There’s no denying that West Town is having a moment—that’s why our team at Time Out has named it the coolest neighborhood in Chicago and the No. 18 coolest neighborhood in the world.
Time Out editors from across the globe ranked the top 40 coolest neighborhoods in the world, from an artsy enclave in Tokyo and a waterfront sanctuary in Brisbane, to Stockholm’s meatpacking district and an under-the-radar town in Montreal.
West Town is home to some of the city’s best restaurant and bar debuts in recent years (Pizz’amici, Bar Bambi and Guillotine Bakery, to name a few) and new cultural destinations like Elise Seigenthaler Gallery and Bridgeport Records’ newest shop, Onion City Records. West Town has, of course, been cool for many years, thanks to its many iconic restaurants, museums, bookstores, green spaces and shops.
So what makes West Town so cool? According to Time Out, the coolest neighborhoods are the ones that represent the best parts of their city through exceptional culture, community, liveability, nightlife, food and drink, and street life, all while maintaining their own distinct local character. And now more than ever, West Town has all of those in spades.
The only U.S. neighborhood to rank higher than West Town is Chinatown in Los Angeles at No. 4, while New York’s Financial District came in at No. 28. The No. 1 coolest neighborhood is Jongno 3-ga in Seoul, followed by L’Ocean District in Rabat, Morocco, and Neos Kosmos in Athens. You can see the full ranking here.
