10 fabulous gin bars around the world for lovers who love gin

Arguably the most romantic thing you can do with your lover is take them to an amazing place for the weekend. What makes it even more special? Gin cocktails in chic settings of course! Here’s our pick of some of the most romantic gin bars around the world for you to visit with your best ginpal. (PS: these fabulous gin bars would also be more than suitable for best friends, new friends, or solo travellers!)

Winter is often cited as the best time to visit New York for a romantic getaway: think ice skating in central park, a horse-drawn carriage ride under blankets in Central Park, and hot chocolate as you gaze up at the sparkling city skyline. But, oh my, can it get cold - and we mean COLD! So here’s our tip: head to the Prohibition-style speakeasy Bathtub Gin in the Chelsea district to warm you and your gin bunny up!

With an ultra-cosy underground lounge setting, the two of you can get even cosier by sipping a classic New York cocktail together in the bar’s signature bathtub. Gin cocktails, plus live hot jazz and burlesque performers… is anyone else feeling a bit steamy yet?!

I mean. Would you look at that view? Do we really need to say anything else to sell you in on the suggestion that the Skyline Rooftop Bar is a pretty special place to sip your gin and tonic with your loved one?

Once you and your partner have had your fill of delicious gin cocktails like a Rosemarytini and a Spring Cobbler, you could walk the short distance over to the world-famous Harry’s Bar, where they serve one of the world’s strongest Dirty Martinis - 10 parts gin to 1 part vermouth!

With a perennial spot on the list of the world’s top 50 bars, Barcelona’s Dry Martini first opened its doors an incredible 40 years ago! Suffice to say, these bartenders know their stuff when it comes to gin. Today it mixes up a wide range of cocktails to order that you can share with your Valentine in its comfortable lounge setting while admiring the traditional - enormous - gin-stacked bar shelves.

Something of a Melburnian - and indeed, Australian, institution, the Gin Palace was well ahead of its time in terms of the gin trend, as it has been serving up delectable gin-based tipples for some 20 years now. This lavishly decorated subterranean den invites guests to recline on velveteen chaise longues, surrounded by drapes, oil paintings, and crystal chandeliers - all while being waited upon by uniformed servers.

It’s pretty relaxed, though; there’s no dress code and with a 3am licence, things often will get quite, um, relaxed! Well, with a world-class gin selection like this, you were always going to be there for a while, weren’t you?

With a modernist interior that harks back to the ‘50s (and a jazzy soundtrack to match), the informal little Bluebird bar on the edge of Paris’s trendy Bastille district might not be the most elegant or sophisticated, but boy, do they know gin. Mixologists can whip you up anything from a classic Clover Club to something innovative based on your own tastes.

As if this gorgeous little secret courtyard wasn’t enticing enough, this Cape Town hidden gem is actually an artisan chocolate shop and cafe by day, which turns into a fairy-lit gin bar by night. What genius came up with that concept?! Basically, The Gin Bar is the perfect spot. Oh, and they do gin tastings of local gins with paired garnishes, too. What did we tell you? Genius!

Perched on the 10th floor of the achingly hip Bikini Hotel, the award-winning Monkey Bar is a trendy rooftop bar with floor-to-ceiling windows offering fabulous views across the Berlin city skyline, including the neighbouring monkey enclosure at Berlin Zoo (hence the name).

There are plenty of gin cocktails, both classics and signatures, for you to drink while you murmur “ich liebe dich” into your partner’s ear and gaze out from the terrace over the twinkling lights of the German capital, away from the hustle and bustle of the streets below.

You’ll gasp upon entering the 25-foot-high gilded cavern that is Singapore’s Atlas Bar. This stunning Art Deco-style space houses a floor-to-ceiling bar hosting a world-class collection of more than 1000 gins, with some rare vintages dating back to 1910 and others brought in by an expert team from all corners of the globe. You’ll be hard pushed to find a more elegant spot to sip your gin cocktails with your loved one.

Sleek, stylish and a little bit sexy: Botanical Club is a very Italian bar. But it’s not just any old bar - it’s also a gin micro-distillery! Based in the heart of Milan, it boasts a drinks menu that will send gin-lovers into rhapsodies, with one of the biggest gin selections in the city and plenty of signature cocktails to choose from, all focusing on local botanicals, herbs and plants.

You may need to ask one of the (highly skilled) bartenders for help with translating the menu though, as descriptions, although in English are a little, well, Italian… the ‘Dreamlike’ cocktail is accompanied simply by the words: “Love is a flower and you got to let it go. “ We heart you, Italy.

San Francisco’s Whitechapel is dedicated exclusively to the pursuit of educating the masses about gin’s huge versatility and potential for deliciousness, and showing them a good time while they’re at it. Consequently, guests can cosy up at one of the red velvet-lined booths or perch themselves at the Victorian-style tiled bar and tuck into a massive choice of gin-based cocktails - with over 120 to choose from, and more than 400 different gins to boot, you could be in there a while… well, it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it?