When I first visited Amman, the capital city of Jordan, I was expecting the total opposite of what I found. I was expected a religious, conservative city where women shouldn't walk the streets alone and men ruled the roost. Yet what I found was a hub of creativity, an electric cafe culture and a huge up-and-coming art and creative scene. It was no wonder Amman quickly became one of my favourite cities in the Middle East and I have gone back to visit three more times since (in a 4 month period). This city has me hooked, and here is exactly why you should be eating, drinking and hanging out in Amman!

Cafe Culture

Whenever I travel to a new country my top priority is to find a good coffee shops to spend hours watching the world go by in. I didn't have high hopes for Amman. Why? Because when have you ever heard that Amman has an amazing coffee shop culture? WELL NOW YOU HAVE. I was blown away at how hip these cafes were, and quite frankly I had never found a city with such a huge selection of cafes all as good as each other. Watch out Seattle, Amman is close on your heels.

Best coffee shops in Amman

Rumi Bldg. #14 Kulliyat Al Shareaa St,Jabal Al Weibdeh About as hipster as it gets!

Wild Jordan Othman Bin Affan St 36 Amman, Jordan Views of Amman for dayzzz

The Good Bookshop Jabal Amman Epic "rooftop vibes"

Cafe Strada 15 Muhammad Rashid Ridha A slice of peace on the bustling Rainbow Street

Food

Food is the heartbeat of Amman, and is its pride and joy. I dare you to have a bad meal while visiting this city - it is impossible. Whether it is a small road-side falafel shop or a high end restaurant you can guarantee the quality of your dish will be world class. There really is nothing like a Jordanian meal.

Al Quds Falafel Rainbow Street Amman The kings' been there...just saying.

The Living Room Jabal Amman, 3rd Circle, Mohammad Hussein Haikal St. / Bldg 3 Champagne and gossip kinda place

Sufra Al Rainbow St 26 Jordanian food at it's finest

Bars

Yes, people DO drink in Jordan! But if you were anything like me, you presumed there wouldn't be any hip bars in this predominately Muslim city. Oh, we were so wrong (thanks to the decades of expats that have settled here and created a bar scene - all be it a small one).

Maestro Restaurant and Bar 52 Baouniyeh St. Al Weibdeh Live music and wine. What more could you want?

Sekrab Jabal Amman, 1st Circle - rainbow Street - building #2, next to heritage hotel You'd think you were in NYC.

So when are you coming to Amman?

Amman, Jordan my first glimpse of my Middle Eastern tour. What a beautiful sight! Tomorrow I embark on a bus trip that will take me from Amman over the border to Israel. A trip known to be slow and tedious with no information online. What is life if not a daring adventure? #traveltheworld #Amman A post shared by ✈️Sarah Richard✈️ (@coffeethentravel) on Oct 19, 2016 at 8:04am PDT

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