The plaudits keep coming for Chicago.
Earlier this year, it was named as the only U.S. city to make Time Out’s list of the best places in the world for culture, coming seventh in a 20-strong ranking topped by Paris.
Now one of its neighborhoods has been declared by the guide as one of the coolest on the planet.
Avondale, on the Northwest Side of the Windy City, comes fifth in the Top 10 Coolest Neighborhoods 2025 table, billed as steering visitors to “the buzziest pockets of the world’s greatest cities”.
To create the ranking, Time Out’s global team of local editors and experts nominated neighborhoods in their cities and ranked them against criteria including culture, community, liveability, nightlife, food and drink, street life and a “hard-to-define sense of ‘nowness.’”
Avondale is lauded by Time Out’s Chicago expert Shannon Shreibak for the “new wine bars, wellness studios and music venues” that have opened “alongside longtime neighborhood fixtures”.
She adds: “Nicknamed ‘Bricktown’ for its historic brickyards, Avondale still shows its industrial bones in red-brick warehouses and the occasional smokestack or steeple slicing through the sky.
“Its multicultural heritage and working-class character fuel a vibrant small business scene, from retro bowling alleys and antique mall-themed bars to classic Polish sausage slingers.”
Delve into the district, and you’ll find “tucked-away bars, specialty markets and eccentric boutiques.”
A perfect day in Avondale, says Time Out, would include a coffee at family-owned Magnifico Coffee Roasters, a pastry at Loaf Lounge, a visit to Bric-a-Brac record shop and drinks at Central Park Bar.
The No.1 neighborhood is Jimbocho in Tokyo, according to Time Out, a “bibliophile nirvana alive with vintage book stores, cosy coffee shops and old-school curry houses.”
The top five also includes Borgerhout in Antwerp (second) – “considered the beating heart of the city’s creative scene” – and Barra Funda in São Paulo (third), which blends industry with “an alternative vibe”.
Fourth place goes to London’s Camberwell on account of its “independent spirit.”
The rest of the top 10 comprises Mullae-dong, Seoul (sixth); Ménilmontant, Paris (seventh); Nakatsu, Osaka (eighth); Vallila, Helsinki (ninth); and Labone in Accra, Ghana (10th).
The top 10 Coolest Neighborhoods 2025
- Jimbocho, Tokyo
- Borgerhout, Antwerp
- Barra Funda, São Paulo
- Camberwell, London
- Avondale, Chicago
- Mullae-dong, Seoul
- Ménilmontant, Paris
- Nakatsu, Osaka
- Vallila, Helsinki
- Labone, Accra
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