Milan's Porta Venezia has been included as one of the world's coolest neighbourhoods / Shutterstock
Milan's Porta Venezia has been included as one of the world's coolest neighbourhoods / Shutterstock

Once again this year, the British magazine Time Out has published a ranking of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world. Taking the top spot as the world's coolest neighbourhood is Esquerra de L'Eixample in Barcelona, followed by Downtown, Los Angeles and Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong completing the top three. However, Italy hasn't been forgotten about, with Milan's lively Porta Venezia district featuring in 35th place.

The ranking, based on the opinions of 38,000 residents around the world, in addition to the traditional criteria of nightlife, culture, local atmosphere and food, this year also includes another indicator: the community spirit of the neighbourhood, particularly relevant due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Spanish neighbourhood takes the crown in 2020 due to the fact that "city life has moved from the centre to the surrounding neighbourhoods", and Esquerra de L'Eixample is a perfect example. The community in the area feels closer than ever and this neighbourhood has something very special: characteristic architecture in the area means that the majority of blocks of flats feature their own interior courtyard and during the strict coronavirus lockdown, residents rediscovered these courtyards to keep spirits up during the confinement period". 

As for Porta Venezia in Milan, community spirit has also been key in the city's LGBT+ neighbourhood. Despite the pandemic hitting Italy hard, this neighbourhood which is close to Milan's shopping distict, continued to be just as loud and lively during confinement in 2020, and also features in the ranking due to its vibrant sunset aperitivi cuture.