54 Best Bars in Italy

The Gritti Palace is home to one of the most exclusive watering holes in town (though thankfully open to the public), lined with 18th-century paintings and Murano chandeliers. You can also enjoy your cocktail on the patio with prime views onto the Grand Canal.

Just outside Piazza San Marco (near the Museo Correr), Hotel Luna Baglioni's pleasant bar—complete with 16th-century art pieces and an 18th-century fireplace—is perfect for an intimate chat in the cold winter months.

The sign above the door simply says "CAFFÈ," but it has long since been called "Bar Rosso" for its bright-red exterior. The ideal people-watching spot on one of the busiest campos, it has far more tables outside than inside. A favorite with students and faculty from the nearby university, it's a good place to start the day with coffee and croissant, or later to enjoy a drink.

Get the best views in town from the large terrace of this café--bar, attached to Ristorante del Sole. It’s the most scenic spot in town for aperitivo; happy hour starts daily at 7 pm.

Although listed as a museum on Google Maps, Spazio Pitta is a vibrant bar and restaurant featuring art from Sicilian artists throughout its space. The art ranges from colorful oil paintings to intricate sculptures adorning the patio with a city view. Sip on a limoncello spritz while snacking on a selection from the antipasti list, which includes delicious arancini, cured meats, and cheeses. Get there early if you want to grab a table, as it gets busy, especially on weekends.  

Some patrons frequent this chic place just for a simple aperitivo at one of the outside tables, perhaps accompanied by the snacks beautifully laid out on the bar; others, who look like they've just popped out of one of the area's designer-clothing shops, come here to dine or gather in one of the upstairs rooms.

Although this popular place consists only of a kiosk set up to serve some outdoor tables, it is located on the Zattere and thus provides a wonderful view of Giudecca Canal. It's a handy meet-up spot for locals, especially students from the nearby university, and a useful stop-off for tourists in nice weather for a spritz or a panino. Keep in mind, though, that "the kiosk" exists for quick refreshments and not for lingering. The view and the sunshine (and especially the sunset) are the main draw; the food and drink, while acceptable, are not exceptional.

After a day at the beach, the place to see and be seen is Almarosa Art Music and Bar. The clientele during high season frequently includes Italian soccer players, celebrities, and politicians.

This knickknack-filled bar has lorded over Castelmola's town square since 1907, and if you manage to resist the pull of the enchanting view on the terrace, you can explore the historic interior to learn more about the village's past. Try the vino alle mandorle (almond wine) from a recipe produced by the original owner more than a century ago, then follow luminaries such as Guglielmo Marconi, Winston Churchill, John D. Rockefeller, and John Steinbeck by signing the visitors' book. 

With high ceilings, louvered windows, and expansive views of the city's rooftops, this modern architectural marvel is a great spot to enjoy a relaxing cup of tea or a predinner aperitivo.

This craft beer bar draws the neighborhood's hipsters and artsy types for artisanal brews from Italy and beyond. There's not much standing room in the tiny, graffiti-laden interior, so most people sit at the long picnic tables just outside. For the beer-averse, there are natural wines, plus Campari sodas or gin and tonics on tap.

This Venetian-style dive bar has strong cocktails, a jazz soundtrack, and hundreds of bras hanging from the ceiling. The lively daily happy hour is a great time to visit.

A year-round indoor-outdoor operation (with heat lamps), this bar is extremely popular with thirtysomethings, sometimes pushing baby carriages. Its large menu includes raw oysters. There's also a dining room upstairs.

Midway between Ischia Porto and Ischia Ponte, Bar Calise is allegedly "the biggest bar in Europe." Here you'll find everything you need for a good night out in one garden—you can choose between live music, a nightclub ('O Spasso), a piano bar, a restaurant--pizzeria, or a more traditional café. And if you have a hankering for a cornetto late at night, this is the only place on the island to find such pastry delicacies after midnight. Veteran Emiddio Calise runs this complex as well as two other bars and pasticcerie (try their specialty Monte Epomeo) around the island.

Don't expect too much from the nightlife scene here, but this decent café comes with plenty of tables outside on the main (and pedestrianized) shopping street, so it's a good place to sit and watch Mazara life pass by. Stop for a coffee or an evening aperitivo, when aperols or Campari spritzes come accompanied by tasters of panelle (chickpea-flour fritters), arancini, and crocchè (potato croquettes).

Seeking a laid-back, youthful vibe for late night drinks amid a crowd that spills outside onto a wonderful canal-side terrace in the summer months? Generator is a former warehouse turned hostel with an eclectic bar interior, DJ sets and chat lubricated by a decent selection of drinks. It's also cracking spot to grab breakfast and a beverage during the day.

At this long-standing gathering spot for students and creatives drawn in by the cheap drinks and lively atmosphere, the crowd spills out onto the neighboring cobblestone streets until the early morning hours. Spritzes are slung from a premixed container to keep the line moving, and most customers don’t bother asking for a glass for their bottle of beer. The lack of creature comforts is a part of the eternal charm.

This architecturally stimulating but dimly lit place has such artistic features as recycled fiberglass panels and vintage 1970s furnishings. The music is an eclectic mix of chill-out tunes during the daytime, with more upbeat and vibrant tracks pepping it up at night. Located on a quiet side street near the Duomo, STRAF, inside the hotel of the same name, draws a young and lively, if tourist-heavy, crowd.

Truly one of the most infamous places to have a drink in all of Italy, this bar has cozy nooks and crannies on three levels—all decked out with phallic images of every size, shape, and color imaginable, from bathroom wall murals inspired by the brothels of ancient Greece to giant wooden carvings honoring Dionysus. If you can get past the design choices, the roof terrace has extraordinary views of Taormina and the coast, while a limited selection of hearty pasta dishes are served inside.

With plenty of tables outside on Via Garibaldi, this is a popular Castello hangout for drinking and chatting from aperitivo time to late in the evening. It's also got a cracking selection of cichetti—mainly crusty bread topped with meats, fish, and cheese—to help soak up their excellent selection of Veneto vino.

At this cool backstreet hangout, which is open nightly till the small hours, you can listen to live or DJ-spun music while sipping your choice of a craft beer or cocktail from the lengthy drinks menu. A shorter food menu has a handful of burgers, panini, and desserts. On warm evenings, try to sit at one of the tables outside in the quiet piazzetta.

Enjoy aperitivi (apertifs) at this very popular bar, where aspiring local artists and savvy students hobnob until 3 am.

This café/bar is a trendy place for an aperitif or for a drink before going out to a show or dancing. It's in the large piazza at the end of Via Po.

The granddaddy of all the boho bars in Piazza Bellini was set up as a bookstore in the late 1980s and still has its own small publishing house and displays a variety of interesting titles, historic prints, and photos. Seats in the heated veranda are at a premium in winter, though many customers sit outside year-round.

Get a taste of Bologna's student life at this quirky joint run by Alessio, Edoardo, and a friendly troupe in an historic tabaccheria-bar premises. Take a seat inside by day or night amid an eclectic decor of old cassettes, artworks, and an ever-diverse soundtrack, or outside under the porticoes; choose from a menu of classic cocktails, beers, wine, and their beloved amari (Italian digestifs with a twist) plus juices, caffè, pastries, and toasted sandwiches.

Come here when it's summer for outdoor seating with a view of an 11th-century church (Sant'Ambrogio) directly across the street; the crowd gathers until past 2 am. Come here at any time of the year for perfectly mixed drinks and a lively atmosphere filled with (mostly) locals.

Students and alternative revelers crowd the tiny street outside this hole-in-the-wall cantina, where a spritz costs just €1.

In a neighborhood peppered with late-night bars and restaurants, this slightly grungy bar stands out for its nightly live music—mainly mellow jazz or folk—or more energetic DJ sets. The interior is tiny, but most people hang out around tables in the piazza. A good range of beers, wines, and cocktails is available.

This popular neighborhood hangout is decorated in wood and brick and has a couple of tables that have a great view of the canal. There are beers on tap and plenty of wine and sandwich choices from 10 am to midnight.