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Giving Gritty Euro Hoods a Chance
Oude West/Westerpark, Amsterdam
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Jul 1, 2013 — Don’t judge a book by its cover. As with most cliché sayings, there’s a reason that one has stood the test of time. Take some of Europe’s less illustrious neighborhoods, for example. While it’d be easy to write these areas off, there’s certainly more to them than meets the eye.
Formerly part of West Berlin, Kreuzberg looks a little rough around the edges, yet boasts a healthy amount of culture and alternative flair. Kreuzberg is home to a slew of popular music venues, pre-party bars, original cafés, and funky clubs.
Packed with tattooed skateboarders and graffitied stone walls, Barcelona’s El Raval can also seem pretty intimidating. However, the neighborhood’s avant-garde hangouts and popular clubs make it one of the hottest spots in the city.
In London, Brixton was once home to massive riots and still has some shady scenery. But the city space now houses ethnic eateries, a diverse population, a well-known trade post, and sweet art houses and movie theaters.
Meanwhile, Pigneto in Rome looks like an outdated residential enclave in need of a facelift. Yet the hood attracts both hipsters and lawyers that head to old dives and chic eateries, respectively.
Don’t let a few cracks in the pavement fool you. These European communities are some of the world’s best-kept secrets!
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Oude West / Westerpark
Western Amsterdam is split into Oude West and Westerpark, both working-class neighborhoods with an urban city culture. Some of the best deals for restaurants, cheap markets, and affordable nightlife can be found in Oude West, whose alternative and punky crowd has popularized the gritty rock bars, cultural clubs, and pool halls scattered. . . more -
El Raval
Despite El Raval’s reputation as one of Barcelona’s shabbiest and most intimidating districts, it undoubtedly boasts some of the trendiest bars in town. Populated by a diverse mix of immigrants, tattooed skateboarders, and hipsters, the area offers plenty of café terraces and avant-garde hangouts at which to spend a leisurely afternoon of. . . more -
Pigneto
Once a sleepy residential enclave, Pigneto experienced an influx of young and artsy residents that transformed the area into a thriving neighborhood full of hip new bars and galleries. The main street of Via Pigneto features a mix of old dives and chic eateries where the only constant is the crowd of edgy, punk, and alternative types that. . . more -
Brixton
Prior to the 1900s, Brixton was famous for its fields of lush strawberries, stunning windmills, and expansive open-air markets. By the 1940s, however, the farmland had long since given way to a culturally rich mass of new London immigrants, and today the streets are lined with kaleidoscopic murals, packed with ethnic eateries, and home to a. . . more -
Pigalle - 9eme
Essentially Paris’ red light district, Pigalle is certainly the city’s most mischievous neighborhood. Although the famous Parisian cabarets of Montmartre overflow into the neighborhood, Pigalle is dominated by strip clubs and sex shops whose proprietors are well versed in enticing passersby to enter their establishments. Unfortunately,. . . more -
Kreuzberg / Neukölln
Famous for its nightlife, its leftist politics, and its huge Turkish immigrant population, Kreuzberg – once a part of West Berlin – has always been known as a melting pot of immigrants, fringe groups, and members of the alternative scene. Now in a unified Berlin, the neighborhood finds itself situated near Berlin’s geographic center and is. . . more
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