General

RANKD Team Sheffield edition.

RANKD Team Sheffield edition.

Sheffield has a reputation built around its universities, music and industrial past. But some of the city's most interesting places sit outside the standard student guide: a museum devoted to emergencies, a celebration of video-game history, creative spaces hidden behind old industrial façades and a brutalist housing estate that became an architectural landmark. This RANKD explores seven places that reveal a different side of Sheffield — its independence, creativity, history and willingness to do things its own way. Forget the usual student-night-out recommendations. These are the places that make you look at the city differently.

Seven questions designed to separate the confident table from the table that has already started arguing.

Seven questions designed to separate the confident table from the table that has already started arguing.

RANKD Team Dundee edition.

RANKD Team Stoke-on-Trent edition.

Leeds has a remarkable collection of stories that sound like inventions — until you discover the history behind them. From sheep grazing on the roof of an Egyptian-inspired Victorian mill to a protective cauldron hidden inside a house, a forgotten bear pit and the mysterious disappearance of a cinema pioneer, these are the stranger corners of the city’s past. Add an early aircraft built in Leeds, the accidental invention of a much-loved sweet by a Leeds-born scientist working in York, and a Chippendale masterpiece connected to Yorkshire and the world of million-pound antiques. Seven stories, one extraordinary region — how many would you have believed without checking?

Commedia dell’arte is one of the most influential traditions in theatrical history, bringing together masked characters, improvised performance and larger-than-life personalities in a uniquely Italian art form. From the cunning Harlequin to the miserly Pantalone and the pompous Balanzone, each mask represents a distinctive character, social type and comic tradition. Their influence stretches far beyond the original stage, shaping European pantomime, puppetry, clowning and modern comedy. These are seven of the most fascinating masks from a theatrical tradition that continues to captivate audiences centuries later.

Because summer > winter

Subjective

Excludes Megas

Because I love feeling happy

RANKD Team Poblacion edition.

RANKD Team Poblacion edition.

Poblacion is what happens when an old Manila neighbourhood refuses to stay in one lane. Historic streets, family-run eateries, ambitious Filipino cooking, independent coffee shops and bars with their own personalities sit alongside one another in a district that has reinvented itself without completely shedding its past. Its appeal isn’t just the nightlife: it’s the concentration of places with individual identities, often within a short walk of each other. These are seven things Poblacion gets right — and seven reasons it feels different from the polished business districts around it.

RANKD Team Poblacion edition.

RANKD Team Poblacion edition.

They’re really hard

RANKD Team Williamsburg edition.

RANKD Team Williamsburg edition.

RANKD Team Williamsburg edition.

RANKD Team Williamsburg edition.

RANKD Team Williamsburg edition.

Islington is one of those London boroughs that inspires unusually strong opinions. Ask seven residents what makes it special and you might receive seven entirely different answers, each delivered with absolute conviction. For some, the attraction is the restaurants and independent businesses around Upper Street. Others will defend its pubs, theatres, green spaces or architectural character. And then there is Arsenal, whose presence gives parts of the borough an identity that stretches far beyond London. What makes Islington interesting is the way these different identities overlap. Georgian terraces sit beside busy shopping streets, historic chapels have become celebrated performance venues, and residential neighbourhoods can feel remarkably peaceful despite being minutes from central London. Its history includes industry, political radicalism, working-class communities and successive waves of reinvention. The result is a place that resists being reduced to a single fashionable postcode. Of course, there are arguments against Islington too. Rising property prices, expensive restaurants, gentrification and the loss of independent businesses have all changed its character. Some residents see a borough that has become too polished; others see a neighbourhood that continues to offer an unusually rich cultural life. These seven subjects explain why Islington generates so much affection and disagreement. Each is illustrated by a specific place worth visiting, from a neighbourhood restaurant to one of London's most distinctive architectural landmarks. The question isn't whether Islington has character. It's which part of that character matters most.

Every neighbourhood has its disagreements, but Islington seems particularly well equipped to turn ordinary preferences into lifelong convictions. Ask where to find the best pub and someone will defend a traditional local while their neighbour insists on a gastropub with an exceptional kitchen. Mention restaurants, coffee or parks and the argument becomes even more complicated. Then there are the bigger questions. Is Canonbury a better place to live than Angel? Was Arsenal's greatest period the Invincibles, the George Graham years or the championship-winning side of 1971? And what actually constitutes the perfect Sunday in North London? These seven debates reveal something important about Islington. Its appeal is not concentrated in a single fashionable street or celebrated institution. The borough contains radically different versions of London, from the Georgian elegance of Barnsbury to the busy markets around Angel and the footballing heritage of Highbury. Every neighbourhood has its loyalists, and every institution has its competitors. We've chosen one specific Islington example for each argument, with a location you can explore for yourself. These are deliberately debatable selections rather than definitive answers. The pub you love might not serve the best food, the most attractive neighbourhood might not be the liveliest, and the greatest Arsenal side depends on what you value most about football. Seven arguments, seven places and no realistic prospect of everyone agreeing.

Islington has its frustrations. Housing is expensive, the main roads can be relentless and some of its most fashionable corners have become almost comically polished. But there are also things this part of London gets remarkably right, particularly when it comes to making everyday urban life interesting, convenient and enjoyable. Its greatest strength may be variety. Within a short walk, you can move from a quiet waterside path to an ambitious neighbourhood restaurant, an independent design shop or a tiny theatre producing work that deserves a much larger audience. Historic pubs continue to thrive alongside contemporary food businesses, while parks and nature reserves provide breathing space in a borough where every square metre matters. There is also the practical side of Islington. The area's excellent transport connections make it possible to enjoy the benefits of central London without relying on a car, and its mixture of residential streets, shops, cultural institutions and public spaces rewards people who explore on foot. These seven qualities explain why Islington remains one of London's most distinctive places to live and visit. Each is illustrated by a specific location, deliberately chosen to reveal something different about the borough rather than repeat its most familiar attractions. From an unexpected wildlife reserve near Arsenal to one of the capital's most important railway interchanges, this is Islington at its most useful, inventive and enjoyable.

Islington is full of places that are easy to overlook, even when you have lived in the borough for years. Beyond the familiar restaurants of Upper Street, the crowds around Angel and the footballing landmarks of Highbury lies a more surprising collection of independent institutions, extraordinary buildings, specialist businesses and neighbourhood discoveries. You can encounter modern Italian masterpieces inside a Georgian townhouse, meet farm animals a short distance from some of London's busiest roads, or eat exceptional Mexican street food in the middle of an old-fashioned covered market. Elsewhere, a medieval gateway conceals centuries of history, a Tudor tower offers occasional views across London, and a small music venue continues to provide the kind of intimate performances that make discovering a new band feel genuinely exciting. These are not necessarily Islington's most famous attractions. That is precisely their appeal. Each offers something distinctive that rewards curiosity, whether you are looking for an inexpensive family outing, an unusual cultural experience, a memorable lunch or somewhere to spend an evening. Our seven selections deliberately range across different parts of the borough and different kinds of experience. Each has a specific Google Maps destination, with practical details about what makes it worth visiting and any important access restrictions. If you already know every place on this list, you know Islington unusually well. If you don't, there are seven very good reasons to explore somewhere new.

Top 7 things ever. Simple as mate

I am a victim

I’ve never personally been shot as a way of rejection but I’m sure it wouldn’t be ideal