The Zoloti Vorota district in Kyiv is ranked as the 16th coolest neighbourhood in the world, according to the British media Timeout.
Kyiv is a beautiful city. Tourists often spend days walking around to capture all its beauty and the area around Golden Gate at Zoloti Vorota is a must-see. The British media Timeout has now ranked it as the 16th coolest neighbourhood in the world.
“Where once there was a glorious entrance to mediaeval Kyiv, now you’ll find a fascinating neighbourhood that oozes energy and creativity. Reitarska, Yaroslaviv Val, Striletska and Honchara streets, right in the heart of Old Kyiv, are changing with meteor speed. The area around the Zoloti Vorota (‘Golden Gates’ in Ukrainian) now overflows with fancy bars, bombastic street art, hidden coffee shops, designer boutiques and nostalgia-fuelled pie spots,” writes the Timeout journalist about the area.
The journalist calls the neighbourhood “the forward-looking face of Kyiv” due to its focus on heritage preservation and green spaces. The history of this area goes a long way back. The Golden Gate is a reconstruction of the main gate in the fortifications of Kyiv back to the 11th century. Back then, Kyiv was the capital of the empire Kyivan Rus.
It was dismantled in the Middle Ages but rebuilt in 1982 by the Soviet Union as a guess of how the original one was expected to have looked. It caused some controversy as no one could be sure of how it had looked before.
“Try the eggs benedict at local fave ZigZag, then grab a brew at stylish Kashtan Coffee, right next to a large cage housing three old ravens that have enchanted visitors for more than 15 years. Marvel at the intricate neo-Moorish Actor’s House and get your culture fix at The Naked Room contemporary art gallery. Finish with a cocktail at Kosatka, on the edge of the neighbourhood,” writes Timeout as a suggestion of what to do in the neighbourhood.
Danish area is top of the list
The list by Timeout ranks the 49 coolest neighbourhoods in the world and Golden Gate is the only one on the list from Ukraine. On the top of the list is Nørrebro in Denmark for its great architecture and a vast variety of bars and restaurants. It is followed by Andersonville in Chicago, Jongno 3-ga in Seoul and Leith in Edinburgh.
The top ten looks like this:
- Nørrebro in Copenhagen
- Andersonville in Chicago
- Jongno 3-ga in Seoul
- Leith in Edinburgh
- Station District in Vilnius
- Chelsea in New York
- XI District in Budapest
- Ngor in Dakar
- Sai Kung in Hong Kong
- Richmond in Melbourne
“Throughout 2020 and 2021, our cities have thrived. Against impossible odds, communities banded together, hung out, made stuff. They displayed all the same energy and resilience and grassroots ingenuity that allowed them to spring up in the first place. They survived,” writes Timeout about the ranking of the cities and continues:
“And now we come to our annual ranking of the world’s coolest neighbourhoods. This year, we couldn’t help but switch up our priorities. Food, drink, nightlife, culture – important. Community spirit, resilience, sustainability – just as important, especially if we are to come out of this pandemic with things we can be proud of and tell the rest of the world about.”
