European Bar Guide

08/10/2026

Our Top 100 Bars in Europe 2026!

https://theeuropeanbarguide.com/top-100-bars-in-europe-2026/

06/10/2026

Have you taken a look at our 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲? 🔎 🗺️ 🍻

It's time for our annual rundown of the best pubs & bars in Europe! We've scoured the continent to bring you 100 of our absolute favourites. Take a dive in!

04/10/2026

Great to watch James Wright talk about the George at Norton St Philip. While it busts fatuous claims of other pubs as to their supposed history, the focus is on understanding how real, explored, documented history, and the preciousness that comes from real work can be a source of pride & identity to local communities.

Pubs are fertile ground for tall tales, with many claiming to be th...

03/10/2026

Litomyšl 🇨🇿

Ah, provincial Czechia. One of the joys of exploring this country is the number of magnificent historic towns you can visit.

There are certain motifs. A Zámek (château), a church with onion dome steeple, a rectangular central Náměstí (square) lined with painted gabled townhouses. Inevitably, a Pivovar (brewery) too.

Telč, Třeboň, Mělník, Litoměřice, Pelhřimov, Tábor, Humpolec, Kroměříž, Loket, Domažlice, Mikulov, Polička, Znojmo, Hradec Králové, Cheb. Just for starters. Enough here that it takes years to explore. But then, that's part of the joy.

Litomyšl is just off the main train line, requiring a 25 minute bus connection from Česká Třebová. These come and go frequently during the day. You're deposited by the chateau, a UNESCO world heritage site, because, of course they have one. Can't be letting the side down! This was the birthplace of composer Bedřich Smetana, whose origins you can follow on their tourist trail.

A short walk away is Veselka, a wonderfully low key Krčma type pub with a brewing operation. Not the typical bigger budget pub restaurant stuck on the main square. As it was autumn we plumped for Polotmavý ležák, semi-dark l***r which was full of toffee flavour.

After dropping down into town, explore the wonderful central square and views from the modern lookout tower over the town.

Amble along the town's stream, the water clear, clean and full of fish to Hostinec Za Vodou (Inn By The Water), a historic pub that is as local as it comes. A genteel, pretty exterior that could have been drawn by Josef Lada. Polička b**r for 36 crowns, and inside the rhythms of a tapster/server whose humour and charm slices through an otherwise quite male environment. It's a lovely pub though, somewhat of a throwback.

Make time for experiences like these when you visit Czechia. 🍻👍

30/09/2026

Plenty to dig into as always. The North does very well for train station pubs.

Converted from Victorian buffet bars, ticket offices and waiting rooms, these station pubs offer beautifully restored interiors, real ales and a slice of railway history

29/09/2026

Scroll through Instagram and you'll find HIDDEN GEM 💎 plastered on everything, from world famous b**r halls to major monuments. There is probably no more overused/misused term in travel or culture right now.

For central Europeans, the South Moravian city of Znojmo 🇨🇿 shouldn't really qualify as a hidden gem. With a historic core, towers, ring walls and superb valley views over the Dyje/Thaya, Znojmo turned 800 this August.

For me Znojmo has always been a happy place. The sun is always shining when I visit. The pace is slower, the world is at ease with itself. For the time being, what tourism there is accents rather than dominates the town, imbuing vitality rather than sucking its essence.

Znojmo is at the heart of Czech viticulture, but don't think it steps away from other beverages and distillates! There are breweries dotted around the city and wider area. It is probably one of the epicentres of alcohol culture in Europe with brewing, viticulture and Slavic spirits overlapping. However, here we are at the DOC for Veltlínské zelené/Grüner Veltliner production which is where we will concentrate. This is a white w**e which generally expresses as dry, with note of white pepper and a vinous quality.

You can explore the different attempts along with other Czech white w**e styles: Hibernal, Pálava, Tramin Červený etc at Enotéka znojemských vín, perched atop a promontory. This is part of historic brewery premises, just to reinforce my point further. Sadly a revival of the brewery went under last year saddled with mounting debts.

Enotéka's two super strengths are its machine samplers of 120 w**es, which is incredible, and the spectacular views from their terrace. You buy a card and merrily browse through the range from dry (suché), semi-dry, semi-sweet to sweet (sladké)

It's not often such an indulgent experience is also a great education and grounding for understanding the region.

For Western tourists, who may not associate Czechia with w**e, and are fed a staple diet of Prague and Český Krumlov, the PU tour in Plzeň, the bone church at Kutná Hora, Znojmo could be legitimately described as a hidden gem.

Take a 53 minute bus from Brno or, if coming from Vienna take a train to Retz on the Austrian side of the border and switch to the Czech line for a quick ten minutes ride including an amazing viaduct river crossing into the city. Retz 🇦🇹 itself is worth exploring as part of a trip here, with the largest network of w**e cellars in Austria.

🍷👍

21/09/2026

Nantes 🇨🇵
It's a first visit and a fleeting one, so getting to grips with the city's geography, connections and attractions quickly was important. Thankfully, its a city that makes this very easy.

The attractions are linked along a green line, ligne verte painted across the city. It's a city of boats and trams, both of which are free of charge on weekends. Stops like Chantenay, Trentemoult and Hangar a Bananes deposit you in different social scenes.

Chantenay is home to the impressive Atlantique Brewery with its vast converted space and outdoor seating overlooking the Loire. Trentemoult is an old fashioned fishing village with painted houses and folk festivals. Hangar a Bananes is your usual converted ex-industrial space with art installations, craft b**r taprooms and fab views.

In the city centre, smart grey-white renaissance architecture and a handful of worthy bars. B**r continues to surge to the ascendancy in France these days and most bars you visit will offer several on tap and usually at least one that can be fairly described as independent and local or from the region.

For b**r fans, Atlantique, Aerofab, Le Sur Mesure, 100p and Le Chemin de Traverse will have what you need.

For those seeking grand interiors, Le Cigale is a brasserie the equal of any in France.

For outdoor drinking try the Hangar a Bananes area, or Le Guingettes.

There is a real live music culture in Nantes, with an unusually high number of bars hosting music. Le Chat Noir and Zygobar are good starting points, as well as being a little bit alternative and offbeat.

All-in-all, a trip to Nantes has just the right amount of everything for a fulfilling long weekend. It could possibly use a few more interesting late bars and perhaps lacks true standouts, Atlantique, aside. It's unlikely to disappoint you though.

17/09/2026

After July's trip, there's a big update for our Spain 🇪🇦 page gone live today!

6 new bar profiles for Seville
5 new bar profiles for Cádiz
& 9 new bar profiles for Jerez de la Frontera

Updated maps 🗺️, galleries and full write-ups to explore!

We still have to complete San Sebastian and Zaragoza but as usual, working towards it. 💪✍️

For more, follow the link below:

https://theeuropeanbarguide.com/spain/

17/09/2026

When starting European Bar Guide I had no idea that simply what makes me human: flawed web design, spelling and grammatical errors, iffy photography and highly subjective tastes & whims would become an asset.

In helping illustrate our guide is run by humans, it is set apart from the likes of this new website below:

AI generated content, compost of sifted human memories and ancient web content into a soulless, joyless splurge of repetitive points. A machine trying to convey authority.

My favourite bit in their Berlin section is where it recommends that any clubbers worried about whether touching another clubber without their permission should seek guidance from an on-site awareness team.

Hopefully I'll continue ploughing along in human form to provide an antidote to sites like this.

Europe nightlife guides for every city — best bars, clubs, rooftop bars, pub crawls, and late-night food across London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, Barcelona and 55+ European cities.