This all-season rooftop bar combines the best of historic and modern Budapest. A cutting-edge, bi-level design—connected by a cantilevered, glass staircase—grants sublime views of the skyline and a front-row ticket to St. Stephen’s Basilica. Meanwhile the food and cocktail menu, overseen by the legendary c.1858 Gerbeaud Café, offers creations like the Chocolardier, a decadent mix of bourbon, campari, dark chocolate infused vermouth, chocolate liqueur, and Merry Poppies, a sweet-meets-savory blend of poppy seed infused whiskey, teriyaki, and citrus.

Discover the best views—and drinks—in China at the posh rooftop terrace of The Peninsula Shanghai, home to 270-degree panoramas of the glittering Huangpu River, and flanked by the classic architecture of the Bund and the futuristic towers of Pudong. Watch the flashing lights of the Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower while sipping rare whiskies, spirit-forward cocktails and Deutz Peninsula Brut NV, vintage Champagne bottled exclusively for select Peninsula properties.

Thailand is home to some of the world’s most amazing sky bars, but none carry the awe factor quite like this gravity-defying restaurant and bar combo, jetting 61 stories towards the heavens atop the Banyan Tree Bangkok. With 360-degree views extending to the horizon in all directions, it’s like hovering over Bangkok’s dazzling cityscape, a sensation heightened by multiple rounds of Dragon Ball, a potent mix of Cinnamon Chalong Bay (a national sugar cane and cinnamon-based rum), passion fruit wine, Amaro Montenegro, blood orange juice, and a drop of orange oil.

Toast to the romance and beauty of the City of Light, marveling at panoramas of the Eiffel Tower and Paris’s famed rooftops at this vintage aviation-themed lounge and terrace crowning The Peninsula Paris. The interiors (which include an actual plane) and the cocktails (like the Aviation and the Take Off) pay homage to French pilots Charles Nungesser and François Coli, who attempted the first transatlantic flight between Paris and New York on the plane L’Oiseau Blanc. We also recommend making a full meal out of the experience and even splurging on the famed, five-course, 165 Euros “Asparagus Menu.”

[Chile’s] trendiest locale is this clandestine rooftop speakeasy in the capital’s bohemian Bellavista neighborhood. Though it’s a members-only club, you can access it for nightcaps as a non-member when dining at Restaurant 040, an eclectic, multi-sensory restaurant located at ground level. After passing through a secret entrance and ascending a bona fide prohibition era elevator (imported from Chicago), you’ll see exactly why the industrial-chic space and drinks like the Sherlock Holmes—a citrus, cucumber and whiskey based cocktail served in a jeannie lamp—are all the rage in southern South America.

Head 10 stories above Barcelona’s frenetic Passeig de Gràcia to the top of the century-old Majestic Hotel & Spa for unobstructed views of the city’s thoroughfare and the Gaudi-designed Sagrada Familia. Sip on fruit-filled, Instagram-worthy sangria (the cava and red versions are equally delicious), snack on the signature tapas sampler by Michelin-starred chef Nandu Jubany, and strike a pose in front of the rooftop mural by Barcelona-based American artist Philip Stanton.

The world’s highest rooftop bar is exactly what dreams are made of. On the 118th and ultimate floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, you’ll bask in extreme views of Hong Kong Island while sipping an HK Skyline, a blend of Zacapa Centenario Rum, absinthe, Imperial Oolong syrup, pink grapefruit juice, lime juice, and Dom Pérignon foam. Oh, and if you do venture from the indoor bar to the outdoor terrace, try not to look down!

This small, quiet rooftop of the restored Casa Gangotena mansion peers over Plaza San Francisco in the center of Quito's colonial Old Town, the world’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Order a Cedrón Spritz, a refreshing mix of rum, lemon, sparkling wine, and fresh lemon verbena (cedrón) syrup and leaf, then revel in the mesmerizing montage of daily life in Ecuador’s capital as it parades past.

Just when we thought we had seen it all with coastal Thailand’s array of high-design rooftop infinity pools, in comes Baba Nest at Sri Panwa resort in Phuket. Baba Nest is a floating bar in the center of a mountaintop infinity pool, strewn with comfy, oversized pillows and serving Sri-jitos (Sri Panwa’s twist on the mojito with lemongrass-infused Belvedere vodka, lemongrass tea, fresh lime, and mint).

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico caught on a bit late to the rooftop scene, but its first (and currently only) high-rise bar was worth the wait. Say hello to the Rooftop at the Cape, a Thompson Hotel, which opened back in fall of 2015 and is still the undisputed place to see-and-be-seen in Los Cabos. Gaze at the Sea of Cortez, the cactus-speckled landscape, and the spectacular El Arco natural rock formation while sipping mezcal-forward cocktails.

Source: https://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2016-07-05/the-10-best-rooftop-bars-in-the-world by Paul Rubio