Earlier this year, we asked 20,000 city dwellers from all corners of the globe about everything that’s fresh and exciting about their hometowns. It was part of the Time Out Index, our yearly survey designed to find out everything and anything that’s happening in cities around the world.
Those thousands of responses produced a shortlist of the world’s buzziest, trendiest streets, which we then combined with the contributions of our global network of experts. The result: definitive ranking of the coolest streets in the world in the world right now. And here’s one street that you really need to know about: Taipei’s Yongkang Street.
Yongkang emerged as the fourth-coolest street in the world, making it not just the coolest street in Taiwan but in all of Asia.
So why did Yongkang rank so highly? First up, there’s its food. The street is packed full of eateries fit for any meal of the day and for any mood. From street-food vendors that sizzle and dazzle to a huge selection of top-tier restaurants, Yongkang also boasts city-renowned dessert parlours – including the Smoothie House, with its famed mango snowflake ices.
Then there’s Yongkang’s drinking scene. Given even more life in recent years by the development of small-batch craft beer house Zhang Men Brewery, the street is also packed with boutique coffee shops and tea houses that serve traditional teas as well as proper, third-wave brews with beans from across the globe.
And finally there’s Yongkang’s shopping scene. Navigate your way through a blaze of sheening street lights and signs and you’ll come across the alternative handmade goods of Littdlework and a maze of tiny shops selling edible souvenirs, locally-made artisan goods and other magnificent crafts. There’s all you could possibly want to take home from a Taipei trip – and quite a lot more. Better buy an extra suitcase while you’re at it.
And when you’re looking for a breather from all that eating, drinking and general perusing, Yongkang happens to be perfectly placed for that, too. It’s all in the heart of Dongmen, a neighbourhood which is one of Taipei’s quieter, leafier (largely thanks to Daan Forest Park) and more residential areas.
In other words, if you’re in Taipei anytime soon, be sure to swing by Yongkang.
Now, read the full ranking of the world’s coolest streets in the world, according to 20,000 city-dwellers and our local experts.