s golden hour descends over the French Riviera, the rumble of supercars echos with increasing urgency across the Bay of Monte Carlo. Bar Le 300 doesn't take reservations, so it's first-come, first-served - and not everybody can get in. But when you do, ask the adorable head bartender, Julien Lecharpentier (bronze winner at France's premier cocktail competition, Trophees du Bar), for his twist on a classic martini. Then brace yourself: not just for the drink - sage-butter vodka, Cocchi Americano aperitivo, sage hydrosol and peated olives - but for the view.
At Le 300 - Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, it's genuinely hard to overstate how truly breathtaking the sunsets are from The Maybourne Riviera, the highest, Bugatti-accessible perch on the mountain behind Monaco, just across the border in France. Le 300 looks down on the former villas of Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld. Note: There's virtually no difference in the view from Le 300 versus hotel's adjoining restaurant, Riviera, which takes reservations. And if you see something on chef Guillaume Boumati's very Escoffier-inspired menu that appears to translate as poached leeks with egg white and anchovy sauce, don't ask questions: Just get it. Ditto the 30-hour lamb shoulder with roasted potatoes, burnt onions and preserved lemon. @themaybourneriviera
SELECT & REP
SELECT & REPLAC
Driftwood - Tokyo, Japan
The only thing better than one 43rd-floor drinking den looking down like a bird over Tokyo Tower is three bars rolled into one - each with a distinctive energy, soundtrack and menu. The top floor of the new Fairmont Tokyo is where the Driftwood trio hovers, the eponymous bar and grill merging international influences with Japanese culture as a piece of driftwood voyaging through the sea would pick up unique characteristics as it traveled, forming an encyclopedic offering of 29 libations. At the trio's Off Record, contemporary art-inspired cocktails - from a record-shaped menu no less - compliment the hi-fi sound system filling the atmosphere with the sound of spinning vinyl from the '80s and '90s. And then there's Yoi to Yoi, a Tachinomiya culture-esque standing bar for super-Japanese highballs, sours, sake and street food. Take your pick. @driftwood_fairmonttokyo
E WITH ANOTHER TEMPLAT
SELECT & R
Qura Bar - Hong Kong, China
In a metropolis where a stiff drink by itself isn't enough - because cocktail hour is a competitive sport - the decadent Qura Bar at Regent Hong Kong in Kowloon plays alchemist, gallerist and storyteller for cocktail journeys inside the kaleidoscope of glittering Victoria Harbour. The year-and-a-half-old bar has just revealed an eight-libation menu dubbed Salon de Qura that translates fine art into beverage for a museum of intoxicating taste. Elegant and luminous, the drinks reference sculpture, film, martial arts and even liturgy, each crafted to elevate texture and aroma, color and mouthfeel. Take the Hermione, a rich gin punch with cream cheese-infused Botanist Gin and strawberry notes, or the mineral-focused Beth-Luis-Nion marrying a 2014 single malt Scotch with notes of sundried tomato, guava, elderflower and cucumber. @qurahongkong
SELECT & REPLAC
Aether - Bangkok, Thailand
Most of Bangkok's rooftop bars let their sky-high views steal the spotlight, but at the new Aether, perched on the 44th-floor rooftop of the gleaming Central Park Offices, it's the bar's design itself that steals the show. The space revolves around two sculptural speakers, chrome- clad monoliths that double as the DJ's sonic backdrop. Come sunset, the light dances across the metal surfaces as the city shimmers below, while the high-concept cocktail menu by local mixology guru Noppasate Hirunwathit runs from smoky mezcal with paprika bitters and Thai tea curry to clarified milk punches laced with neem leaf or yuzu. @aether_bkk
SELECT & REPLA
SELECT & REPLACE WI
Leonessa - New York, New York
Most rooftop bars in Manhattan are sleekly designed perches positioned to admire the surrounding skyscrapers. Stunning, sure. But at newcomer Leonessa near Battery Park, atop the Conrad New York Downtown, the views come across much gentler - the Hudson River and Statue of Liberty. Still stunning, just a much broader vista. Islyn Studio's design feels more Amalfi Coast than traditional Gotham with lemon trees, a splashing terracotta fountain and a color scheme of peach, yellow and green, the perfect setting for one of summer's best Aperol Spritzes. @leonessarooftop
TH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
Torre - Milan, Italy
Porta Romana has lately become Milan's most compelling district, shaped by new developments and cultural spaces, and sharpened by the recent Winter Olympics. To experience it from above, there's no better perch than the terrace of Torre, the bar and restaurant at art hub Fondazione Prada. Designed by Rem Koolhaas with Chris van Duijn and Federico Pompignoli of OMA, the space plays on contrast: Eero Saarinen's Tulip tables, works by Lucio Fontana, and a sculptural bottle wall, in dialogue with a white concrete terrace suspended above an ever-changing skyline. Best at sunset, with a flight of negronis in four distinct expressions. @torre_ristorante
Writing: Brad Johnson, Kathryn Romeyn, Chris Schalkx, Marina Spironetti and Laurie Werner.
SELECT &
REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
CE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
E WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
EPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
LACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
Ready to go? These travel experts can help you plan a trip related to this article
Luxury Leisure Travel Agent
New York, NY
Thailand,Worldwide,Bangkok,USA,East and Southeast Asia
Found 4 Stories
OLTRE: Drinks-O-Rama!
As golden hour descends over the French Riviera, the rumble of supercars echos with increasing urgency across the Bay of Monte Carlo. Bar Le 300 doe...Read More
OLTRE: Under the Spell
Casa Cavada! It sounds like a spell from the world of Harry Potter. But there is a magic to this 8,300-square-foot, four-bedroom villa, and it has n...Read More
Park Hyatt - Private Addresses Around the World
The best addresses are known as much for where they are as for what happens inside them. Around the world, Park Hyatt has created a collection of ho...Read More
New Reasons to Return to Hawai'i
Four distinctive resorts reveal just how many ways there are to experience the islands. There is no single version of Hawai'i. A stay can put you at...Read More