Legendary bars
The hotel bars, speakeasies and cocktail rooms that set the standard, from Bar Hemingway at the Ritz to the best of The World's 50 Best Bars.
Bar Hemingway
A small, wood-panelled bar inside the Ritz, named after its most famous regular. Book a seat and leave the phone in your pocket.
Bar Nouveau
An intimate Art Nouveau-inspired bar in the Marais, ranked 15th in The 50 Best Bars 2026, up from 17th.
Danico
A bar behind the Daroco restaurant near the Galerie Vivienne, ranked 26th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
The Cambridge Public House
An English-style public house turned cocktail bar in the Haut Marais, all wood, leather and pub snacks. Ranked 13th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
De Vie
From the team behind Little Red Door: a cocktail bar with a gastronomic counter, built on seasonal, whole-ingredient cooking and a fermentation lab. A newcomer at No. 23 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Little Red Door
Behind the small red door on the Rue Charlot, a hushed bar for serious cocktail lovers, with a menu built on sustainable farming. Ranked 93rd in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Connaught Bar
Perhaps the most celebrated hotel bar in the world, famous for its martini trolley. Ranked 8th in The 50 Best Bars 2026, its 17th appearance on the list, more than any other bar.
American Bar at The Savoy
One of London's oldest cocktail bars, where Harry Craddock wrote The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. Live piano most evenings.
Dukes Bar
A small St James's bar famous for its martinis, mixed at the table from a trolley. Ian Fleming was a regular.
Scarfes Bar
A clubby bar at the Rosewood London with caricatures by Gerald Scarfe on the walls and live music at night. Ranked 77th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Satan's Whiskers
A dive bar from the outside and one of London's best cocktail bars within, with taxidermy, hip hop and a menu that changes often. Ranked 29th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Waltz
A hushed, seated bar opened in 2025, whose drinks follow Japan's 72 micro-seasons. A new entry at No. 32 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Three Sheets Soho
The Venning brothers' Soho bar, open from morning coffee to the last French 75, with a small wine list and food to match. Ranked 73rd in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Berlin
All of Berlin →Prague
All of Prague →Barcelona
Legendary bars in Barcelona →Sips
The world's best bar in 2024 and ranked 16th in The 50 Best Bars 2026: a bright, theatrical room in the Eixample.
Paradiso
A speakeasy reached through the fridge door of a pastrami bar in El Born. Ranked 17th in The 50 Best Bars 2026, when it also received the Legend of the List award.
Boadas
Barcelona's oldest cocktail bar, opened in 1933 at the top of Las Ramblas, with waiters in white jackets. Ranked 52nd in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Foco
Opened in 2023 by Tom Godfrey and Theo Quinn, formerly of Paradiso and Two Schmucks: classic cocktails reworked with kitchen techniques, in the spirit of the old foreign correspondents' clubs. Ranked 90th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Munich
All of Munich →Zurich
All of Zurich →Vienna
All of Vienna →Monaco
All of Monaco →Moebius Milano
A bar, restaurant and record room in a former textile factory, ranked 2nd in The 50 Best Bars 2026 and the best bar in Europe on the list.
1930
A true secret bar: its address is shared only with guests. Ranked 94th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Bar Basso
The bar where the Negroni Sbagliato was born, served in giant goblets. A Milanese institution.
Camparino in Galleria
The Campari family's bar at the entrance of the Galleria since 1915, with Art Nouveau mosaics and a view of the Duomo.
Drink Kong
Patrick Pistolesi's neon-lit bar in Monti, ranked 92nd in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Jerry Thomas Speakeasy
Rome's original speakeasy near the Chiesa Nuova, with a password and a strict code of conduct. Ranked 98th in 2025.
Stravinskij Bar
The bar of the Hotel de Russie, opening onto the terraced secret garden: Rome's classic aperitivo address.
Freni e Frizioni
A cocktail bar in a former car-repair garage above Piazza Trilussa, open since 2005 and one of the bars that shaped Rome's modern aperitivo. Ranked 62nd in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Edinburgh
Legendary bars in Edinburgh →Copenhagen
All of Copenhagen →Stockholm
Legendary bars in Stockholm →Florence
Legendary bars in Florence →Line
Ranked 5th in The 50 Best Bars 2026, Line occupies a former art gallery and is known for its own fermentations, most of them made in-house.
Baba au Rum
Athens's celebrated rum bar near Syntagma, ranked 55th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
The Bar in Front of the Bar
A playful Athens bar that climbed 28 places to No. 19 in The 50 Best Bars 2026, winning the Highest Climber award.
Barro Negro
A tequila and mezcal bar in central Athens, a short walk from Syntagma Square. Ranked 40th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Naked
A lively cocktail bar with a terrace on Agias Irinis Square in Monastiraki. A new entry at No. 76 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Istanbul
All of Istanbul →New York
Legendary bars in New York →Schmuck
A playful New York bar from the team behind Two Schmucks in Barcelona. Ranked No. 11 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Sip & Guzzle
A two-level bar with a lively room upstairs and a quieter, more intimate one below. Ranked No. 14 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Double Chicken Please
The bar that turned cocktails into dishes, with a front room and a back room. Ranked No. 53 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Employees Only
A West Village classic, open late, behind a fortune-teller's window. Ranked No. 78 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
King Cole Bar
The St. Regis bar beneath Maxfield Parrish's mural of Old King Cole, where the Red Snapper, the hotel's Bloody Mary, was introduced in the 1930s.
Bemelmans Bar
The Carlyle's bar, its walls painted by Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the Madeline books, with live piano most evenings.
Mexico City
Legendary bars in Mexico City →Handshake Speakeasy
A precise, elegant speakeasy, the best bar in the world in 2024. Ranked No. 6 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Bar Mauro
A small, focused bar that entered the list in 2025 and climbed into the top ten in 2026. Ranked No. 10 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Tlecān
A mezcal and agave bar. Ranked No. 47 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Licorería Limantour
The bar that started Mexico City's cocktail revival. Ranked No. 63 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
São Paulo
Legendary bars in São Paulo →Buenos Aires
Legendary bars in Buenos Aires →Bar Benfiddich
Hiroyasu Kayama's small bar, where many of the botanicals come from his family farm. Ranked No. 44 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Virtù
An Art Deco hotel bar high above Otemachi. Ranked No. 48 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
The SG Club
Shingo Gokan's bar in Shibuya, with a room above and a room below. Ranked No. 88 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Hong Kong
Legendary bars in Hong Kong →Bar Leone
Lorenzo Antinori's Roman-style neighbourhood bar, the best bar in the world for the second year. Ranked No. 1 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Argo
The bar of the Four Seasons, built around ingredients at risk from climate change. Ranked No. 25 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Coa
An agave bar, long ranked the best bar in Asia. Ranked No. 54 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Bangkok
Legendary bars in Bangkok →Singapore
Legendary bars in Singapore →Jigger & Pony
Singapore's long-standing classic cocktail bar. Ranked No. 18 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Nutmeg & Clove
A bar built around the flavours of Singapore's heritage. Ranked No. 38 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Long Bar
The bar at Raffles where the Singapore Sling was created, still famous for the peanut shells on the floor.
Sydney
All of Sydney →Good to know
Go early or book
The best bars are small. Arrive at opening time or reserve where you can.
Trust the bartender
Tell them what you usually drink and let them choose. It is the fastest way to the best drink in the room.
Respect the room
Many classic bars ask guests not to take photographs or make calls at the bar.