Private members' clubs
The great members' clubs of Europe, from Mayfair townhouses and Paris hôtels particuliers to a Norman Foster clubhouse in Monaco. Membership is by application; we list the clubs and how they work.
Cercle de l'Union Interalliée
Founded in 1917, as the United States entered the First World War, in a former Rothschild hôtel particulier beside the British Embassy. French gardens where dinner moves outside in summer, and a 25-metre pool below.
Silencio
A club designed by the film-maker David Lynch and opened in 2011 beneath the Rue Montmartre: a maze of dark, candlelit rooms, a small cinema and a stage.
Saint James Paris
A neoclassical château in its own garden in the 16th arrondissement, a hotel and private club redecorated by Laura Gonzalez, where the Library Bar is the heart of the house.
Soho House Paris
Soho House's Paris house, opened in 2021 in an 18th-century mansion in South Pigalle, with bedrooms and a restaurant for members.
The Lansdowne Club
Founded in 1935 in what remains of Lansdowne House, Robert Adam's great 18th-century mansion between Berkeley Square and Curzon Street. Art Deco interiors, a ballroom and terrace, a historic fencing salle and an Art Deco swimming pool. It has welcomed women as members since the day it opened.
Annabel's
Mark Birley opened Annabel's in 1963 and named it after his wife. Since 2018 it has filled the whole of 46 Berkeley Square: restaurants and bars, a garden with a retractable roof, a cigar salon and the famous basement nightclub.
5 Hertford Street
Robin Birley's club, opened in 2012 in a warren of Georgian townhouses near Shepherd Market, with Loulou's, its nightclub, below. Discreet, famously hard to join and much loved by those who belong.
Mark's Club
Opened by Mark Birley in 1972, Mark's Club is a quiet dining club in a Mayfair townhouse, furnished in the English country-house manner and redecorated by Tino Zervudachi in 2015.
The Arts Club
Founded in 1863 by Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope and Lord Leighton for those with an interest in the arts. Today a Dover Street townhouse of restaurants, bars and a nightclub, with members from art, fashion and business.
Home House
A Georgian townhouse built for the Countess of Home and remodelled by Robert Adam in the 1770s, with its imperial staircase, glass dome and painted ceilings preserved. A lively club of bars, restaurants and rooms to stay.
Oswald's
Robin Birley's second club, opened in 2017 and devoted above all to wine and long lunches, with a cellar to match.
Royal Automobile Club
Founded in 1897 and at home since 1911 in a grand Pall Mall clubhouse by Mewès and Davis, the architects of the Ritz, with a marble swimming pool beneath. Its country clubhouse at Woodcote Park in Surrey has two golf courses.
Ten Trinity Square Private Club
A private club inside the former headquarters of the Port of London Authority, created by Reignwood with Château Latour and Four Seasons, and known for its wine.
Berlin
All of Berlin →Hamburg
All of Hamburg →Círculo Ecuestre
Founded in 1856 by riding enthusiasts, Barcelona's grand private club now occupies the Casa Pérez Samanillo, a modernista mansion at the corner of Balmes and the Diagonal. It counts more than 2,400 members.
Soho House Barcelona
Soho House's Barcelona house, opened in 2016 on a quiet square in the Gothic Quarter near the port, with bedrooms, Cecconi's and a rooftop pool.
Lisbon
All of Lisbon →Vienna
All of Vienna →Monaco
All of Monaco →Milan
All of Milan →Geneva
All of Geneva →Amsterdam
All of Amsterdam →Madrid
All of Madrid →Rome
All of Rome →Edinburgh
All of Edinburgh →Copenhagen
All of Copenhagen →Florence
All of Florence →Good to know
Members and guests only
Private clubs admit their members and the guests they bring. Being listed here does not mean the public can walk in.
How to join
Most clubs ask for an application and one or two members to propose you. Waiting lists of months, or years, are common.
Reciprocal clubs
Many traditional clubs have reciprocal arrangements: a member of one may be able to stay at another abroad. Ask your own club secretary.
Dress for the house
Each club sets its own code, and some still ask for a jacket. Check before your first visit.