Neukölln? Never heard of it. Just kidding, the Berlin neighbourhood is back again to claim the title of 22nd most cool neighbourhood in the world, according to Time Out’s annual ranking.

Neukölln crowned coolest German neighbourhood yet again

It’s kind of embarrassing how cool Neukölln is. It has been years since the first person realised and nobody has been able to get over the shock since then.

Unfaltering year after year in its wealth of smokey bars, large parks, delicious Turkish food and ever-fancier restaurants, the district has done it again and claimed its title as one of the coolest neighbourhoods on the whole of planet Earth.

Appearing once every year, the Time Out ranking combines the results of a poll of 12.000 city-dwellers and the thoughts of local experts to bring together a list of the “coolest neighbourhoods in the world” - loosely defined as the places “locals love and visitors flock to” with “exciting new openings across food, drink and culture.”  

According to Time Out’s local contributors, Azzam’s Middle Eastern food is unmissable - IamExpat can attest to this - not to mention, a visit to the the ever-threatened Tempelhofer Feld for a unique stroll across the world’s largest inner-city park. Our own honourable mentions of cool places to hang in NK include das Gift for a drink (especially on a Thursday for its weekly spoken word night), Cafe Pils, and of course, for the spring and summer, the unbeatable views of Klunkerkranich rooftop bar.

The coolest neighbourhoods of 2023

According to the Time Out list, these are the top 10 coolest neighbourhoods on the planet in 2023:

1. Laureles, Medellín, 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, US
8. Isola, Milan, Italy
9. West, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
10. Tomigaya, Tokyo, Japan

See the full ranking on the Time Out website.

Thumb image credit: HVRIS / Shutterstock.com