Where high finance meets high art. Designed in the 1960s by Trix and Robert Haussmann (who are better known for their later Post-Modernist designs), the dark wood, shipshape bar is full of art that would be at home at the local museum. It’s martinis with a dash of Matisse. Try one of the local Swiss eau-de-vie, like the kirsch or prune.

If you want to have a drink without seeing anyone, the only place to go is Ogata. A two-level building with a restaurant, tearoom, and a sweet shop, this restored mansion has had Paris abuzz with its Japanese sophistication and minimalist design since its 2020 opening. The bar itself is an intimate, six-person sitting area with wabi-sabi built-in benches and partially hidden by a floating wall. When you want to channel Garbo in the City of Lights and “be alone,” this is the perfect hiding place.

Located behind an unmarked door, this mezcaleria is candlelit with high ceilings and the aroma of steadily burning incense—a mezcal temple of sorts. Choices rotate weekly, if not daily, so there’s always a reason to come back.

Located in an Art Deco building in fashionable Mayfair, The Wolseley’s double-height space was originally built as a glamorous car showroom in 1921. Although its afternoon tea offerings rival the Ritz next door, stiffer drinks are served morning til past midnight. Take advantage of the excellent kitchen and order some blinis with caviar, along with a glass, or a whole bottle, of Pol Roger champagne.

Formerly known as the Four Seasons restaurant bar, this Philip Johnson-designed classic is the definition of the elegant midcentury watering spot. All polished wood and shiny brass, the square bar has a floating metal sculpture by Richard Lippold above it.

A visit to the Fondazione Prada in Milan is a full day trip: heady contemporary art in the morning, lunch in the Wes Anderson-designed Luce Bar, temporary exhibitions in spaces designed by architect Rem Koolhaas in the afternoon, then drinks at sunset in the Torre bar. Located at the top of the art tower by Koolhaas and his office OMA, the Torre bar is filled with more art, significantly vintage ceramic sculptures by Lucio Fontana and a ceramic wall by Carten Höller.

Tokyo is full of perfect little holes-in-the-wall, where you can join the salarymen in enjoying a house specialty – in fact, the entire neighborhood of the Golden Gai in Shinjuku is flowing with charming tucked-away watering holes. But if you want a more elevated experience of a dark, moody Tokyo bar, nothing rivals Higashi Yama.

The Four Seasons hotel in Hamburg is as buttoned up as they get, with Louie Louie furniture, mirror-paneled walls, and orchids abound. But right at the entry of the lobby, hidden in plain sight, is a tiny, cozy two-level bar that could easily be mistaken for a janitor’s closet—if the janitor were cool and a tenured mixoligist. Smoking is allowed here, only adds to the old world naughty glamour.