The 50 coolest neighbourhoods in the world for 2019 have just been revealed, and a little Joburg community has been featured!
Johannesburg, South Africa – Melville has just been named the top neighbourhood in South Africa, and number 48 in a list of the top neighbourhoods from around the world!
As part of their Time Out Index 2019 survey, the publication asked more than 27,000 city-dwellers around the world about the best, most overrated and most undervalued neighbourhoods in their home town. Then, armed with their opinions, they went to the experts – Time Out editors and contributing writers who know the city like nobody else – and asked them to pinpoint the one neighbourhood in their city with the biggest buzz about it right now.
“We wanted to know: are there great new venues opening? Can most people still afford to live there? Is it a place where travellers can discover the best of a city’s up-and-coming art, culture, food and drink? And most importantly: does it instinctively feel like a neighbourhood whose star is on the rise?
Then we argued a bit, ranked each neighbourhood against 49 others from across the world, and came up with what we reckon is the definitive list of the planet’s cultural and culinary hotspots right now. Be sure to click the ‘Read more’ buttons for loads more insider tips from our local experts. Time to tear up your travel plans: these are the places to be in 2019.”
The list features neighbourhoods from all around the world including Pecham in London and Strasbourg-Saint-Denis in Paris, but it’s number 48 on the list that has South African’s feeling uber proud!
Melville, a Bohemian suburb in the heart of the city, has made the cut and this is what Thando Moleketi-Williams from Time Out had to say about South Africa’s top neighbourhood.
Leafy, historic Melville was historically all-white, but 25 years into South African democracy it has become one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in the city. Its situation between two of South Africa’s leading universities, Wits and UJ, makes it home to academics, artists, expats and students living in communal digs, resulting in the most eclectic high street in Johannesburg: 7th Street. Take a stroll, and you’ll discover an ever-changing cross-section of all-day places to eat, coffee shops, bistros, hookah lounges, themed restaurants and dive bars, all nestled between antique furniture shops, niche galleries and thrift stores.
EAT: The smashed avo ‘wake-up’ is a must-try for brunch at new neighbourhood favourite The Whippet. Dining solo at a window seat makes for great people-watching, but arrive early at the weekend to avoid the queues.
DRINK: Settle in for an adventurous cocktail at Melville’s newest addition, Anti-Social Social Club. Get their signature Smoked Maple Old Fashioned served with a strip of maple bacon, or a fruity, east-Asian inspired Watermelon Tom Yum cocktail.
DO: Take a walk down to Bamboo Lifestyle Centre at the bottom of Melville and head on through their upstairs gallery for fine art and a great view of Joburg’s urban forest. Then hit up the Convoy store downstairs: it’s a women’s clothing and accessory space featuring only premier South African designers.
STAY: Melville is filled with an array of guesthouses. Stay close to the high street at 84 on Fourth just off the 7th, or head up to Pablo House for panoramic views of Joburg west.
Check out the full list below:
1. Arroios, Lisbon
2. Shimokitazawa, Tokyo
3. Onikan, Lagos
4. Wedding, Berlin
5. Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles
6. The Waterfront, Hobart
7. Strasbourg-Saint-Denis, Paris
8. Astoria, New York
9. Embajadores, Madrid
10. Pilsen, Chicago
11. Peckham, London
12. Soi Pridi Banomyong/Phra Khanong, Bangkok
13. Footscray, Melbourne
14. Zhongshan, Taipei
15. Kerem Hateimanim and Shuk HaCarmel, Tel Aviv
16. Kypseli, Athens
17. Jalatlaco, Oaxaca
18. District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
19. Juárez, Mexico City
20. Poblenou, Barcelona
21. Jamestown, Accra
22. Verdun, Montreal
23. Overseas Chinese Town, Shenzhen
24. Holly, Austin
25. Bom Retiro, São Paulo
26. Katendrecht, Rotterdam
27. Ancoats, Manchester
28. Corktown, Detroit
29. Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhaël, Beirut
30. Barranco, Lima
31. Dogpatch, San Francisco
32. Vesterbro, Copenhagen
33. Naeja-dong, Seoul
34. Yppenplatz and Brunnenmarkt, Vienna
35. Easton, Bristol
36. The Junction, Toronto
37. Kelvinbridge, Glasgow
38. Oltrarno, Florence
39. Old Havana, Havana
40. Stoneybatter, Dublin
41. Bartók, Budapest
42. Kadiköy-Moda, Istanbul
43. Downtown, Miami
44. Tanjong Pagar, Singapore
45. Bandra West, Mumbai
46. Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong
47. Old Xuhui, Shanghai
48. Melville, Johannesburg
49. Nové Mėsto, Prague
50. Dorćol, Belgrade
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