Ancoats has been named the hippest area in the UK to hang out in - and third best in Europe - beating three London trendy hotspots and the Baltic Triangle in Liverpool, according to TravelSupermarket’s UK Hip Hang-out Neighbourhood Index.

Manchester’s Northern Quarter is ninth on the list - and trendy Salford suburb Monton also ranks in 19th place.

The neighbourhoods index has been released by the holiday price comparison site and ranks the hippest areas in the UK and Europe to explore.

Ancoats is followed in second place by Leith in Edinburgh, with Birmingham’s Digbeth in third and Liverpool's Baltic Triangle in fourth. Top of the European Index was Kreuzberg in Berlin, followed by Riga in Latvia, just pipping Ancoats into third place.

Emma Coulthurst from TravelSupermarket says the aim of the Index is to inspire city breakers with ideas for new places to discover; “The Index will hopefully put Ancoats, Monton and the Northern Quarter even more on the map and encourage new and return visitors to explore Manchester.

(Image: Lucy Lovell)

“We scoured the UK to find the most current, independent-feeling neighbourhoods. The destinations on the list are exciting areas, unspoiled by commercialism, where locals love to hang out. They offer an eclectic range of food and entertainment away from more established areas”.

“You’ll be pleased to know that we didn’t base the ranking on beard-to-face and pints of craft beer ratios. Instead, we looked at everything from independent coffee shops and vintage fashion outposts to the local creative culture – the things that set a hip destination apart from the rest of the pack”.

(Image: Sean Hansford)

“Anywhere with ‘Peak Hipster’ status, such as London’s Shoreditch, didn’t make the cut – places like this are now overrun by chains. Instead, we wanted to find those areas where locals love to hang out due to the area’s independent creative spirit."

Ancoats has seen a raft of new bars, restaurants and coffee shops open in recent months, such as Ancoats Coffee Co, Seven Brothers Beerhouse and Mexica. Pizza restaurant Rudy's is widely regarded as one of the city's best and more food and drink operators are eyeing the area.

Manchester was recently named as one of the best places to visit in 2017 by US newspaper the San Fransisco Chronicle.