Courtesy Bureau de Medellïn
The world's coolest neighborhoods: Every year, publisher Time Out reveals their choices for the world's most fashionable quarters. This year, Laureles (pictured) in Medellin, Colombia scored high honors.
Cillian Doyle/Light House Cinema
Smithfield, Dublin, Ireland: This artsy neighborhood has some of the capital's best-known music and performance venues.
Álvaro López del Cerro/Madrid Destino
Carabanchel, Madrid, Spain: The gardens of Finca Vistalegre (pictured) are newly open to the public.
Astrid Maria Rasmussen
Havnen, Copenhagen, Denmark: The Danish capital's waterfont area has become a hub for all things aquatic, including kayaking, rafting and paddleboarding.
Daniel Murray
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong: Located near the city's bustling center, Sheung Wan is home to street art and a lively food scene.
@duncographic
Brunswick East, Melbourne, Australia: Time Out praises this northside neighborhood for cool bars and nightlife.
Paul Broussard
Mid-City, New Orleans: Make sure you're hungry when you head to this restaurant-packed part of the city.
Stefano Brandolini
Isola, Milan, Italy: This neighborhood used to be cut off from the rest of Milan, hence its name "isola" (island). Now, though, it's easy to access and full of cool, intimate spots.
StancePhotography
West, Amsterdam, Netherlands: Time Out says that Amsterdam West is "a unique blend of Dutch heritage and international energy."
Courtesy of Trunk Hotel
Tomigaya, Tokyo, Japan: This quiet district within Shibuya feels like an oasis in one of the world's busiest cities.
CNN  — 

An artsy quarter of Madrid, a sustainable pocket of Melbourne, and an up-and-coming zone in Medellin – what do these places have in common?

They’re among the coolest neighborhoods in the world, according to global publisher Time Out.

Every year, Time Out polls its staffers and contributors from around the globe to assemble a list of the 40 most fun, interesting and fashionable ‘hoods.

Topping the 2023 list is Laureles, in Colombia’s bustling city of Medellin, which is the hometown of musicians J Balvin and Karol G.

Cillian Doyle/Light House Cinema
The neighborhood of Smithfield in Dublin, Ireland, was the highest-ranked spot in Europe.

According to Time Out, up-and-coming Laureles has a “pretty laid-back reputation” despite being home to the Estadio Atanasio Girardot soccer stadium and famed nightlife street La 70.

Still, though, it has thus far resisted the gentrification other Medellin neighborhoods have experienced, with Time Out‘s Luis Gomez noting that traditional fruit vendors still push their carts through the streets in Laureles.

Five of the top 10 coolest nabes are in Europe, with waterfront Havnen in Copenhagen and the historic Smithfield section of Dublin both appearing on the list for the first time. In Asia, Hong Kong’s buzzy Sheung Wan neighborhood gets the nod, and the best showing for a neighborhood in the US is Mid-City, home to some of the best food – and that’s saying a lot, considering the whole city is known for great food – in New Orleans.

Stefano Brandolini
Isola, which means island in Italian, is the coolest neighborhood in Milan.

Time Out’s Coolest Neighborhoods for 2023

1. Laureles: Medellin, Colombia
2. Smithfield: Dublin, Ireland
3. Carabanchel: Madrid, Spain
4. Havnen: Copenhagen, Denmark
5. Sheung Wan: Hong Kong
6. Brunswick East: Melbourne, Australia
7. Mid-City, New Orleans
8. Isola: Milan, Italy
9. West: Amsterdam, Netherlands
10. Tomigaya: Tokyo, Japan

See the full list of 40 neighborhoods here.