A street in Montreal, Canada, has been named the coolest in the world, in a list of 33 trendy avenues ranked by Time Out.
Rue Wellington, in the south east of French-speaking Canada’s largest city, was named the world’s coolest for its “killer cocktail bars, stellar brunch spots, some of the best sandwiches in town and even a sandy urban beach” and for having “one of the best bars and one of the best new restaurants in the city”.
In second place was Melbourne’s Gertrude Street, for its “impossibly leafy” looks and “wealth of independent retail, drinking and dining joints”; while in third place was Glasgow’s Great Western Road, namechecked for its thrift shopping, craft brews, gigs and breakfast burritos.
To find the top 33, Time Out compiled a larger shortlist, then asked its worldwide destination experts and local contributors to narrow them down.
Montreal also made the top 10 of Time Out’s world’s best city breaks list in July, coming in at number nine on its ranking of the 53 best cities to visit, which was topped by Edinburgh.
Rounding out the top five best global streets was Taipei’s Yongkang Street at number four (“excellent restaurants, holes-in-the wall sizzling with traditional fried snacks, decadent dessert parlours, upmarket boutiques and historical tea rooms”) and Copenhagen’s Værnedamsvej, which contributors said felt like a “mini-Paris” in the Danish capital.
Streets in Auckland, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Berlin and San Francisco also made the top 10, while London’s Deptford High Street snuck into the top 20 at number 17.
“Vital jazz venues and art galleries. Places to buy giant African snails and a single-origin oat flat white. Thrice-weekly street stalls selling fruit, fish, overalls and homewares, and a chaotic flea market that sells literally everything else,” wrote a Time Out contributor of the southeast London road.
Oxford Street also made the list ‒ but the one in Accra, Ghana, rather than London’s most famous shopping boulevard. The former was ranked 19th in the world for its charismatic shopping and nightlife scene.
Other up and coming streets namechecked were based in cities including Medellín in Colombia, Toronto and Manchester; Paris was notable by its absence from the list.
The world’s 33 coolest streets 2022
1. Rue Wellington, Montreal
2. Gertrude Street, Melbourne
3. Great Western Road, Glasgow
4. Yongkang Street, Taipei
5. Værnedamsvej, Copenhagen
6. Karangahape Road, Auckland
7. Tai Ping Shan Street, Hong Kong
8. Yaowarat Road, Bangkok
9. Oranienstrasse, Berlin
10. Hayes Street, San Francisco
11. Avenida Ámsterdam, Mexico City
12. Kolokotroni, Athens
13. Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles
14. Ossington Avenue, Toronto
15. Via Provenza, Medellín
16. Calle Ocho, Miami
17. Deptford High Street, London
18. Praça das Flores, Lisbon
19. Oxford Street, Accra
20. Wentworth Avenue, Chicago
21. Cutting Room Square, Manchester
22. Capel Street, Dublin
23. Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai
24. Enmore Road, Sydney
25. Kagurazaka, Tokyo
26. Kloof Street, Cape Town
27. Süleyman Seba Caddesi, Istanbul
28. Calle Echegaray, Madrid
29. MacDougal Street, New York
30. Carrer del Comte Borrell, Barcelona
31. Newbury Street, Boston
32. Colaba Causeway, Mumbai
33. Everton Road, Singapore
