These 11 beautiful bars are worth travelling for
From an elegant clifftop spot in Italy to a bar that brags almost reach-out-and-touch Empire State Building views, the world’s most storied cocktail venues offer spectacular settings, both inside and out. And some iconic drinks, too.
“A bar is both a stage and an altar,” says Ben Reed, manager of London’s legendary Met Bar during the cocktail-heady days of the 1990s. “If you walk into the Connaught Bar, you’ll see tables and chairs on either side, with the bar like an altar at the top. It’s like a catwalk.”
And it’s no coincidence that London’s Connaught Bar is in a hotel. Hotel bars have often led shifts in cocktail culture — or sustained it in fallow periods. And a hotel’s licence to exist outside normal rules speaks to the escapist nature of bar culture. Escapism fuelled the creation of prohibition-era bars of 1920s America and the Tiki bars of the 1930s, while fashion and flex defined the 1990s. This was the colourful era of cocktail bar renaissance, led by Cool Britannia venues such as Match Bar, The Met and the Atlantic Bar, whose bartender Dick Bradsell invented the Espresso Martini.
This youthful energy and reinvention saw cocktail bars opening throughout the world by the mid-2000s, leading to the diverse, craft cocktail-led scene we see today. Cultural Union’s new photographic book, The World’s Most Beautiful Bars: Extraordinary Bars by the World’s Leading Designers, celebrates some of the most unique cocktail bars around the globe. Here’s our pick of its prime spots to drink it all in.
1. Mulberry, New York
When the founders of the Mulberry approached Swedish design studio, Ateljé Nordöst, their brief was clear: to create something that had been missing from New York nightlife since the early 2000s — the era of legendary cocktail addresses such as the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel and 1920s speakeasy turned A-lister nightclub the Beatrice Inn.
The collaborative result, they say, is a “living room for like-minded people”, characterised by little hideaway areas, low ceilings and historical nods including an inlaid brass ‘M’ logo in the entrance directly transposed from the signature on the original liquor licence dating back to 1895.
The VIP Whisper Room (an apparent favourite of Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio) comes with a domed ceiling and a curvaceous casting couch-like banquette — the perfect place to order a dirty martini that includes house-made blue cheese.
2. Nubeluz, New York
A bar named from a portmanteau of the Spanish words for cloud (nube) and light (luz), this rooftop spot on the 50th floor of the Ritz-Carlton NoMad in New York, designed by London-founded Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, commands superlative views of the Manhattan skyline. At night, as the lights dim, the onyx bar glows like molten gold, appearing to float against the sparkling backdrop – an elevated cocktail experience far above the streets of the city that never sleeps. And the menu reflects the map below, divided into Uptown, Midtown and Downtown sections. Try the Midtown headliner, Melon Cloud, made with Maestro Dobel Diamante Tequila, chai, Provence melon and lemon.
3. The Connaught, London
One of London’s smartest hotel addresses is fittingly home to two of the UK capital’s most storied bars. When David Collins Studio reimagined the Connaught’s former American Bar in 2007, the goal was to honour the hotel’s heritage — the building was formed of two houses originally owned by the Duke of Westminster — while creating something entirely new. The result is a series of architecturally linked rooms, stripped of their dated 1980s panelling and decked with shimmering wall surfaces created by Paris-based artist Pierre Bonnefille, along with furniture detailing inspired by Savile Row tailoring.
Nearby, hidden behind a velvet curtain, the Red Room is a speakeasy designed by Bryan O’Sullivan Studio, inspired by the Louise Bourgeois artwork ‘I Am Rouge’, which hangs above the rose-coloured marble fireplace. This cocoon-like space, centred around a pink-onyx bar and a mesmerising curved oxblood wall is the spot for grand cuvee wines, while in the Connaught Bar, you can order a bespoke Connaught Martini, served from a dedicated trolley.
4. Sketch, London
One of London’s most theatrical cocktail venues, this Mayfair stalwart is a complex of bars, galleries and restaurants. Each room has a distinct character reflecting the various designers who had a hand in transforming the 18th-century Grade II listed townhouse. The Gallery is perhaps the most iconic spot — India Mahdavi upgraded her original candy-pink vision in 2022 for the bar’s 20th anniversary, with a sunshine-yellow theme, including metallic wallpaper and gold banquettes, an African warmth echoed in paintings by renowned British-Nigerian artist, Yinka Shonibare. Elsewhere, the space-age East Bar & Pods were designed by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, a sharp counterpoint to the Glade (once the West Bar), an enchanted forest-like space.
A house of fun for glamour-seekers, Sketch also comes with a Lecture Room & Library, a three-Michelin-star restaurant and additional bars, including the Parlour. Head to the Glade’s ‘drinks laboratory’ for the Alchemy Espresso Martini, a crystal-clear coffee martini with hazelnut and tonka bean.
5. Maison Souquet, Paris
Tucked inside a former belle epoque ‘pleasure house’ in Paris’s Pigalle district, the bar at Maison Souquet is the lavish creation of acclaimed French architect and designer Jacques Garcia who transformed the red-light district address into a five-star boutique hotel in 2015. Step into a world of fin-de-siècle fantasy, which draws inspiration from the neighbourhood’s colourful past with velvet banquettes in crimson and purple, dark-wood panelling and silk-shaded lamps.
Gilded mirrors and chandeliers casting a glow over curios and art add to this masterfully staged visual feast — a kaleidoscope of arabesques and exoticism make it an immersive tour de force. Cocktails come inspired by belle époque courtesans, including the Leila, with raspberry-infused vodka, St Germain, citrus and ginger ale.
6. Casino Royal Palm, French Riviera
For almost a century, Cannes’ Royal Palm casino has embodied the riches, romance and mythology of the French Riviera. Built in the art deco age, but with echoes of the belle époque, the Palm Beach address has recently been dazzlingly reimagined by local architectural duo Caprini & Pellerin. The team credits influences of Bauhaus, Dadaism and Surrealism, but casual observers may note the unmistakable cinematic air of Wes Anderson in the design’s symmetry and whimsical sensibility.
Pull up a stool at the exquisite Botticino marble countertop bar, crowned by a custom satin chandelier, and order a Porn Star Martini, made with Cîroc French Vanilla Vodka, Passoã, fresh passion fruit and shot of Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne.
7. Baratta Sedici, Italy
On a clifftop spot above the azure waters of the Ligurian Sea, Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, is the starry Italian Riviera haunt of golden age jet setters, royalty and artists. The hotel re-emerged in 2025 after a multi-year renovation led by the creative vision of Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, and Baratta Sedici – a cocktail spot that’s welcomed Churchill, Bogart, Bacall and more – is at the heart of the redesign.
Now a pretty jewel box of a bar complete with hand-painted botanical murals, backlit onyx and copper panels, Baratta’s libations include Negroni La Vela, made with local Portofino Gin, Campari, Amaro Camatti and Pineo.
8. Cochinchina, Buenos Aires
Step into Cochinchina, in the buzzy Palermo district of Buenos Aires, and you’ll find yourself immersed in the vanished world of French Indochina. Since opening in 2020 under the direction of bartender-designer Inés de los Santos, this homage to Vietnam and France has become one of Latin America’s foremost cocktail spots, steadily climbing The World’s 50 Best Bars list.
Neon signs usher patrons into a softly lit space, crafted by local interior designer Eme Carranza, towards the buzzy U-shaped central bar or up the mirrored stairway to sample a tasting menu of cocktails. Franco-Vietnamese small plates pair with such standouts as the Jazmin Shanghai, marrying whisky, umeshu and jasmine tea. Don’t miss the wall of (faux) goldfish in bags, in the bathrooms.
9. Atlas, Singapore
In many ways, this central Singapore bar encapsulates one of the things that’s so special about cocktail culture — the sheer chutzpah of creating a decadent palace dedicated to the art of crafting incredible drinks. Self-described by Atlas as ‘a celebration of the grand art deco lobbies of Europe,’ this Hassell Studio-designed bar has won multiple international honours since opening in 2002.
Cascading fresco murals, 50-foot ceilings and gilded bas-reliefs are centred around a monumental, three-storey brass and glass tower that houses what is reputedly the world’s most extensive gin collection — more than 1,300 varieties. And if gin’s not your thing, step into the rose-gold champagne room stocking more than 250 labels.
10. Handshake Speakeasy, Mexico City
Ranking number two in 2025’s World’s 50 Best Bars list (topped by Hong Kong’s Bar Leone), this Colonia Juárez district venue embraces an enduring archetype of bar design — the prohibition-era American speakeasy. The venue was launched in 2018 by co-owners/designers Eric Van Beek, Rodrigo Urraca and Marcos Di Battista. Its black tones, vintage mirrors, dark velvet upholstery and gold accents create a theatrical sense of concealment and reveal, where hidden doorways, velvet curtains and a low-lit foyer open into a series of intimate-yet-expansive rooms over multiple levels.
The cocktail menu, characterised by libations processed in the on-site ‘laboratory’ over 24 to 48 hours, features tiny taster-size classics and signatures including Once Upon a Time in Oaxaca, garnished with smouldering steel-wool, reminiscent of an agave in flame.
11. Artifact, Hong Kong
If Stanley Kubrick designed bars, this cinematic, subterranean spot, tucked into a secret passage near Victoria Harbour, might just be it. The post-industrial, futuristic vision of local studio NC Design & Architecture sees rib-like arches rise from floor to vaulted ceiling — a playful, Brutalist cistern-like space punctuated by shadowy concrete and ersatz surveillance cameras. Densely tiled walls recall a sinister acoustic chamber and circular portholes glow with artificial late afternoon light.
Come for a cinematic slice of Kubrick’s 2001: Space Odyssey, stay for cocktails that currently showcase spirits by Valdespino — one of Spain’s oldest sherry producers — and whisky from Scottish single malt house The Macallan. Try the Palomino Gold, combining apple and sage with Valdespino Amontillado with Macallan’s 12 Year Double Cask.
