Ossington Avenue was ranked 14th in Time Out’s 33 coolest streets in the world list released on Thursday.
The UK-based media company said the west end street is a destination in Toronto for “some of the city’s best restaurants, live music almost every night of the week and the kind of nights out that call for leather jackets, not heels .”
Time Out noted that the most notable stretch of Ossington Avenue is between Dundas Street West and Queen Street West, where people “can parade down the street and shop for everything from carefully selected vintage to clothing from up-and-coming Canadian designers ».
The company recommended getting an ice cream sandwich or cone from Bang Bang, drinking a pint at Sweaty Betty’s “for a true dive bar experience” and buying adult friendship bracelets at Melanie Auld.
Time Out said the list, which will debut in 2021, was compiled based on the results of its annual survey of more than 20,000 city dwellers worldwide.
“Its aim is to shine a spotlight on some of the most culturally vibrant and dynamic urban microcosms worldwide,” the company said.
“In most of the world, pre-pandemic life has returned with a bang. With people excitedly making plans and heading out again to their own cities and on city breaks, our list of the world’s coolest streets takes the main thoroughfares which knowledgeable locals – including our expert editors and contributors – recommend taking a stroll right now,” added Time Out travel editor James Manning.
Toronto is one of the new cities on this year’s list, which didn’t feature a single Canadian city last year.
The other Canadian street on the list is Rue Wellington in Montreal, which has been named Time Out’s coolest street in the world this year.
Gertrude Street in Melbourne, Australia came in second, followed by Great Western Road in Glasgow, Scotland. The fourth coolest street is Yongkang Street in Taipei, Taiwan, while in fifth place is Værnedamsvej in Copenhagen, Denmark.
