The Best Destination Cocktail Spots Worth Traveling For
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
The best cocktails come with a sense of place. From Champagne on the sand in Nantucket to inventive drinks hidden behind an unassuming Parisian façade, a new class of destination bars and restaurants is giving travelers another reason to plan a trip around what—and where—they drink.
At Galley Beach in Nantucket, cocktails are best enjoyed with your feet in the sand and Nantucket Sound stretching out ahead. We hear the family-owned restaurant has partnered with Veuve Clicquot for a summer pop-up that brings a touch of French joie de vivre to the island, with Champagne flowing against one of Nantucket’s most coveted waterfront backdrops. The restaurant is equally serious about wine, with an extensive cellar featuring some of the best bottles available. Between the Champagne, exceptional wine list, beachside tables and umbrella service, an afternoon here can feel more like the South of France than New England.
Also in Nantucket, Greydon House offers a more intimate take on the island cocktail experience. Set inside the historic boutique hotel, the bar feels polished yet relaxed, making it an ideal stop for a pre-dinner drink or late-night cocktail in the heart of town. Its restaurant, Via Mare, adds another layer to the experience with Venetian-inspired small plates designed for lingering over drinks, bringing a distinctly European sensibility to Nantucket’s dining scene.
Farther down the East Coast, Barlume Beach in Montauk, from LDV Hospitality, channels the effortless glamour of an Italian seaside escape. The beachfront setting makes it the kind of place where cocktails stretch into long afternoons, with the ocean just beyond the table and a relaxed, Mediterranean-inspired atmosphere that feels made for summer.
In Paris, Le 7 Cocktail Bar at Mondovi Luxury Suites offers a completely different kind of escape. Hidden in the heart of the 1st arrondissement, steps from Place Vendôme and the Tuileries, the intimate cocktail bar features a secluded terrace and a menu of signature drinks created by legendary bartender Colin Field. It is the kind of address that feels like a discovery—a discreet place to settle in for cocktails and light bites while tucked away from the energy of central Paris.
High in the mountains of South Tyrol, MIRAMONTI Boutique Hotel proves that cocktail culture can thrive far beyond the world's major cities. The hotel’s new Rotwand restaurant and bar embraces its alpine setting, offering a place to linger over drinks surrounded by the dramatic landscape of the Italian Alps.
And if a cocktail isn't your thing, MIRAMONTI takes its morning ritual just as seriously: the hotel even roasts its own coffee, bringing the same attention to craftsmanship to an espresso as it does to an evening drink.
On the coast of Crete, Calea at Acro Suites pairs cocktails with one of the Mediterranean’s most dramatic settings. Perched above the Aegean, the restaurant celebrates the flavors and ingredients of the island through a refined, contemporary lens, making sunset drinks feel inseparable from the destination itself. Come for a cocktail overlooking the sea, stay for a dinner that captures the wild beauty and culinary traditions of Crete.
For a Caribbean take on the destination cocktail, La Table at Hotel Le Toiny in St. Barts offers a setting that feels entirely its own. Perched above the island’s wild and windswept side, the restaurant pairs sweeping sea views with the kind of effortlessly glamorous atmosphere that defines St. Barts. Settle in for a cocktail as the light changes over the coast, then stay for dinner—this is the kind of place where one drink easily turns into an evening.
Together, these destinations prove that the world's most memorable drinking experiences aren't necessarily found at traditional cocktail bars. Sometimes the real luxury is the setting: Champagne with your toes in the Nantucket sand, an oceanfront aperitivo in Montauk, a hidden terrace in Paris, a drink surrounded by the mountains of South Tyrol, or a sunset cocktail overlooking the Cretan Sea. These are places where what's in the glass is only part of the reason to go.