Dubai's Business Bay is now on a list of top 10 coolest neighbourhoods in the world which also includes some trendy parts of New York, Lisbon and Florence.

Travel experts Lonely Planet included the waterfront leisure destination of Dubai on its list of the globe's must-visit locations, said a Wam news agency report.

Business Bay is becoming one of Dubai’s most exciting neighbourhoods, it said. Once a soulless expanse of half-built office towers, a casualty of the 2008 global financial crisis, the area is reinventing itself as a waterfront leisure destination, it said.

Bordered by glitzy Downtown Dubai to the north and intersected by Dubai Canal, there’s a 12-km-long promenade for strolling, while ferries cruise south to Dubai Marina and north to the Al Fahidi Historic District.

Things can only get better over the next few years as parks, playgrounds, marinas, hotels, cafes and boutiques pop up along the canal side. Away from the water, Bay Avenue is the community’s heart, with casual dining outlets, a pleasant park and a weekly farmers’ market during the cooler winter months, the Lonely Planet said.

The top 10 list is compiled using data gathered from Lonely Planet contributors all over the world, and the list also features Borgo San Frediano in Florence; Seongsu-dong, Seoul; The Triangle, Lisbon; Vesterbro, Copenhagen; Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur; Sunset Park, New York City; Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro; Frelard, Seattle; and Tooting, London.