▲This neighborhood connects three distinctive squares, curving around the cobbled Old Town, offering an escape from the crowds as well as century-old coffee houses and a picturesque riverbank.

▲For a taste of Bollywood glamour mixed with historic Indo-Portugese colonial-style homes, Bandra West is the place to be.

▲Usually downtown cores are not the place to go for a local feel, but hip Miamians hopping from cocktail lounge to jazz bar, trendy restaurant to innovative bistro, are changing that.

▲Once a fishing village, then a major trading port, and now a modern metropolis, Tanjong Pagar has both glossy skyscrapers and 19th-century shops.

▲In recent years, hundreds of new bars, cafés, boutiques, and eateries have opened, so this neighborhood will give you a real feel of how modern Istanbul relaxes.

▲While tourists are busy in Pest, locals are in Buda, sitting on patios along the avenue of Bartók Béla út, chatting away against the sound of the historic trams.

▲One of this Serbian city’s oldest neighborhoods is constantly reinventing itself, with a strong dedication to creativity and artistic integrity.

▲Havana’s historic quarter has come alive in recent years, becoming an unmissable part of the city with its plazas, colorful buildings, alfresco cafés, and roadside music bars.

▲The eclectic 7th Street boasts endless places to sip a coffee, relax at a hookah lounge, grab a bite in a bistro, and shop in niche galleries and thrift stores.

▲On the west side of the island, this neighborhood mixes old school charm of roadside seafood stalls with new and innovative bars, restaurants, and coffee shops.

▲Across the Ponte Vecchio awaits a less crowded, more relaxing experience of the famed city, boasting artisan shops, family-owned restaurants, and incredible views.

▲You’ll find a neighborly feeling that's perfect for hip families, young professionals, and foodies alike.

▲New additions to the neighborhood’s already rich culture and social environment, from theaters to bars, make it the perfect place to relax Scotland-style.

▲The red-brick terraced homes give the neighborhood a village feeling, while the string of new vegan eateries and hip bars give it a more modern edge.

▲Once Copenhagen’s red-light district, Vesterbro is now home to more artists, welcoming with its new demography a roster of organic eateries, vintage shops, and craft breweries.

▲Escape the South Korean capital’s tourist trail and indulge in rich coffees and fascinating hole-in-the-wall restaurants.

▲The city known for its imperial grandeur has its local haunts, like the streets surrounding Yppenplatz, just off the busy ring road, where the bustling Brunnenmarkt also lies.

▲The dockyard buildings have been repurposed into spaces for creatives and residential lofts, plus Third Street has all the trendy food your heart desires.

▲Once known for dive bars, Barranco has since burst with color and style, while still maintaining that 1920s Art Deco architecture.

▲Low pastel buildings mixed with modern high-rises abound in these sister neighborhoods, which are home to a good amount of classic Lebanese and international joints.

▲Many of the coolest bars and BBQ joints in the state of Texas can be found in the laid-back neighborhood of Holly.

▲This leafy residential district is beloved for its jazz bars, bookshops, and contemporary galleries, as well as its proximity to a string of quirky theme parks, including one with miniature world landmark replicas.

▲Formerly the place for sailors and scoundrels, the peninsula is now the trendiest part of town.

▲This canal-side neighborhood has recently emerged as a cool and affordable neighborhood for creatives, plus it boasts a generous array of Vietnamese food.

▲Bom Retiro, or "Bomra" if you’re a local, is not just one of the best places to eat, but it’s also one of the best places to see some great art.

▲Along one of Mexico City’s most important avenues, Reforma, this neighborhood combines an aristocratic past with the city’s most trendy new venues.

▲Away from the hectic downtown and expat suburbs, District 3 buzzes with lively dining, inventive coffee houses, modern Vietnamese restaurants, and local hangout spots like Turtle Lake.

▲You’ll find digital marketing agencies and specialty coffee shops in huge industrial buildings, but the neighborhood also has a beach-side village vibe on Carrer de Marià Aguiló.

▲From bustling Wellington Street to the relaxing parks by the Saint-Lawrence River, Verdun is rife with great food and hip crowds.

▲With the Mediterranean Sea in view, you can browse the city’s best-known market and hang out like a Tel Aviv local.

▲Though deeply rooted in tradition, Jalatlaco’s cobbled streets have recently attracted a contemporary crowd with street art, galleries, design shops, and new dining options.

▲Not too far from the city center, you can find peace among the elegant, old homes as well as cool places to get a drink and a few open-air markets.

▲Kypseli has been home to many migrant communities, giving it a multicultural and global edge with bookshops and various cuisines, though you’ll still see old Greek men playing dominoes.

▲One of the oldest districts in Accra, this neighborhood in Ghana has become quite attractive to creatives, what with its multi-sensory experience of smoking fish, ocean air, and friendly people.

▲With video arcade bars, cult nightclubs, and pop-up street food vendors, Peckham has become London’s cultural and creative hot spot without any of the pretentiousness.

▲The Taiwanese capital’s tree-lined avenues, ultra-modern concept malls, and mixture of historic and modern elegance make it one of the hottest neighborhoods right now.

▲Located in Queens, Astoria is likened to a more affordable and culturally diverse Brooklyn, with the revered New York City energy that many long for.

▲Known for its strong public art scene, the neighborhood’s 18th Street will keep you nourished with taquerias and bars while you browse the murals.

▲Madrid feels most authentic in the multicultural barriada of Lavapiés and the site of El Rastro, the city’s historic flea market.

▲Rue des Petites-Écuries has become the place to be for cool Parisians, with some of the city’s most fashionable venues populated with interesting characters.

▲The state capital of Tasmania boasts a waterfront that’s a must-visit for art lovers, seafoodies, wine and gin connoisseurs, and nature lovers.

▲Tokyo boasts incredible neighborhoods like Shibuya and Shinjuku, but not too far away you can find the countercultural breeding ground of cool, nestled among vintage shops and independent restaurants.

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Finally, Lisbon’s Arroios neighborhood tops the list, with its dynamic and multicultural mix of old and new, sprouting open-air galleries, historical treasures, seafood delicacies, eclectic bars, and cultural centers.

▲This particular Nigerian historic district is a marvelous combination of colonial houses, remnants of the '70s boom, and modern steel and mortar structures.

▲The German capital has seen rising rents and tourism in the past few years, but the Wedding neighborhood preserves Berlin’s old traditions and charms, keeping it one of the most underrated areas.

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Visit charming cafés, hidden watering holes, and boutiques, before dancing the night away in Shanghai’s hottest neighborhood.

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In a landscape that grows more monotonous and over-priced with each day, “HiFi” is a refreshing neighborhood with a particularly delicious convergence of cultures.

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In west Toronto you’ll find this former industrial area which has boomed in recent years, with loads of hip microbreweries and eateries popping up.

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The city’s oldest neighborhood has gotten a very modern makeover, where you can find both historic pubs and Victorian homes, along with quirky thrift ships and craft cocktails.

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This inner-city neighborhood in west Melbourne shines brightly because of its migrant community, offering everything from Ethiopian to Vietnamese cuisine.

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Everyone wants to travel like a local, and while it’s easy to translate languages with your phone and stay in people's homes instead of hotels through various apps, it’s much more difficult to figure out where the coolest neighborhoods are because they’re off the tourist path.

Based on factors of affordability, new venues, arts and culture, foodie destinations, and general up-and-coming energy, Time Out surveyed more than 27,000 city-dwellers along with city experts to find what they’ve determined to be the top 50 cultural and culinary hot spots in the world. These are the places buzzing with life, free of overrated traps, and rich with the culture and community you couldn't get near many cities' most popular landmarks. Click through to see which neighborhoods made the cut.