Gastown named 4th most stylish neighbourhood in the world

October 9, 2012

Posted by Vancity Buzz | 27 »

Locals already know that Gastown is by far and away the hippest neighbourhood in the city. It’s full of great bars, shops, boutiques and is a constant hive of creativity. According to Complex, it’s been named the 4th most stylish neighbourhood in the world.

From Complex Magazine:

Notable Businesses: Haven, Inventory, Meat & Bread, Livestock, Acme Cafe, Neighbour, Roden Gray, Stussy

Gastown has become a menswear hotbed as of late, with well-regarded shops like Haven, Inventory, and Roden Gray holding down the scene. Established the same year Canada became a nation, Gaston is the oldest neighborhood in Vancouver. There’s been a different vibe here, dating all the way back to the Gastown Riots of 1971 where police battled with hippies who had organized a smoke-in inside of the neighborhood. Gastown’s blocks are full of gorgeous Victorian buildings that provide unique scenery for what’s currently an emerging neighborhood. It also offers a mix of cool boutique fashion shops, interior design stores, restaurants, nightclubs, and real estate. Naturally, creative types are drawn to the neighborhood, but it’s also become a prime location for law firms and new media. The neighborhood hosts the Vancouver International Jazz Festival and Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix. All in all, Gastown is home to numerous well-dressed people whose grassroots style reflects the community.

Top Ten Stylish Neighbourhoods in the world:

1. 1st Arrondissement, Paris

2. Harajuku, Tokyo

3. SoHo, New York

4. Gastown, Vancouver

5. Kreuzber-Friedrichshain, Berlin

6. Wynwood, Miami

7. Sodermalm, Sweden

8. Ladbrooke Grove, London

9. Central Districk, Hong Kong

10. Brera, Italy

Image by neilpriv

Eschelle

really?!!? considering how dirty it is, the fact that it is so close to one of the dirtiest street corners and the fact that it always smell like urine I am actually surprised.

I have always loved Gastown for it’s amazing preserved history etc… but really? most stylish!?!?

note: that corner building in the picture there has the BEST little antique shop, they have “wash away your sins” moist towelettes

again I LOVE gastown.. this is not a poo poo on Gastown… my dad even lives in a dirty motel there just right of where that picture was taken actually. I don’t talk to him anymore though…
http://twitter.com/nick69h Nick Harborne

This is what im talkin about… the only spot in van with some damn SOUL~!
http://about.me/esoltys Eric James Soltys

Gastown doesn’t host the Jazz Festival anymore. The much cooler Make Music Vancouver event is now celebrated in Gastown instead. I’ve worked in Gastown for 10 years and my coworkers for 20+ and it’s amazing to see the change. That being said…
http://twitter.com/sicklove Dylen Durret

It is stylish as fuck
guest

Is this a joke? Gastown is my least favourite part of the city. All the most annoying tourists go here to look at the down-trodden logging version of quebec city and the giant piles of drug addicts. And it is full of cheap tourism boutiques… apart from the odd furniture store…
http://twitter.com/CoastalSprite Jen

Wow love Gastown but I’m surprised it’s ranked so highly..
The dude

Gorgeous victorian buildings? First I doubt many are that old, they don’t look it. And if you want to see amazing Victorian architecture outside of England, go to Melbourne or Sydney
Drummerboy4

Tourists, annoying poser hipsters, drug addicts everywhere, expensive furniture stores and tacky gift shops amid a few cool bars and cafes. Yeah…
Ckkc

Pretty sad when its the only neighbourhood in Canada to make the top 10.
Movieche

The place is heck on earth on the weekends…
http://twitter.com/seedoyle Conor Doyle

I’d probably understand if it was voted fourth most stylish neighbourhood in downtown Vancouver but the world??? Edinburgh, Galway, Rome etc all have neighbourhoods that should make the list. Having said that every time I drive up Water St or Cordova before turning up Richards I do think I would love to live in that area……… Then I get to Yaletown and I’m glad I don’t
Michael

this is hilarious. Have you;ve never been top the Plateau?

Gastown is pretentios, not cool, and full of clueless tourists.

Montreal, St. Laurent et Prince Artur; St. Denis entre Ontario et Maissonneuve are all better than Gastown. I live around the corner from it and grew up at St. L and P.A. per above.
Mainlander

What is there on the Plateau? It’s just a bunch of hipsters sur le B.S.
Lucas

I love Gastown but definitely not 4th. East London isn’t even on the list!? Definitely not a credible source.
Pachita

Who voted? Hahahahaha… this is a joke, right?
Peter1

LOL, you obviously don’t get out much, haven’t been to GTown lately and are old
The area has adrguably the top 6 or 8 restaurants in the city, great clothing/coffee shops and amazing architecture…
I was just in SoHo last month and GTown definitly deserves the comparisons…
Free Bird

Gastown – are you kidding me?! With those old smelly bars, dirty streets and crackheads all over the place? Who makes those sort of rankings? Probably the Vancouverites, or the journalists, definitely not the world. I also think that there are so many other cities in Europe alone that surpass Gastown by light years.

So stop making up stupid charts that are not true!
John12

Free Bird…are you on crack?
15 of the best restaurants are tucked in a 2 block radius of Gastown and the best clothing stores and coffee bars are everywhere in Gastown…not to mentioned the hip young families with money moving into the trendy loft buildings….you obviously don’t get out much
Pam

Gastown is amazing….get out from under your rock…superb restaurants galore, amazing clothing shops and trendy coffee bars everywhere not mention hip internet companys moving in…just sucks that you can’t afford to by a condo there, I guess…
Tourists come to Gastown for it’s amazing food, clothing stores and buildings…Living in 1982 sucks! LOL…WAKE UP!
http://twitter.com/Eddy_Elmer Eddy M. Elmer

I love Gastown, warts and all. It’s not synthetic like most other parts of Vancouver.
No6655321

Just behind SoHo!? That’s high praise
http://profile.yahoo.com/BFSGNXEVXQE44ERNSZNV3XBGRQ Lilly

I know I’m really late to the discussion, but I was just down in Gastown last weekend and the eastern part of it has changed dramatically! A lot of the older, unused buildings have been restored and new, high-end shops area popping up everywhere. The tourist traps are still there but they’re clustered around Waterfront Station and the Steam Clock.
http://profile.yahoo.com/BFSGNXEVXQE44ERNSZNV3XBGRQ Lilly

You obviously haven’t been down there for awhile and are mistaking the DTES for Gastown. The majority of the shops they’re talking about are either on the border or west of the DTES. I think most of the critics are concentrating too much on size. Gastown is tiny compared to the others but it’s cohesive and a clear case of quality over quantity. Vancouver does the micro-neighbourhood quite well and Gastown deserves the attention it gets. It’s not the same place it was only a decade ago.
http://www.facebook.com/No6655321 Tom-Eric Halvorsen Jobi

old bars??? theyre all new bars and new fashion shops… fluvog.. one of the top designers of shoes in the world… its about fashion and style and its def up there. its also pricey but spend a week eating shopping and iving your life in the area and youd get why
JovialKiss

Gastown is NOT a neighbourhood. It’s part of the Downtown Neighbourhood like Yaletown and Coal Harbour. The West End and the DTES are their own separate neighbourhoods.
Angel Vancouver

For those seeking some early Gastown history, I have posted here: http://angelvancouver.com/2013/02/22/a-short-history-of-gastown-the-birth-of-vancouver-canada/
Mademoiselle B.

Nonsense

Gastown named 4th most stylish neighbourhood in the world

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