bunch of frou-frou shops that are nice to look at, but mostly pointless. It joins Smith Street, which has a great beer-hall with about a jillion taps which always has at least one good stout, plus more pubs, plus so many food options, plus (and I presume this is why it's excluded) junkies who are mostly harmless.
posted by pompomtom at 8:55 AM on August 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
Gertrude Street is cool and all, but you're basically talking about the Builder's Arms (which is great, but often very busy) and a bunch of frou-frou shops that are nice to look at, but mostly pointless. It joins Smith Street, which has a great beer-hall with about a jillion taps which always has at least one good stout, plus more pubs, plus so many food options, plus (and I presume this is why it's excluded) junkies who are mostly harmless.
posted by pompomtom at 8:55 AM on August 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
(but obviously every listicle posted to MeFi is going to be slagged off, so ta for the post).
posted by pompomtom at 8:57 AM on August 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by pompomtom at 8:57 AM on August 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
plus (and I presume this is why it's excluded) junkies who are mostly harmless.
Pompomtom, I was in the middle of typing out an identical sentiment just as you hit post. I've only visited a few of the places on this list, there's a pretty solidly unstated "... where you probably won't see the poors" rule in play here.
posted by mhoye at 8:59 AM on August 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
Pompomtom, I was in the middle of typing out an identical sentiment just as you hit post. I've only visited a few of the places on this list, there's a pretty solidly unstated "... where you probably won't see the poors" rule in play here.
posted by mhoye at 8:59 AM on August 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
I thought Wellington was an interesting pick for Montreal - I think I'd agree, but was suprised not to see something in Mile End/The Plateau.Seriously. I'd have thought Avenue Mont-Royal in a walk (no pun intended).
posted by letourneau at 9:01 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
I live in a place with good multi-use paths for bikes (for the US). I can bike places without interacting with cars too much. But this also means that I don't interact with shops.
I lived in a place with decent "erm how about we route bikes the long way through residential neighborhoods because some experts from like the netherlands or something told us it was a good idea because it's safer than being on the same road as lots of fast cars but it may double your commute length compared to the route the accommodated fast traffic like cars get" (Portland) and that meant that I was always on residential roads when I wanted to get somewhere and never got exposed much to all the shops in town.
I mean, do I really care that I'm not buying things because the city planners keep putting me on paths without commerce? Not really. Should all the small businesses I'm not shopping at care? Yes, absolutely.
posted by aniola at 9:03 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
I lived in a place with decent "erm how about we route bikes the long way through residential neighborhoods because some experts from like the netherlands or something told us it was a good idea because it's safer than being on the same road as lots of fast cars but it may double your commute length compared to the route the accommodated fast traffic like cars get" (Portland) and that meant that I was always on residential roads when I wanted to get somewhere and never got exposed much to all the shops in town.
I mean, do I really care that I'm not buying things because the city planners keep putting me on paths without commerce? Not really. Should all the small businesses I'm not shopping at care? Yes, absolutely.
posted by aniola at 9:03 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm going to say something wild here, but I love to walk and have walked around in a lot of cities all over the world, and damn if I wasn't impressed with Phillips Avenue in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Loads of public art, breweries, restaurants, shops, parks, the riverfront, the eponymous falls, multiple outdoor event spaces, live music. It was so great!
I guess what I'm saying is I'd love to see a list of the 33 coolest streets in the places you'd least expect. (Glad to see Wentworth Ave getting some love though!)
posted by goodbyewaffles at 9:07 AM on August 26, 2022 [15 favorites]
I guess what I'm saying is I'd love to see a list of the 33 coolest streets in the places you'd least expect. (Glad to see Wentworth Ave getting some love though!)
posted by goodbyewaffles at 9:07 AM on August 26, 2022 [15 favorites]
Ideally there would be so many of these shits that we all got to enjoy daily that we wouldn't be interested in listing them.
posted by bleep at 9:11 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by bleep at 9:11 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
mhoye
I've not been to the fancy restaurants on Gertrude mentioned on the article, so maybe I'm missing something, but the street itself is right on the edge of gentrified Fitzroy and becoming-gentrified Collingwood.
Smith Street is still better, and is 1 minute's walk from the stuff they're mentioning. Also Smith St changes. Gertrude seems to be high-rent, so it's all fancy design-shops right in front of the public-housing tower-blocks.
(Plus I really like that beer-hall, and I'd totally do something about that if I hadn't got a load of acquired-agoraphobia over the last couple of years).
posted by pompomtom at 9:11 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've not been to the fancy restaurants on Gertrude mentioned on the article, so maybe I'm missing something, but the street itself is right on the edge of gentrified Fitzroy and becoming-gentrified Collingwood.
Smith Street is still better, and is 1 minute's walk from the stuff they're mentioning. Also Smith St changes. Gertrude seems to be high-rent, so it's all fancy design-shops right in front of the public-housing tower-blocks.
(Plus I really like that beer-hall, and I'd totally do something about that if I hadn't got a load of acquired-agoraphobia over the last couple of years).
posted by pompomtom at 9:11 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
I know I know, it’s just a list but I mean, seriously: Dubai, but not a single street in Italy!? Oh come on!
posted by fregoli at 9:24 AM on August 26, 2022 [18 favorites]
posted by fregoli at 9:24 AM on August 26, 2022 [18 favorites]
I can imagine that many residents of areas in these cities will probably have similar reactions to those above. And as a resident of one of those cool places that are exorbitantly expensive to occupy, I get it, I was a little glad to not see anything local on this list.
It's a weird world.
For Portland's street, I nominate Sandy. In a mostly grid based side of town it stretches diagonal across most of the city. It creates countless tiny triangular lots. It spans the full age range of Portland construction, like a walk through time. Check out the Sandy Hut (in the top right of photo below)
Also, it has this wonder of intersections, where a diagonal street crosses two other busy streets, not quite aligned with their intersection. Used to go straight through but by the 50s was already the most accident prone intersection in town. At some point in the last 20 years (I think, I didn't spend much time down here when I was younger.) they interrupted it.
posted by shenkerism at 9:30 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
It's a weird world.
For Portland's street, I nominate Sandy. In a mostly grid based side of town it stretches diagonal across most of the city. It creates countless tiny triangular lots. It spans the full age range of Portland construction, like a walk through time. Check out the Sandy Hut (in the top right of photo below)
Also, it has this wonder of intersections, where a diagonal street crosses two other busy streets, not quite aligned with their intersection. Used to go straight through but by the 50s was already the most accident prone intersection in town. At some point in the last 20 years (I think, I didn't spend much time down here when I was younger.) they interrupted it.
posted by shenkerism at 9:30 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
This seems to suffer from major confirmation bias.
Basically a list of streets near major tourist hubs in Asia and the Pacific, plus some stuff in Europe and North America.
posted by viborg at 9:35 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Basically a list of streets near major tourist hubs in Asia and the Pacific, plus some stuff in Europe and North America.
posted by viborg at 9:35 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Sandy has been there since before Portland was a city. If I remember what I learned in a 'traffic and transportation in Portland' class correctly, it was originally a Native American trail. Shared, maybe, based on this map?
posted by aniola at 9:40 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by aniola at 9:40 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Something this listicle made me realize that I never had before: "Street" implies it's in a city or town and is not just a synonym for "road". Somehow I'd missed that all my life
posted by Press Butt.on to Check at 9:48 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Press Butt.on to Check at 9:48 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
Allow me to introduce you to the stroad.
posted by aniola at 9:52 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by aniola at 9:52 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
*Whoops I meant SELECTION bias, not "confirmation bias".
posted by viborg at 9:55 AM on August 26, 2022
posted by viborg at 9:55 AM on August 26, 2022
That's true, it would be fun to see some of the streets that were only voted for by 1-2 people. Fortunately, we can do that by commenting on our own noteworthy streets right here in this thread :D
posted by aniola at 9:57 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by aniola at 9:57 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
I'm just saying, if your entire sample size is readers of Time Out willing to take a poll about best streets in the world, it's not necessarily representative of anything more than the tastes of the Time Out readership.
Personally I was quite smitten with Avenida Central in San Jose, Costa Rica. But I can't really remember many pertinent details except that it seemed very pedestrian-friendly (and was car-free).
posted by viborg at 10:06 AM on August 26, 2022
Personally I was quite smitten with Avenida Central in San Jose, Costa Rica. But I can't really remember many pertinent details except that it seemed very pedestrian-friendly (and was car-free).
posted by viborg at 10:06 AM on August 26, 2022
I nominate a trio of shady, walkable main streets in Silicon Valley:
posted by Rash at 10:13 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
- University Avenue in Palo Alto
- Castro Street in Mountain View
- Murphy Avenue in Sunnyvale
posted by Rash at 10:13 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
Neither "Danny the" nor "Sesame" made this list, so this list seems very biased toward "cool to visit" and not "cool to live on."
posted by explosion at 10:15 AM on August 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by explosion at 10:15 AM on August 26, 2022 [6 favorites]
this list seems very biased toward "cool to visit"
"spend money on"
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:17 AM on August 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
"spend money on"
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:17 AM on August 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
Silicon Valley is such a model of failed urban planning not sure I'd count anything there as truly "walkable" if only techbro millionaires can afford to live within walking distance.
posted by viborg at 10:17 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by viborg at 10:17 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
For a long time Melbourne luxuriated in the title "World's most liveable city", but if you look into the requirements (like, defined by Forbes Mag or something ffs) it was really "World's best city for c-suite execs to be able to temporarily relocate to".
(don't get me wrong, I like Melbourne. It's just that I'm getting the same vibes).
posted by pompomtom at 10:20 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
(don't get me wrong, I like Melbourne. It's just that I'm getting the same vibes).
posted by pompomtom at 10:20 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
Here's a way too strong opinion for this article:
I love cities, and the whole concept of ranking a street or city as the best is pathetically reductive, offensive to anyone who actually cares, and probably racist.
posted by Alex404 at 10:23 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
I love cities, and the whole concept of ranking a street or city as the best is pathetically reductive, offensive to anyone who actually cares, and probably racist.
posted by Alex404 at 10:23 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
I hope most of them have easily accessible restrooms...and are wheelchair friendly.
posted by Czjewel at 10:23 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Czjewel at 10:23 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
I sighed with nostalgia when I saw the Gertrude Street entry, but that's just based on memories of visiting Melbourne in 2012 when the Everleigh was still relatively brand new and the entire street still felt pre-gentrified.
As a Boston resident, I feel like Newbury Street has always been gentrified, or at least it's been the high street for Boston shopping since the 90s. Yes, the people watching and the "liveliness" are going to be the highest that you'll see in Boston, but I think, if you want something with fewer chain stores (ie. skip Zara, skip Brooks Brothers, skip Uniqlo) then you're probably better served with Shawmut Ave, the underrated artery of the South End in between the larger throughfares of Tremont and Washington St, and hosts fancy patisseries (The South End Buttery), amazing cheese shops (Formaggio Kitchen) and unpretentious genuine neighborhood oriented bars (The Franklin).
And if you want something that's more genuinely diverse (for Boston) then go with Centre Street in Jamaica Plain which, on the Jackson Square end in the north, gives you the city's Latin Quarter with its best Cuban and Dominican restaurants, as well as the Lucy Parsons anarchist bookstore, and then going south past the Whole Foods, it transitions to a more white vibe as it gets closer to the Civil War memorial, with fancy sitdown restaurants like Vee Vee and Ten Tables before ending its southern terminus at the foot of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum. If you want Boston's segregated nature spelled out in a street, for better or worse, you can't do better than Centre.
posted by bl1nk at 10:26 AM on August 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
As a Boston resident, I feel like Newbury Street has always been gentrified, or at least it's been the high street for Boston shopping since the 90s. Yes, the people watching and the "liveliness" are going to be the highest that you'll see in Boston, but I think, if you want something with fewer chain stores (ie. skip Zara, skip Brooks Brothers, skip Uniqlo) then you're probably better served with Shawmut Ave, the underrated artery of the South End in between the larger throughfares of Tremont and Washington St, and hosts fancy patisseries (The South End Buttery), amazing cheese shops (Formaggio Kitchen) and unpretentious genuine neighborhood oriented bars (The Franklin).
And if you want something that's more genuinely diverse (for Boston) then go with Centre Street in Jamaica Plain which, on the Jackson Square end in the north, gives you the city's Latin Quarter with its best Cuban and Dominican restaurants, as well as the Lucy Parsons anarchist bookstore, and then going south past the Whole Foods, it transitions to a more white vibe as it gets closer to the Civil War memorial, with fancy sitdown restaurants like Vee Vee and Ten Tables before ending its southern terminus at the foot of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum. If you want Boston's segregated nature spelled out in a street, for better or worse, you can't do better than Centre.
posted by bl1nk at 10:26 AM on August 26, 2022 [10 favorites]
I'm going to say something wild here, but I love to walk and have walked around in a lot of cities all over the world, and damn if I wasn't impressed with Phillips Avenue in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Loads of public art, breweries, restaurants, shops, parks, the riverfront, the eponymous falls, multiple outdoor event spaces, live music. It was so great!
Phillips Avenue is legitimately cool. I also, improbably, had some of the best tacos of my life in Sioux Falls, and I've had a lot of tacos. If anyone ever finds themselves there, go to La Tapatia and get any of the tacos guisados that strike your fancy. They're phenomenal.
posted by Gadarene at 10:33 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Phillips Avenue is legitimately cool. I also, improbably, had some of the best tacos of my life in Sioux Falls, and I've had a lot of tacos. If anyone ever finds themselves there, go to La Tapatia and get any of the tacos guisados that strike your fancy. They're phenomenal.
posted by Gadarene at 10:33 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Lol, so many bad calls here but some of the pictures are just funny at a certain point. Like I am sure some of these are perfectly fine neighborhoods but sort of silly to put them on a list of "BEST STREET LIFE IN THE WORLD" and then show these desolate streets or like a bunch of people sitting under a covid tent. The picture of Dubai is literally just 6 empty lanes of car streets. What a stupid list, people are dumb.
posted by windbox at 10:43 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by windbox at 10:43 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
I can't vouch for the exact street, but that part of Istanbul is definitely one of the best places to wander around that I've found, anywhere.
Virgil Street in Los Angeles was only cool when the Smog Cutter was there.
posted by chaz at 10:51 AM on August 26, 2022
Virgil Street in Los Angeles was only cool when the Smog Cutter was there.
posted by chaz at 10:51 AM on August 26, 2022
Castro Street in Mountain View
Ok, but Castro isn't "the coolest street in MV" so much as it is the only even vaguely interesting street in MV. I used to walk from my hotel to Castro Street and back in the Before Times, and whole experience was just wild. There are no pedestrians anywhere. Castro Street is the only place in Mountain View you will ever see somebody on foot at all.
posted by mhoye at 10:52 AM on August 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
Ok, but Castro isn't "the coolest street in MV" so much as it is the only even vaguely interesting street in MV. I used to walk from my hotel to Castro Street and back in the Before Times, and whole experience was just wild. There are no pedestrians anywhere. Castro Street is the only place in Mountain View you will ever see somebody on foot at all.
posted by mhoye at 10:52 AM on August 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
Ctrl-F Frenchman Street 0/0 (*closes tab*)
posted by Token Meme at 10:54 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Token Meme at 10:54 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
With one exception*, what's important about this list is that if you live in someplace built on the American urban planning model, it will be somewhere between incredibly difficult to impossible to literally illegal to build any new street that is physically like one of these Best Streets in your city. And we wonder why living in good urban places is getting more expensive.
* Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai, what a joke when your street's key feature is a mall that intends to replicate an Italian high street. That's like rating the ecological importance of national parks by which one has the best gift shop.
posted by Superilla at 10:54 AM on August 26, 2022 [9 favorites]
* Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai, what a joke when your street's key feature is a mall that intends to replicate an Italian high street. That's like rating the ecological importance of national parks by which one has the best gift shop.
posted by Superilla at 10:54 AM on August 26, 2022 [9 favorites]
I was ready to complain, but their pick for Tokyo, Kagurazaka, is spot on. It really is a charming street to walk on, and filled with excellent restaurants at all price levels. It even has a canal-side cafe at one end, not a common sight here. If I had been surveyed I would have probably picked Cat Street, but Kagurazaka is a better choice.
posted by Umami Dearest at 10:56 AM on August 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by Umami Dearest at 10:56 AM on August 26, 2022 [7 favorites]
I mean Great Western Road in Glasgow is one of my favorites, so can vouch for that single pick.
posted by Isingthebodyelectric at 10:59 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Isingthebodyelectric at 10:59 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Maybe not all great picks on this list, but an interesting idea worth discussing. I love a good street packed with people, art and food!
Number 11 on the list, Avenida Ámsterdam in Mexico City, is a good choice, but for street life I probably would have moved one street further inside the loop to Avenida México. Amsterdam is pretty residential in some sections. On Avenida México, you'd have the best parks in the world on one side and your pick of great restaurants on the other. One of the best streets for people watching I've ever visited. Avenida Álvaro Obregón would have been another great choice in Mexico City.
Another great street I would have loved to have seen on the list is Bold Street in Liverpool, England. I'm used to Liverpool being ignored, even though everyone I've convinced to visit has absolutely loved it there. ;) Also, I'm convinced that, even today, every great street has at least one record store. Bold Street has several!
Sadly, here in Texas, great streets are in pretty short supply, though there are a few.
posted by ericthegardener at 11:04 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
Number 11 on the list, Avenida Ámsterdam in Mexico City, is a good choice, but for street life I probably would have moved one street further inside the loop to Avenida México. Amsterdam is pretty residential in some sections. On Avenida México, you'd have the best parks in the world on one side and your pick of great restaurants on the other. One of the best streets for people watching I've ever visited. Avenida Álvaro Obregón would have been another great choice in Mexico City.
Another great street I would have loved to have seen on the list is Bold Street in Liverpool, England. I'm used to Liverpool being ignored, even though everyone I've convinced to visit has absolutely loved it there. ;) Also, I'm convinced that, even today, every great street has at least one record store. Bold Street has several!
Sadly, here in Texas, great streets are in pretty short supply, though there are a few.
posted by ericthegardener at 11:04 AM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
I like travelling to a city, wandering away from the main sites to find charming streets, bustling with people, cute restaurants, parklettes, music coming into the street from unique shops... it would be impossible to know if these are the real "best" of them, but, as someone who doesn't drive, I've always enjoyed seeing these places and imagining living on/near them.
posted by Laura in Canada at 11:11 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Laura in Canada at 11:11 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
In re #18, if you visit Lisbon and drink coffee from Copenhagen Coffee Lab, yer doing it wrong.
while you sip a perfectly made coffee from the cosy and cosmopolitan Copenhagen Coffee Lab.
posted by chavenet at 11:14 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
while you sip a perfectly made coffee from the cosy and cosmopolitan Copenhagen Coffee Lab.
posted by chavenet at 11:14 AM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Add it to the litany of complaints: for the San Francisco entry, the restaurant they called Mano is indeed A Mano.
Hayes street is a pretty great place to have a walk and lunch, although its selection here does suggest that the list is perhaps a bit shopping focused.
posted by Expecto Cilantro at 11:18 AM on August 26, 2022
Hayes street is a pretty great place to have a walk and lunch, although its selection here does suggest that the list is perhaps a bit shopping focused.
posted by Expecto Cilantro at 11:18 AM on August 26, 2022
Multi-use paths (for mixed slow traffic such as bike/ped) are frequently right next to waterfronts and a good place to watch water birds.
Also the ones near waterfronts are more likely to have pedestrian parking (benches), which is nice.
posted by aniola at 11:24 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also the ones near waterfronts are more likely to have pedestrian parking (benches), which is nice.
posted by aniola at 11:24 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
can't speak for the others but Værnedamsvej is legit awesome.
posted by alchemist at 12:01 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by alchemist at 12:01 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
And the soundtrack, for this thread? Street Life by Roxy Music (1973)
I humbly submit Street Life by the Crusaders or Randy Crawford's solo version as far superior soundtrack choices.
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:21 PM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
I humbly submit Street Life by the Crusaders or Randy Crawford's solo version as far superior soundtrack choices.
posted by wemayfreeze at 12:21 PM on August 26, 2022 [3 favorites]
*yawns as she reads this over her brunch and decides if she wants to go down to a cafe on Decatur in the French Quarter to work today*
posted by egypturnash at 12:41 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by egypturnash at 12:41 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Street life is what makes the places we live feel alive.
Which is why Indianapolis long-ago earned one of its nicknames...Indy-no-place.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:47 PM on August 26, 2022
Which is why Indianapolis long-ago earned one of its nicknames...Indy-no-place.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:47 PM on August 26, 2022
Macdougsl?! Oranienstraße?! For the two cities I know, this is shit.
posted by dame at 12:49 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by dame at 12:49 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Murphy Avenue in Sunnyvale
I was there this summer and that street just made me so sad. It's a charming block and all but It's the only thing in that entire town that doesn't look like it was built in a factory and dropping in by helicopter two weeks ago. That whole city is just so bland and anonymous that the preservation of one cute block of shops and restaurants just makes the rest of the place look that much worse.
posted by octothorpe at 1:54 PM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
I was there this summer and that street just made me so sad. It's a charming block and all but It's the only thing in that entire town that doesn't look like it was built in a factory and dropping in by helicopter two weeks ago. That whole city is just so bland and anonymous that the preservation of one cute block of shops and restaurants just makes the rest of the place look that much worse.
posted by octothorpe at 1:54 PM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
I remember when Smith St. in Melbourne was so rough that people referred to it as “Smack St.”. Now I understand it's all hip-hop burger bars and NFT galleries or something.
posted by acb at 2:35 PM on August 26, 2022
posted by acb at 2:35 PM on August 26, 2022
On the one hand, I've never been to any of the streets listed, so they are plausibly cool. On the other hand, they included a street in Manchester so it seems unlikely they actually are all cool.
posted by plonkee at 3:57 PM on August 26, 2022
posted by plonkee at 3:57 PM on August 26, 2022
Thanks to Laura in Canada for posting and thanks to everyone who has posted about their favorite streets. I don't know about coolest, but here are three streets that I like to show to people visiting Seattle.
Northlake Way between Fremont and the U District. Cleverly named street running along the North end of Lake Union, with lovely views of downtown Seattle (on the South End of Lake Union) and working marinas. One end features Voula's Offshare Cafe, which is about the closest thing Seattle has to classic diner, and the other end features Fremont Brewing. In between is Westward, a fantastic spot for lakeside cocktails and Gasworks Park which has the rusting remains of remnants of an old industrial plant. The adjacent Burke-Gilman trail is generally packed with Seattleites in their native habitat.
Honorable mention to Ballard Way at night. Yes most of it is now gentrified and upscale but it still has the Sunset Tavern (dive bar with live local bands) and Tractor Tavern (awesome small venue for excellent touring rock/county/blues/americana acts). Plus Hattie's Hat, which is a classic throwback bar/lounge.
Also the Columbia City section of Rainier Ave. As with every traditionally POC neighborhood in Seattle it is rapidly gentrifying but is still super vibrant with lots of locally owned bars, restaurants, and shops.
OK I'll stop now.
posted by lumpy at 4:09 PM on August 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
Northlake Way between Fremont and the U District. Cleverly named street running along the North end of Lake Union, with lovely views of downtown Seattle (on the South End of Lake Union) and working marinas. One end features Voula's Offshare Cafe, which is about the closest thing Seattle has to classic diner, and the other end features Fremont Brewing. In between is Westward, a fantastic spot for lakeside cocktails and Gasworks Park which has the rusting remains of remnants of an old industrial plant. The adjacent Burke-Gilman trail is generally packed with Seattleites in their native habitat.
Honorable mention to Ballard Way at night. Yes most of it is now gentrified and upscale but it still has the Sunset Tavern (dive bar with live local bands) and Tractor Tavern (awesome small venue for excellent touring rock/county/blues/americana acts). Plus Hattie's Hat, which is a classic throwback bar/lounge.
Also the Columbia City section of Rainier Ave. As with every traditionally POC neighborhood in Seattle it is rapidly gentrifying but is still super vibrant with lots of locally owned bars, restaurants, and shops.
OK I'll stop now.
posted by lumpy at 4:09 PM on August 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
The advantage of having lived in many places is that I can excoriate MULTIPLE suggestions here!
K Road? Really? Don't get me wrong, there's a fantastic bakery there, but Ponsonby Road is RIGHT THERE. And that's not the coolest street in Auckland but it's a damn sight cooler than Karangahape Road.
Virgil in Los Angeles is an example of gentrification rolling over a neighborhood, brought to you by Sqirl. (I know about the moldy jam thing and it makes me shudder. Fortunately, the recipe for the sorrel pesto rice bowl is online so someday I can make it for myself.) I have had some good meals in that neighborhood. But again, I can think of a bunch of blocks not too far away from there that are cooler, and again, they're not even the coolest blocks in LA.
There was a block of Newbury Street (from Newbury Comics to Tower Records) that was cool when I was a kid. Now? My eyebrow is skeptically raised.
posted by rednikki at 5:07 PM on August 26, 2022
K Road? Really? Don't get me wrong, there's a fantastic bakery there, but Ponsonby Road is RIGHT THERE. And that's not the coolest street in Auckland but it's a damn sight cooler than Karangahape Road.
Virgil in Los Angeles is an example of gentrification rolling over a neighborhood, brought to you by Sqirl. (I know about the moldy jam thing and it makes me shudder. Fortunately, the recipe for the sorrel pesto rice bowl is online so someday I can make it for myself.) I have had some good meals in that neighborhood. But again, I can think of a bunch of blocks not too far away from there that are cooler, and again, they're not even the coolest blocks in LA.
There was a block of Newbury Street (from Newbury Comics to Tower Records) that was cool when I was a kid. Now? My eyebrow is skeptically raised.
posted by rednikki at 5:07 PM on August 26, 2022
Note that the listicle is the coolest street in each city according to the specific residents of said cities that Time Out polled. So in each case, a subset of people is only considering their own city. These are not claiming to be the coolest streets in the world.
Even given that, and even assuming a very restrictive definition of Boston that doesn’t include Cambridge or Allston or Somerville or other cities within the Boston metropolitan area, the city would have to have changed much over the past two years for Newbury Street to be voted the coolest. Actually Boston residents ought to be able to do better than just naming their big tourist attraction street with a bunch of chain stores prettied up and made to look kind of like boutiques.
posted by eviemath at 6:46 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Even given that, and even assuming a very restrictive definition of Boston that doesn’t include Cambridge or Allston or Somerville or other cities within the Boston metropolitan area, the city would have to have changed much over the past two years for Newbury Street to be voted the coolest. Actually Boston residents ought to be able to do better than just naming their big tourist attraction street with a bunch of chain stores prettied up and made to look kind of like boutiques.
posted by eviemath at 6:46 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
A lot of this feels like a list of "best streets to reserve a small restaurant or cocktail bar for your event at a tech conference."
Wentworth, in Chicago Chinatown, is an inspired choice. Totally worth visiting as a tourist or local and not "cool" in the sense of being filled with affluent white people and speakeasy-style cocktail bars.
@eviemath, it wasn't a straight survey: "Once we had our shortlist of the vibiest streets in each city we surveyed, we took it to the experts. Our local Time Out editors and contributors, people who know the city like no one else, narrowed down the selection." So all we really know is that a few Bostonians were like "I dunno, Newbury Street?" and Time Out ran with it.
posted by smelendez at 6:58 PM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Wentworth, in Chicago Chinatown, is an inspired choice. Totally worth visiting as a tourist or local and not "cool" in the sense of being filled with affluent white people and speakeasy-style cocktail bars.
@eviemath, it wasn't a straight survey: "Once we had our shortlist of the vibiest streets in each city we surveyed, we took it to the experts. Our local Time Out editors and contributors, people who know the city like no one else, narrowed down the selection." So all we really know is that a few Bostonians were like "I dunno, Newbury Street?" and Time Out ran with it.
posted by smelendez at 6:58 PM on August 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Bask in the smooth '70s soul groove of The Crusaders.
I play the street life
Because there's no place I can go
Street life, it's the only way I know
Street life
posted by kirkaracha at 7:07 PM on August 26, 2022
I play the street life
Because there's no place I can go
Street life, it's the only way I know
Street life
posted by kirkaracha at 7:07 PM on August 26, 2022
My main point was that it wasn’t a “best in the world”, as some folks upthread seemed to have been thinking (and getting what would have been justifiably baffled/annoyed about, had that actually been the intent of the list).
posted by eviemath at 7:08 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eviemath at 7:08 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
I lived just off Wellington street through the 2000s and it’s incredible to see how much it’s changed for the better. Until a few years (?) ago, you couldn’t get a bar licence in that neighbourhood (Verdun), many of the storefronts were pawn shops (there are still a few around) and it was real quiet except for weekend afternoons.
Funnily enough, I also worked just off Gertrude street from 2011 to 2017, and think it’s absolutely one of the best streets in Melbourne, maybe in Australia.
I live in a small rural town now, but I’d put one of our main streets on the list of Best Small Town Streets, for sure.
posted by third word on a random page at 10:05 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Funnily enough, I also worked just off Gertrude street from 2011 to 2017, and think it’s absolutely one of the best streets in Melbourne, maybe in Australia.
I live in a small rural town now, but I’d put one of our main streets on the list of Best Small Town Streets, for sure.
posted by third word on a random page at 10:05 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Chicago's Chinatown is fine, but there's a street or two that I'd pick over it, and I'm glad that they're not on the list.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:29 PM on August 26, 2022
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:29 PM on August 26, 2022
Tokyo's Kagurazaka is a pretty good choice. Less a place with the young and hip but more of an older/middle-aged/cosmopolitan crowd. Good place to find something to eat.
posted by zardoz at 12:19 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by zardoz at 12:19 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh look I just figure that by Gertrude St, they mean, like, the entire Gertrude Street *context*, eg: Gertrude, Smith & Brunswick north of there, all the pubs on cross streets between those, etc, etc, etc.
Blessed, in short, are the cheesemakers.
posted by nickzoic at 12:21 AM on August 27, 2022
Blessed, in short, are the cheesemakers.
posted by nickzoic at 12:21 AM on August 27, 2022
Can someone tell me what the snazzy grey car is in the Ossington Ave / Toronto picture? It looks modern and expensive, but with a vibe that reminds me of Detective Columbo's famous beater.
posted by TwoToneRow at 1:12 AM on August 27, 2022
posted by TwoToneRow at 1:12 AM on August 27, 2022
I like Enmore Rd (or liked, haven't lived in Sydney for over 4 years now), but it's pretty funny that the blurb opens with "While King St claims a lot of the glory", when the picture they're using is of King St taken from the Newtown Hotel. It's not even the section of King St that's near Enmore Rd.
posted by Kris10_b at 3:46 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Kris10_b at 3:46 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm afraid that the presence of a street in Dubai invalidates the whole article.
Also, Deptford High Street? Really?
posted by acb at 3:52 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also, Deptford High Street? Really?
posted by acb at 3:52 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
See, acb et al, that’s exactly what I was commenting about 7 and 10 comments above. The article is not best streets anywhere ever. As noted, it first selected cities (somewhat randomly, as far as I can tell), then tried to determine, for each of the cities selected, just comparing all of the streets in that specific city, which one of the streets in just that specific city was “coolest”.
posted by eviemath at 4:31 AM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 4:31 AM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
True.
OTOH, there are no streets in Sweden in the list. Harsh, but arguably fair. At least they're not picking over the bones of 2000s-era Södermalm or something.
posted by acb at 4:59 AM on August 27, 2022
OTOH, there are no streets in Sweden in the list. Harsh, but arguably fair. At least they're not picking over the bones of 2000s-era Södermalm or something.
posted by acb at 4:59 AM on August 27, 2022
Btw, saying that there cannot be authentically cool organic cultures in Dubai is also not entirely true. There's the Dubai for westerners, a Ballardian dystopia of Kardashian-grade designer-label crassness pumped up with oligarchical cash, and then there's the Dubai for exiles from neighbouring countries, where Bahraini queers and Iranian techno DJs party in basement rooms behind unmarked doors, far from the heights of luxury. Though any magazine aimed at Western professional-class jetsetters is going to only see the former, and anything it presents will be at best a pasteurised simulacrum of hipster culture from somewhere else.
posted by acb at 5:15 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by acb at 5:15 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Værnedamsvej is genuinely nice, but I like Nørrebrogade better, because it's population is younger, much more diverse and has benches where people can just hang out with friends without buying anything.
posted by mumimor at 5:26 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mumimor at 5:26 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
eviemath: My main point was that it wasn’t a “best in the world”, as some folks upthread seemed to have been thinking...
It is literally in the title though from TimeOut - they're the ones telling us that it's the world's best.
posted by Laura in Canada at 5:36 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
It is literally in the title though from TimeOut - they're the ones telling us that it's the world's best.
posted by Laura in Canada at 5:36 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
It’s almost like there’s well over a century worth of practice from newspapers to magazines to modern internet of different people writing the headlines than write the articles in general, and thus sometimes headlines end up being misleading clickbait, eh?
posted by eviemath at 5:44 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eviemath at 5:44 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm not cool so my choice probably isn't cool either, but for St. Louis I'd pick Delmar (the Loop). Lots of good restaurants (just thinking about it makes me crave Ranoush and bubble tea, or maybe Pi). They used to have drum circles on weekends during the more clement parts of the year (I don't know if they still do). The Pageant, where we saw They Might Be Giants a few times. I've actually never been to Blueberry Hill.
posted by Foosnark at 7:39 AM on August 27, 2022
posted by Foosnark at 7:39 AM on August 27, 2022
Nthing Kagurazaka for a surprisingly reasonable pick for Tokyo. I was scrolling down to cringe at the selection for Tokyo, expecting the hallowed out husk of Takeshita Dori or (sorry, Umami Dearest) the bright shiny manufactured cool of Cat Street. If you asked me, I’d have gone with Kappabashi if only because I’m a kitchen goods junkie, but it isn’t remotely a “cool” or even widely visited street outside of tourists and the deeply annoyed professionals who have to put up with them while trying to get things for their restaurant.
That, or since I was there for the first time ever last night, Hoppi Dori in Asakusa, which is fantastic.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:40 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
That, or since I was there for the first time ever last night, Hoppi Dori in Asakusa, which is fantastic.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:40 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Can someone tell me what the snazzy grey car is in the Ossington Ave / Toronto picture? It looks modern and expensive, but with a vibe that reminds me of Detective Columbo's famous beater.
Thanks to CarNet, it's a Nissan Figaro. They were only made in 1991 and were described as "the height of postmodernism" and "unabashedly retro." Sarah Jane Smith drove one in The Sarah Jane Adventures.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:54 AM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Thanks to CarNet, it's a Nissan Figaro. They were only made in 1991 and were described as "the height of postmodernism" and "unabashedly retro." Sarah Jane Smith drove one in The Sarah Jane Adventures.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:54 AM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Is Kagurazaka the one in Shimokitazawa? When I was last in Tokyo (2017), that area seemed to be where there was some sort of organic counterculture, as opposed to the commodified husks of old glories (in Shibuya/Harajuku and such).
posted by acb at 10:08 AM on August 27, 2022
posted by acb at 10:08 AM on August 27, 2022
Ghidorah, before I remembered Cat Street's existence, the first street I thought of was First Avenue in Yaesu. It's got everything - a ramen alley, a craft beer bar, a bunch of weird toy stores, pedestrian-only access. So what if it happens to be entirely underground?
posted by Umami Dearest at 11:25 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Umami Dearest at 11:25 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Hoppi Dori in Asakusa, which is fantastic.
Just wait'll you see it jam packed with foreign tourists though. Enjoy it while you can....
posted by Umami Dearest at 11:31 AM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Just wait'll you see it jam packed with foreign tourists though. Enjoy it while you can....
posted by Umami Dearest at 11:31 AM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also, Deptford High Street? Really?
Exactly what I said when I saw this list. It's been a good five years or so since I saw it last, but it wouldn't have made into my coolest streets.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:39 AM on August 27, 2022
Exactly what I said when I saw this list. It's been a good five years or so since I saw it last, but it wouldn't have made into my coolest streets.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 11:39 AM on August 27, 2022
I was genuinely afraid they were going to put Austin's Sixth Street on the list, and relieved that they did not.
(Though I guess when you want the sort of thing that it is, it is one of the most that sort of thing-like of that sort of thing in the world.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:01 PM on August 27, 2022
(Though I guess when you want the sort of thing that it is, it is one of the most that sort of thing-like of that sort of thing in the world.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:01 PM on August 27, 2022
MacDougal Street isn't a bad choice for NYC, but for me it's clearly St. Mark's Place.
posted by replayer at 4:36 PM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by replayer at 4:36 PM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
acb, Kagurazaka is more in central Tokyo, it’s the street going up the hill from JR Iidabashi station. As for ShimoKita… I have some bad news about the organic counterculture, the whole place is gentrification central. I have a friend whose brewery has a taproom in the newly opened mall connected to the station, and I give him shit about profiting from the commercialization of the place. Great beer though, and really, really good hot chicken sandwiches.
Umami Dearest, as much as one can be said to “enjoy” the last couple of years, yeah, it’s been nice being able to go into Tokyo and go to places that are usually swamped. When they fully reopen the borders, I accept that it will be a positive thing, especially for people whose lives were put on hold, and for people who work in tourist reliant industries, but damn, I’m not looking forward to it
posted by Ghidorah at 4:49 PM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Umami Dearest, as much as one can be said to “enjoy” the last couple of years, yeah, it’s been nice being able to go into Tokyo and go to places that are usually swamped. When they fully reopen the borders, I accept that it will be a positive thing, especially for people whose lives were put on hold, and for people who work in tourist reliant industries, but damn, I’m not looking forward to it
posted by Ghidorah at 4:49 PM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
That's not even the coolest street walking distance from Ossington Station, much less in Toronto, much less in the world.
Ossington Station is about the eighth-best stop on the Bloor-Danforth line to alight at to find active street life. (Jane Jacobs, who preached the value of active streets, lived on Albany Ave, around the corner from Bathurst Station.)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:57 PM on August 27, 2022
Ossington Station is about the eighth-best stop on the Bloor-Danforth line to alight at to find active street life. (Jane Jacobs, who preached the value of active streets, lived on Albany Ave, around the corner from Bathurst Station.)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:57 PM on August 27, 2022
Of ALL the streets in NYC, MacDougal?? I mean, cool if you wanna hang out with NYU students.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 4:48 PM on August 28, 2022
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 4:48 PM on August 28, 2022
Commercial Street in Provincetown is my choice for people watching and having fun. Everyone is in a great mood!
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 9:28 AM on August 29, 2022
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 9:28 AM on August 29, 2022
MacDougal Street isn't a bad choice for NYC, but for me it's clearly St. Mark's Place.
Are you posting from 1990?
posted by Devoidoid at 10:14 AM on September 9, 2022
Are you posting from 1990?
posted by Devoidoid at 10:14 AM on September 9, 2022
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