Colombo is not a planned city. Shops and offices are in residential areas and the city has evolved organically and, at times, randomly. That is changing with a new zoned plan for Colombo and, even more, with the completely planned Port City, but the living heart of Colombo is, for the most part, improvised. So which parts of Colombo are currently the most interesting?

Thimbirigasyaya
Thimbirigasyaya Road was once infuriatingly narrow and then under ruinous construction for a long time. Now it’s opened up, which has created a new hotspot as it enters the city. A lot of new and interesting shops, restaurants and offices have opened around here. We mention these places because they’re interesting, but also because they’re in a (relatively) high concentration. This shows the effect of widening Thimbirigasyaya and the natural development that it’s led to. If you turn down Jawatte, you get to Colombo 7 (and Independence Arcade) and if you continue down Thimbirigasyaya you get to Colombo 5 and 4.

This places Thimbirigasyaya advantageously between the suburbs of Nawala/Nugegoda and Colombo proper. For a long time this advantage was obscured because it was quite possibly the worst road in Colombo, but they smashed out some houses and gardens and the road is now passable. Now people going from the population centres in the suburbs through Thimbi every day are stopping there as well.

 

Horton Place
Horton Place is another road connecting Rajagiriya and Battaramulla to Colombo, in this case Colombo 7 and 3. This has always been a nice area, but now it’s seeing more and more activity. Horton Place is emerging as a central space for the arts in Colombo, but it’s also near the nexus of coffee. Horton Place is also near what we call the coffee nexus. In a few square kilometers you’ll find Coffee Bean and Barista’s (on Horton Place); Cioconat, CaffePascucci and Tea Avenue (on Wijerama); and the Barnesbury and Paddington (on Barnes Place). And that’s not even everything. There’s a lot of coffee around here, and traditionally artists plus coffee has been connected to good things.

Gangaramaya
While Slave Island is undoubtedly developing, most of that area is already parceled out to big developers. The area around Gangaramaya Temple, however, is a bit more free-wheeling. The big Altair apartment complex is going to change a lot, but right now it’s already pretty happening, especially around the Park Street Mews.

That area – with the news and happening Cafe Francais and the Harpo joints Park Street Mews Restaurant and Curve – is probably the nicest private leisure stretch in the city. It’s also connected to a lot of interesting stuff in the neighbourhood. This part of Slave Island will change a lot as new apartment buildings come in, but it already has a good base of tourists and local attractions.

Liberty Roundabout
If Colombo had a royal crest, it could read Liberty, Majesty, Unity – the names of its major malls. We’ll leave out Crescat because that’s not a word. Liberty Plaza has long been neglected but it’s undergoing a major renovation. The new Movenpick Hotel is also rapidly coming up next door, and Cinnamon Red is already packed up the street. The Liberty Roundabout is emerging as a centre of Colombo life.

We know that we’ve pushed the definition of Liberty Roundabout a bit, but what we’ve mentioned is all within walking distance. We haven’t mentioned the Liberty Cinema and Colpetty Market which could both see significant changes and more post spots like Movenpick emerge around them.

The entire area on the north side of Dharmapala Mawatha is also quite interesting. Colombo 3 is considered posh and expensive, but the land between here and the Beira is actually filled with low-income houses on a few perches. It’s a central and yet ignored area.

Marine Drive
Marine Drive actually spans multiple districts, running from Colombo 3 to, now, Dehiwala. Like Thimbirigasyaya, it only really developed after the road was widened, again, smashing through existing properties to become wide enough. We’ll start on the Dehiwala side, which is the most interesting.

This is only a fraction of what’s happening on Marine Drive. New places are emerging there almost weekly. It also has less traffic than other roads (except during prayer times around the mosque) and it is rumoured that they’re planning to extend it down through Mount Lavinia. For years Marine Drive was neglected and a hidden gem, but it’s getting more and more polished every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honourable Mentions

 

What Isn’t Mentioned
What we haven’t mentioned here are the places which will obviously develop, i.e, the places where the government is pumping in money. That includes Dutch Hospital, the Racecourse and Independence Arcade. These places all have retail space to rent and are invigorating the neighborhoods around them, but they are not what we’d call organic development.

Grain of Salt
So that’s our opinion as to what some hot neighborhoods in Colombo are and might be. It’s just an opinion, so please don’t take it as investment advice. These are some places that have evolved some nice restaurants and shops and things to do, but that could all change. What remains is that the city itself is vibrant and alive in a way it’s never been and it’s stitching itself into fun and coherent neighborhoods before our eyes. It’s definitely a fun time to be in Colombo.