An influential travel mag has named one of Glasgow's roads in its top three 'Coolest Streets in the World' list. A section of the city’s A82 has been named one of Time Out’s Coolest in the World for 2022.
The stretch of Glasgow’s Great Western Road, between St George’s Cross and the Botanic Gardens, is ranked third in a 33-strong list of The Coolest Streets in the World 2022 list by Time Out.
Malcolm Jack, who writes for Time Out in Glasgow , explains why he believes this section of Great Western Road is so special: "Glasgow is wonderfully walkable and, while you'll find cool streets across the city everywhere from Pollokshaws Road in Shawlands to Duke Street in Dennistoun, few of them cover all the bases in the way that that part of Great Western Road does in just a short one-mile strip.
"From restaurants, cafes and pubs to shops, live music venues, late night haunts and one of Glasgow's most beautiful parks, it has got the lot all within easy stumbling distance."
The list has been collated from an annual survey of more than 20,000 global city residents, who were asked to nominate their city’s coolest street. To come up with the final ranking, Time Out’s global network of local editors then narrowed down the selections, factoring in food, drink, fun, art, culture, nightlife and community vibes
London’s Deptford High Street in London (no.17), which has seen over 500 years of constant flux and change and Cutting Room Square in Manchester (no.21), part of post-industrial textile district Ancoats, are the only other two UK streets on the list.
Rue Wellington in Montreal has been ranked top, while Melbourne’s Gertrude Street has replaced the Australian city's winner from last year, Smith Street, at number two. Completing the top five after Rue Wellington, Gertrude Street and Great Western Road are Yongkang Street in Taipei (no.4) and Vaernedamsvej in Copenhagen (no.5).
This is the second year that Time Out has released its Coolest Streets list. Its aim is to shine a spotlight on some of the most culturally-vibrant and dynamic microcosms of cities globally and this year’s list comes as people are getting out and experiencing the best of cities again, as James Manning, Travel Editor at Time Out, explained: “In most of the world, pre-pandemic life has returned with a bang. With people excitedly making plans and going out in their own cities and on city breaks again, our list of the Coolest Streets in the World takes in the key thoroughfares which clued-up locals — including our expert editors and contributors — recommend strolling down right now.”
New cities to enter the list this year include Auckland, Athens, Toronto, Taipei, Glasgow, Manchester, Accra, Mumbai and Medellín. James Manning added: “These are some of the cities whose burgeoning nightlife, culture, food and drink scenes we are extra excited about right now. We recommend adding these cities and their coolest streets to your ‘must-visit’ list, pronto.”
Some of the other streets on the list which are in cities popular with Scottish travellers include Oranienstrasse in Berlin (no.9), Jumeirah Beach Road in Dubai (no.23), Calle Echegaray in Madrid (no.28), New York’s MacDougal Street (no.29) and Carrer del Comte Borrell in Barcelona (no.30). The full list of 33 streets, along with details from Time Out’s local experts on why they have made the grade, can be found here: timeout.com/cooleststreets.
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