Neighborhood near HCMC's Ben Thanh Market named one of world's coolest

"Nguyen Thai Binh looks like any urban tangle of Vietnamese streets: lots of workshops, motorbikes, and steaming vats of soup. But the neighborhood rewards those who scratch the surface. Underground, after dark, behind clandestine rolling shutters and French colonial facades, you'll find globally acclaimed restaurants and secret speakeasies," the magazine wrote.

Just a four-minute walk from Ben Thanh Market, the neighborhood is home to an array of food stalls, fine-dining restaurants, and bars.

Visitors can start breakfast with Phan Rang crab and snail vermicelli soup, where locals fuel up for the day on steaming bowls of crab and snail noodle soup, before exploring Le Cong Kieu Street, which has sold antiques of various qualities and ages for more than half a century.

Dan Sinh Market, also known as Yersin Market on the eponymous street, is a highlight in the neighborhood, selling military memorabilia and vintage items.

For lunch, head to Bep Me In for Vietnamese family-style dishes, then spend the afternoon at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts.

For dinner, book ahead at wood-fired cooking specialist Quince Eatery and end the night at The Arth bar on Nguyen Cong Tru Street, Time Out editors recommended.

Quince Eatery in HCMC. Photo courtesy of the bar

Jimbocho in Tokyo was named the world's coolest neighborhood, followed by Borgerhout in Antwerp and Barra Funda in Sao Paulo.

To compile the list, the magazine asked its network of writers and editors across a breadth of cities to nominate the "vibiest" district in their hometown right now. It then ranked each neighborhood against criteria including culture, community, liveability, nightlife, food and drink, and street life.