Time Out named ‘world’s coolest’ neighborhood for 2026

One of the best things about a city vacation is when it feels like a second home. You might find your local bar for the weekend, get great recommendations from a family-run hotel, or find a cozy bookstore filled with staff recommendations and local authors.

If you’re wondering where to go on your next city vacation to make the most of this impossible-to-bottle feeling, Time Out has released its annual roundup of the world’s coolest regions.

This year’s top spot is Jongno 3-ga, Seoul, South Korea.

A vibrant foodie hub familiar to Time Out’s list (the neighborhood ranked #3 in 2021), the area is known for its great street food and independent businesses.

Time Out travel editor Grace Beard told CNN, “In some cases, areas that once made headlines are staying that way and becoming even cooler.” “Take Jongno 3-ga, for example. It was the third coolest neighborhood in 2021, but has now risen to the top spot thanks to late-night outdoor dining, an increase in independent businesses and shops.”

Portuguese tourist Anna Barra is one of those who is drawn to the charm of Jongno 3-ga, especially the street stalls.

“There’s a mix of cultures and food, and you can taste different foods,” she told CNN. “It’s old and new and everything coming together, which is really cool.”

Time Out suggests that a perfect day in Jongno 3-ga starts with a fluffy steamed bun at Mil Toast, one of the many cafes in the area.

Cafe employee Myung Nguyen said the area is perfect for history and gourmet food, and there are regularly long morning lines outside Miltoast.

“This neighborhood has some really good desserts,” he said.

Second on the list of timeouts is Rabat’s L’Océan district. This beach district of Morocco’s capital is now home to the swanky Four Seasons, but it’s still full of independent businesses and local culture.

Neos Cosmos in the artsy Athens neighborhood takes third place on the list, while Los Angeles’ Chinatown ranks fourth, the highest ranking for a U.S. city. Time Out praised L.A.’s Chinatown for “honoring its history and constantly reinventing itself.”

Rounding out the top five is Govanhill in Glasgow, Scotland. Local businesswoman Amy Ballinger describes the neighborhood as “the most welcoming and culturally rich place I’ve ever lived.”

Ballinger owns Burning House Books with his partner Benjamin. This indie bookstore has transformed the area and is one of several name-checked by Time Out.

“It’s such an honor to be part of the Govanhill community, to raise my children here, and to bring the most challenging, beautiful, and moving books I can find to my neighborhood,” she told CNN.

Tommy Nichols, a Govanhill local and owner of LGBTQ+ bar Adrian’s, told CNN that the area is “a real hub of community and culture that you don’t see very often these days.”

Time Out’s Grace Beard noted that unlike previous years, many of the areas on this year’s list are based in central and downtown areas.

“City centers have been reawakened with new creative spaces, bars, great places to eat and everything in between,” she said, noting that this shows how far we have come from the corona era of city center ghost towns.

Time Out’s annual list is created by a global network of writers and editors to recommend the city’s coolest neighborhoods.

“Often there are neighborhoods that are just coming into their own and only known by locals in the know. That sense of ‘now’ is what we’re really looking for on this list,” Beard said.