Great location to sit and drink and watch the world go by, on Piazza Santa Croce. The Santa Croce church is just yards away.
For such a prime location, the prices were surprisingly good. We only had drinks but at €3.50 per large glass of house white we were not complaining.
Service was good.

www.finisterraefirenze.com/
Piazza Santa Croce, 12 - 50122 Firenze
+39 055 2638675
(On Piazza Santa Croce with Santa Croce church only yards away)
Google map: bit.ly/MBannZ

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Decent bar a few streets off the main Borgo Stretto street, north of the Arno river. While it does feel a 'student type' of bar, we saw all ages there. A Counting Crows album was playing in the background the afternoon we visited.
Quite a big bar which has some free nibbles on the bar. Good choice of beers - the beer I had had an unusual passion fruit tinge to it!
Prices were very reasonable.

www.orzobruno.it/
Via Case Dipinte 6/8, 56100 Pisa
+39(0)050 578802
Google map: bit.ly/OhcnB1

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For a bar in the heart of Florence, it feels like a bar in a small town in Italy. Bar serves small tapa like portions (from 75c) as well as larger paninis.
What really struck me about this place was that people served themselves (both wine and food) and paid for it at the end. From the crowds of locals milling about the place on the road outside (as there is very little room inside) it seems like a popular spot.

Via de' Neri 65, 50122 Florence
+39(0)55 2382723
Google map: bit.ly/LPLoZ2

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For a bar in the heart of Florence, it feels like a bar in a small town in Italy. Bar serves small tapa like portions (from 75c) as well as larger paninis.
What really struck me about this place was that people served them selves (both wine and food) and paid for it at the end. From the crowds of locals milling about the place on the road outside (as there is very little room inside) it seems like a popular spot.

Via dei Neri, 65-red, 50122 Firenze, Italy
+39 055 238 2723
Google map: bit.ly/LCocAS

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Good find just off Piazza Santa Croce, this bar has a lot of outdoor seating along the roadside. For Florence the prices were very reasonable. Beer was about €4.50 a pint with wine about €4. The food menu is limited with meat and cheese platters served.

Centro Servizi Borgo Dei Greci Srl Piazza dei Peruzzi, 50122 Florence
Google map: bit.ly/LN2nNB

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The eastern Alpujarras is much less visited by tourists than the Granada end of these Sierra Nevada foothills and as such can give the feel of stumbling across ‘undiscovered’ hamlets.
After making our way from Almeria, our hire car laboured into the village of Fondon early one Sunday afternoon, the engine fan a high-pitched wheeze as it battled the Andalucian heat.
A bar in the main square was packed with what seemed like the entire population of the settlement with a huge 1970’s TV set placed high on a corner shelf blaring out a weekend football match.
Hungry after the journey, it was then time to put our rudimentary Spanish to the test, ordering tapas from the counter.

www.alpujarras.eu
Google map: bit.ly/MrW8xn

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For those of you who like your bars to be truly special then look to Mickeys at Elbow Beach. Situated right on the beach overlooking the Atlantic, this bar has it all, the perfect setting, wonderful staff, great fun, but most of all, the secret drink, 'the Special.' Only two members of staff know how to make it. The fun part is getting to know which ones they are.

60 South Shore Road Paget 0, Bermuda
+1 (441) 236 3535
Google map: bit.ly/KeYpBJ

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Between Covent Garden and the Thames, down Villiers St off the historic Strand awaits Gordon’s Wine Bar. This is London’s oldest wine bar and must be one of the world’s best. Visiting Gordon’s is a unique experience of London’s history. Before becoming a wine bar in 1890, the building was home to Samuel Pepys, and also an illustrious brothel or two. Outside, in Villiers St, the building now has the appearance of a deserted and condemned old building from Dickensian London and is often unrecognised by the most dedicated visitors. The only clue is the dusty original gas-lit lamp above the door, labelled “Gordon’s Wine Bar”. Take the narrow steps down into the unlikely darkness.
The bar has the appearance and feel of a dark basement untouched since Pepys left. Nicotine stained walls of tongue-n-groove boards, history-stained stone floors, and rickety tables and chairs under the low, brick-domed ceiling of the original wine cellars are not retro but original features. Candles light the reticent faces of illicit encounters. The staff are efficient and friendly and pull schooners and beakers of sherry, Madeiras, or port from the barrels stacked behind the bar. Excellent wines are also available by bottle or glass. Recently homemade food has been introduced, and the tables spill out into Watergate Walk to the side. But stay indoors to enjoy the uniqueness and excellence of Gordon’s Wine Bar, and drink deep the history of London.

www.gordonswinebar.com/
47 Villiers Street, London, City of London, Greater London
+44(0)20 7930 1408
Google map: bit.ly/KgfHO5

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Discovered this very good restaurant and winebar on the way back to Gare Du Nord. Its only 10 minutes on foot from checking in for the return Eurostar journey to London.
A godsend! Calm, pleasant environment with extremely tasty meals and wine. The serving staff were pleasant and helpful.
We will be back!

www.restaurantalbion.com/
80 rue de Faubourg Poissonniere, 75010 Paris
+33(0)1 42 46 02 44
Google map: bit.ly/LwJYDN

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This is one of the coolest tapas bars in Tarifa with a great wines list and they also serve amazing breakfasts.

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1560126075
Plaza de Oviedo, 11380 Tarifa, Spain
Google map: bit.ly/JwXzLP

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Alcohol is state controlled in Kerala and bars are kept strictly behind blacked out windows, or in international hotels. If you fancy a beer with the locals you'll have to head to one of the bars dotted around the city. Look for the big black and white diamond sign outside. The best of these is the Bar Oberoi on MG Road. It's not as dark and desperate as most of them, and is kept pretty clean (at least the rats and cockroaches are not visible). You'll be the only non-Indian in there, and if you're a woman you'll definitely be the only one. Between 5pm and 6pm most days the proprietor lights a series of incense sticks, each more smoky than the last, finishing with full-on frankincense that makes your eyes water, but smells nice. The food is average, freshly cooked, and has never made me ill.

MG Road, Ernakulam, 682035, Kerala
+91(0)484 2351609
Google map: bit.ly/MAryGV

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With its sparkling lights, 24 carat gilding and huge wall mirror at the back it seems like Le Greenwich goes on forever. And now, freshly reopened and gleaming after a costly renovation, it just might.
For too long this historic bar had wallowed in its own smoky grime, trading on its reputation of years of epic chess matches, rumours of original tiled bathrooms, and its most famous customer, René Magritte. Coming back I’m astonished at the transformation: it’s almost too new, and so shiny that Magritte would probably not recognise it. It’s certainly no longer a place where I can imagine any scruffy artist at the window trying to sell paintings. I haven’t yet spotted any chess players, either.
It took a private Dutch investor and some regional subsidies to finally save this listed building from leaks and bring it up to modern standards. Sitting in here you feel like a drinker in the first class lounge on the Titanic. I’m told by one of the waiters that Magritte used to sit in the right hand window viewed from outside - in any case, that table is always occupied! Drink one - drink three - but I think the food is better elsewhere - best to head next door for that (or try one of the many other restaurants nearby).

Rue des Chartreux 7, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium
+32 2 511 41 67
Google map: bit.ly/Ksb0N5

* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels

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I found this interesting website about the historic port city of Portsmouth, with many great photos. The site is quite informative for visitors (it lists accommodation, food and drink apart from the tourist sights) but what makes it special is the way it is presented and the beautiful pictures. Makes you want to go now.

discoverportsmouth.co.uk/

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Red Pif is a wine shop, wine bar and restaurant, tucked away in the crooked streets in Betlémská, in Prague Old Town. An urban feel establishment, Red Pif is quite modern in terms of Czech vinny bars (wine bars) and offers an interesting blend of Czech and French influences.
As well as a long and detailed wine list, Red Pif offers a daily food menu including varied meat and fish main courses as well as charcuterie plates for sharing.
Not the cheapest place to drink in Prague (many wines are around 60 czk for a small glass, and there is a corkage charge of 100 czk for drinking in-house), but certainly one of the most trendy. Book ahead – Red Pif only has about 10 tables for diners, and is deservedly busy throughout the week.

www.redpif.cz
Betlémská 267/9, 110 00 Praha-Staré Město, Czech Republic
+420 222 232 086
Nearest metro: Narodni Trida
Nearest tram: 17 or 18 (to Karlovy lázně)
Google map: bit.ly/KXPPBO

* Helen is our Been there local for Prague. Her page is here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/prague-local-helen-ford.jsp and she has her own blog here: czechingin.wordpress.com/

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Riva d'Arno is a new wine bar/art gallery on the banks of the Arno, a few minutes from Ponte Vecchio. It's beatifully designed with great views, fabulous food and wine and a new centre for art. It's a peaceful place to have a drink after walking around the city, a nice lunch overlooking the river or a supper as the sun goes down. It's definitely worth a visit.

www.rivadarnowinebar.it
Lungarno Soderini 7r
+39055280223
Google map: bit.ly/KhVLIc

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It's a cafe, restaurant and bar with a terrace with great views facing the Hudson.

www.boatbasincafe.com/
West 79th Street, New York, NY, United States
+1 212 496 5542
Google map: bit.ly/Jr3mlC
It's where W79 St meets the Hudson. Take a 1 train to 79 St and walk west (downhill), or take the M79 bus a block or so. Walk under the West Side Highway and keep going. You don't see it till you're there.

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Comala, known as “White Village of America” is a little Municipality of the State of Colima on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. It has a beautiful square and around it there are the "Portales of Comala", restaurants of a kind where you ask for a drink and they put the food ("Mexican antojitos"). You can eat with the "mariachi music" and with Colima's volcano and pass a good time. You have to taste the local drink "the Ponche of Comala"

www.comala.gob.mx/
Google map: bit.ly/KODN06

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China Club is a private members club owned by Sir David Tang housed over three floors in the former Bank of China Building (the new Bank of China Building towers sleek and angular across the road - you can’t miss it, look for the glossy black building with criss-crossing white lights). Although you usually have to be or know a member to get a reservation, most hotels should be able to get you a booking with enough notice and Black Amex Card holders can get Amex to book for them. The grey, brightly-lit street level entrance appears unimpressive but ride the Old Master Q cartoon lined lift up to the thirteenth floor and prepare to be wowed.
As the lift doors open you’re greeted by a lobby crammed with striking modern art, dark wooden floors and a wrought iron Art Deco staircase curving upwards to your left. The extensive Chinese art collection deserves a mention in its own right, and alone justifies a visit to the China Club. From Yu Youhan’s diptych of Whitney Houston next to Chairman Mao hanging on the stairs to Liu Jianhua’s porcelain fish bowl in the lobby - home to five pairs of protruding, disembodied legs as well as several live goldfish who casually swim around the scattered limbs. The restaurant is designed to resemble a decadent 1930s Shanghai club and everything from the ceiling fans to the lamps conjure a bygone colonial era.
Start with aperitifs up on the 14th floor in the Long March Bar, a glamorous slice of art deco opulence. After you gin & tonic, head back past the shoe-shiners and an enormous pair of wooden shoes to the main dining room. Slip into one of the red leather and dark wood booths and get your chopsticks at the ready for the Cantonese feast to follow. Be sure to order the Peking duck, I think it’s the best in Hong Kong. While you eat, if the people watching doesn't keep you entertained enough (Victoria Beckham visited on her recent trip to Hong Kong), prepare to be wowed by the chef who spins ribbons of noodles right in front of your table and the waiter with the watering-can-like teapots who serves your tea with a side of drama. After dinner, decamp upstairs to the elegant terrace for nightcaps under the stars overlooking the city lights.

12/F, The Old Bank of China Building, Bank Street, Central, Hong Kong Island.
+(852) 2521 8888
Google map: bit.ly/IQcv85

* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/natalierobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/

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New York has the Statue of Liberty and Central Park; London has Big Ben and Trafalgar Square; Paris has the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe; and Hong Kong has Victoria Harbour. Lots of my tips so far seem to feature the harbour in one way or another but that’s because it’s pretty spectacular.
Whenever I have visitors in town I always kick-off with some harbour view drinks on the Island side (mainly because I'm lazy and live on the island but also because I usually then do a set of light show drinks from the Kowloon side - see my Light Show tip). Whatever the time of day, it’s a great introduction to the city.
For the luxe drinks with a view option, head to Sevva in the Princes Building in Central. I've never eaten at Sevva but all reports seem to be along similar lines, disappointing and overpriced. I suggest sticking to liquid refreshments, sinking into one of the white-cushioned, comfy rattan sofas on the fabulous wrap-around terrace and imbibing while marvelling at the views across the harbour to Kowloon and back across the city on the island side. Service is erratic and the drinks are pricey, but with views like these, it's worth it.

For all the views without the hefty drinks bill, I have the perfect insider's tip for a budget option. Red Bar on the rooftop of the IFC mall is located on a big terrace facing onto spectacular harbour views. But here's the great bit - the rooftop is officially classed as public space, so although Red Bar has furnished the terrace, you're perfectly entitled to nab one of the tables even if you're not ordering drinks from the bar. I suggest popping into CitySuper, an international supermarket on level one of IFC mall, grabbing a bottle of wine and some nibbles from the delicatessen counter and then heading on up the escalators to bag your prime harbour view spot while smugly saving yourself enough cash to treat yourself to a smart dinner. My only caveat is that you need to grab paper cups while you're in the supermarket too, Red Bar are not particularly fond of people bringing their own wine and then asking to borrow glasses!

Sevva
www.sevva.hk/
6-14A Chater Road, Hong Kong Island.
+(852) 2537 1388
Google map: bit.ly/J5DV93

Red Bar IFC
www.pure-red.com/en/hongkong/index.php
4/f, IFC Mall, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong Island.
+(852) 8129 8882
Google map: bit.ly/J5E5gN

* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/natalierobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/

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Each night at 8pm, 40 of Hong Kong’s harbor-front buildings stage the light show. Its official name is the Symphony of Lights and if you believe all the hype you’ll be expecting a magical spectacle beyond anything you’ve ever seen, something crossed between the Aurora Borealis and the Disney World fireworks.
Let’s reset those expectations as a starting point.
Lots of buildings flash and shoot lasers into the sky on both sides of the harbour, if you stand in certain locations (the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront between the Avenue of Stars and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre; the promenade outside the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night) there’s accompanying music. There’s no real spectacle, there are no fireworks and Cinderella’s Castle doesn’t feature. It is however yet another excellent skyline photo opportunity and, in my opinion, a very good accompaniment to a gin & tonic.
The guidebooks will tell you to head to Felix bar to watch the show. Designed by Philippe Starck and located on the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel, Felix is a nice spot for a cocktail but it’s not an ideal light show vantage point as rather bafflingly, the bar’s windows are obscured by venetian blinds. Instead, I’d suggest heading to the Lounge Lobby bar of the Intercontinental Hotel which affords panoramic views of the harbour through huge waterside windows. The cocktail waiters mix a mean martini, which come complete with a miniature cocktail shaker full of top-ups. A couple of pre-8pm martinis and perhaps the Symphony of Lights will take on a more Northern Lights air after all …

Felix
www.peninsula.com/Hong_Kong/en/Dining/Felix/default.aspx
The Peninsula Hotel, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.
+(852) 2920 2888
Google map: bit.ly/ICR9fm

Lobby Lounge
www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/overview/hongkong
Intercontinental Hotel, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.
+(852) 27211211
Google map: bit.ly/IjfKnC

* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/natalierobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/

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