Best-of list · City Guide
The best bars with views across New York, London, Singapore, Rio, Hong Kong, and Sydney — elevation, vistas, and skylines worth the visit. Updated 2026.
The short answer
10 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
The best bars with views are not the ones with the best views — they are the ones where the view serves the bar rather than replacing it. A Manhattan skyline from a poorly executed cocktail is worse than no view at all. The best bars with views have solved the problem of creating a sophisticated drinking experience at elevation. They are rare. These are the ones we have found worth visiting.
American cities invented the tall bar with a view — the rooftop lounge, the tower bar, the hotel observation deck that serves drinks. New York and Miami have the best examples because they have the height, the density, and the capital required to execute these spaces at the highest level. The vertical bar culture in these cities is unmatched anywhere else in the world.