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An idea for now and future travels – Rooftop Bars!

Dark and Stormy Rum Cocktail with Lime and Ginger Beer

As I dream about future travel, as well as some current summertime fun, ideas lead me to think about rooftop bars and how they are the perfect diversion for current times and anticipated trips…

Rooftop Bars are the perfect recess

I admit it – I am a sucker for rooftop bars. I find the atmosphere so freeing, particularly when I’ve been traveling, and I arrive at a beautiful location overlooking a foreign city that I have longed to visit. I find that rooftop bars showcase the beauty of their particular city.

Finding the top rooftop bars

Settling in at a rooftop bar with an amazing view and crafted cocktail creates a sense of freedom and relaxation, which is the ultimate recess.

When you are traveling, I think taking a list of rooftop bars for a good-sized city is the perfect resource for an impromptu break in your sightseeing. For most major cities, you can google ‘CityName top rooftop bars’ and get a great list of places to try. I suggest not planning a specific spot to visit, but instead take the list of the various locations throughout the city, so then you can make a spontaneous stop when it strikes your fancy during your explorations. Rooftop bars usually attract locals also, so they aren’t just touristy, and sometimes it’s fun to end up chatting with a local.

Local Specialty Cocktails

One of my favorite things is to try the specialty cocktails, rather than order wine or a standard drink. Rooftop bars tend to have very interesting drink menus, often featuring local spirits or cordials, so it’s another way to get a sense of a city or destination.

Sometimes I’ll select a hotel based on its rooftop bar, or one nearby, like the one I choose in Barcelona right off Las Ramblas. It was the perfect location in a historic building, but the rooftop was my destination right as we arrived. What an ideal way to start a vacation!

And while I am a big fan of rooftop bars when traveling overseas, I also think they’re a lot of fun locally or when visiting cities in the US. When I met up with some other travel business owners in Washington DC, we found this great rooftop bar several blocks from our hotel, and it was fabulous to look out over the monuments of Washington and enjoy the busy chatter of all the locals who had just got off their government-related work.

I will give a shoutout to the corollary of the rooftop bar, and that is the mountainside bar, particularly when it overlooks the ocean. When I was in Italy with my mom a few years back, I planned a particular stop at a place I knew about Positano, with a terrace and fabulous views of the water and Capri below.

Now is a great time to venture out to a rooftop bar, as they will accommodate the social distancing while you enjoy fresh air, cityscape views, and relaxing refreshments.

Consider exploring some local rooftop bars as a little mini-excursion, and in the future, when you get back to international travel, keep the idea of visiting a rooftop bar as that perfect way to enjoy your destination even more.