Any good city break involves an evening spent in a bar overlooking the city you’ve been walking around during the day. When I’m writing my mp3 tours and my audio walking tours I’m also careful to include at least one rooftop bar.
So, here are my top ten rooftop bars:
1. The Rainbow Room, New York. This beautiful art deco bar at the top of the Rockefeller centre is a must for anyone looking the best bars in New York. I once saw Elizabeth Taylor here – she looked less than impressed to see me.
Rockefeller Plaza, www.rainbowroom.com.
2. Coq D’Argent, London. Near the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange this rooftop has elegant lawns and box hedges. The City isn’t great at night but this is one of the best places to have a drink and look at the new skyscrapers being built. For more information see our Guide to the City of London
No1. Poultry, www.coqdargent.co.uk
3. Rooftop Bar, Hotel Raphael, Rome. Just a martini cocktail’s throw from the lovely Piazza Nova, this elegant bar in one of Rome’s smartest hotels is mercifully free of the usual tourists. There are also views of the Vatican. For more about the Piazza Navona and Rome itself visit our Guide to Rome.
Largo Febo, 2 (Piazza Navona). www.raphaelhotel.com
4. Skyline, Hilton Molino Stucky, Venice. Venice is one of my favourite cities and I go whenever I can to update our Venice iPod tour. It’s not great for places with views from above but this bars lets you gaze down on the Guidecca Canal as far as Piazza San Marco and it’s where I first discovered the delights of a Negroni.
Giudecca 810, www.molinostuckyhilton.com/restaurants.php
5. La Terraza Del Urban, Hotel Urban, Madrid. Spain’s capital is one of the grandest cities in Europe, as we explain in our guide to Madrid. It’s also one of the coolest and, with its striking armchairs and sofas, lit by candlelight and its glittering swimming pool, this is one of the coolest bars in Madrid.
Carrera de San Jerónimo, 34, www. www.derbyhotels.com
Tags: bars in London, bars in Rome, bars in Venice, best bars, rooftop bars