Bars

Another ruin bar, with lots of very open spaces - worth a look, and good for big crowds.

Rooftop bar that's lovely at night - the city lit up below and a calmer pace than the ruin bars.

No frills, cheap beer, locals only by default rather than by design. Exactly what it should be.

The most famous ruin bar for a reason. Walk the whole place before you commit to a spot - main dancefloor right after the front door, a courtyard for smokers beyond it, and a warren of rooms upstairs each playing something different. Worth it even if you only stay for one drink.

Rooftop bar with pools and a proper cocktail list. Go at golden hour and dress up a little.

Very, very pricey - but if you can get up there for sundown, the view over the bay is breathtaking. Extremely professional, attentive staff, and the fig cocktail is one of the best cocktails I've ever had.

Candle-lit, cluttered, and dark in the best way - the Kazimierz bar everyone tells you about, and for once everyone is right.

A tiny bar just off the main square with over a hundred flavoured vodkas. Did a tasting flight here - six little glasses on a wooden tray - and it's the proper way to understand Polish vodka.

Drink prices rise and fall like a stock market, crash and all - lots of fun and best with a crowd, buying rounds when the market dips.

Drinks on the roof of the Kimpton Vividora, looking out over the Gothic Quarter. A proper golden-hour spot.

A cool little rooftop bar on top of The Hoxton, Poblenou - bathed in neon thanks to sitting right next to the Torre Glòries. Good city views, including the Sagrada Família.

Retro, red-lit cocktail bar in Ruzafa - atmospheric without being overbearing. A good second stop of the night.

Expensive and classy. Walk through the restaurant, past the main bar, and ask for the cocktail room behind the closed door - a great date spot for a post-dinner drink, with the famous interiors to enjoy while you're at it. Can be quite influencer-heavy, but worth a visit.

Hi-fi bar on Brick Lane. Sat outside on the long benches with drinks - prime people watching territory.

Does exactly what it says: everything has garlic in it, including the shots. Chaotic and brilliant.

Went for Christmas drinks - classy, with excellent cocktails that earn its prestige. A very loungey experience after dark.

Speakeasy cocktails with live jazz. Book a table - walk-ins are a gamble you'll usually lose.

Fun arcade bar that makes a good stop on a night out - Outrun 2 is my go-to.

Big-capacity bar with a great outdoor space and reasonable prices. Built for large groups - easy to meet people and just socialise without fighting for a corner.

Just a good beer and a cheeseburger. Dive-bar style, but with outdoor street seating a few steps from the sand.

Old-town Scottsdale cowboy saloon - packed, live music, sawdust-and-dollar-bills energy. Corny and completely great.

A little out of the way, but a very stylish bar - went round for one drink and it earned the detour.

A library-themed, fantastical bar with great cocktails - shelves of books, low light, and drinks that live up to the theatrics.

The 21st-floor bar at the Beacon Grand - the old Harry Denton's Starlight Room reborn. Art deco room, serious cocktails, and the city laid out below.

Had an Irish coffee at the historic bar - this is the place that made Irish coffee famous in America, and they still turn them out in production lines along the counter.