This west-end Toronto neighbourhood has been named one of the “coolest” across the world.
Davenport, sprawling between Bathurst Street and Lansdowne Avenue, placed 26th in TimeOut’s 39 coolest neighbourhoods of the year.
To determine what neighbourhoods are worthy of such acclaim, TimeOut says they surveyed their writers and editors worldwide to nominate “the vibiest district” in their towns. From there, the U.K.-based media company said it ranked each area, judging it by its culture, community, food and drink, liveability, night life, and “that hard-to-define sense of ‘nowness.’”
The travel guide raved over the lively patios, cafes and “cultural warehouse spaces,” calling the area a “magnet” for creatives and potentially foodies too, as it credits General Public as being the “anchor” of the area.
TimeOut also credited Davenport’s breweries—Blood Brothers and The Greater Good are both situated on Geary Avenue—as well as the underground nightlife as part of the reasons why the “cool crowd flocks to the area.” It also noted how Davenport is a local hub for art and design, known for the Geary Art Crawl as well as boasting the Black-owned creative studio, All Ours Studio.
Spending “the perfect day” here starts with a matcha latte at Balzac’s Powerhouse, according to TimeOut, before heading over to the Cardinal Gallery to peruse photography.
“Dig into a spicy eggplant sandwich at Amelia’s Market for lunch, or a mind-blowing falafel at Parallel Brothers, before hitting Paradise Grapevine’s Space Cowboy ‘darty’ (a frosé slushie machine and mechanical bull daytime party),” the list reads.
Then the night can be capped off with a slice of North of Brooklyn Pizza and listen to music at Standard Time, according to TimeOut.
One other Canadian neighbourhood cracked the list too, with Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal landing at 22.
Here is the list of all of the “coolest” neighbourhoods worldwide, according to TimeOut:
- Jimbōchō, Tokyo, Japan
- Borgerhout, Antwerp, Belgium
- Barra Funda, São Paulo, Brazil
- Camberwell, London, England
- Avondale, Chicago, U.S.
- Mullae-dong, Seoul, Korea
- Ménilmontant, Paris, France
- Nakatsu, Osaka, Japan
- Vallila, Helsinki, Finland
- Labone, Accra, Ghana
- Nguyen Thai Binh, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
- Anjos, Lisbon, Portugal
- Digbeth, Birmingham, England
- Red Hook, New York, U.S.
- Perpetuo Socorro, Medellin, Colombia
- Burwood, Sydney, Australia
- Linden, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Former French Concession, Shanghai, China
- Quartieri Spagnoli, Naples, Italy
- Bencoolen, Singapore, Singapore
- Endoume, Marseille, France
- Plateau-Mont-Royal, Montreal, Canada
- The Liberties, Dublin, Ireland
- North Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Portales, Mexico City, Mexico
- Davenport, Toronto, Canada
- Little River, Miami, U.S.
- Kemang, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
- Barranco, Lima, Peru
- Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Clarksville, Austin, U.S.
- Margit-negyed, Budapest, Hungary
- Glen Park, San Francisco, U.S.
- MiZa, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
- Villa Devoto, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Mehrauli, Delhi, India
- Poblacion, Metro Manila, Philippines
