Rooftop Bars Around the World: Skyline Views from Bangkok to Athens

A good rooftop bar turns a city into a panorama: the river bends into view, landmarks line up, and the sunset gets a few extra minutes. This tour of famous rooftop and high-rise bars runs from Bangkok's Sky Bar to the view of the Acropolis from the old Hilton Athens, with the story of each building and view.

Rooftop bars in Asia

Sky Bar, lebua at State Tower, Bangkok

Sky Bar sits on the 64th floor of State Tower, a 68-storey, 247 m skyscraper in Bang Rak, high above the Chao Phraya River. It became world-famous after scenes of The Hangover Part II (2011) were filmed here, and the bar created the "Hangovertini" to mark the film, first serving it to director Todd Phillips.

Vertigo and Moon Bar, Banyan Tree Bangkok

On the 61st floor of Banyan Tree Bangkok, on South Sathorn Road, Vertigo is an open-air rooftop restaurant, and the adjoining Moon Bar serves cocktails and wine under the open sky. Both look across the high-rises of Sathorn and Silom.

CÉ LA VI (formerly Ku Dé Ta), Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

The SkyPark, a 1.2-hectare platform about 200 m up that links the three 55-storey hotel towers of Marina Bay Sands, holds one of Asia's best-known rooftop venues. Opened as Ku Dé Ta, it now trades as CÉ LA VI, a restaurant, sky bar and club lounge on the 57th floor with a panorama of the Marina Bay skyline.

1-Altitude, One Raffles Place, Singapore

For twelve years 1-Altitude, on top of One Raffles Place in Singapore's financial district, offered 360-degree views of the city from 282 m above sea level. It closed for good in March 2022.

The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong

The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong occupies the south tower of the Shanghai IFC complex on Century Avenue in Lujiazui. The view from its 58th floor sits almost face to face with the Oriental Pearl Tower, with the Huangpu River and the Bund below.

Vue Bar, Hyatt on the Bund, Shanghai

Across the river, Vue Bar fills the 32nd and 33rd floors of the western tower of Hyatt on the Bund and looks over the Huangpu River, the Pudong skyline and the historic Bund buildings. Its rooftop hot tub, a favourite in photographs, was removed when the bar reopened, leaving an open terrace.

Aqua Spirit, Hong Kong

Aqua Spirit and its sister restaurant Aqua fill the 29th and 30th floors of One Peking Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, with huge windows that take in the full length of Hong Kong Island across the water.

New York Bar, Park Hyatt Tokyo

On the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt tower in Shinjuku, the New York Bar pairs live jazz with a panoramic night view over Tokyo; the window tables go first, so come early for sunset. Sofia Coppola set scenes of Lost in Translation here, which made it a pilgrimage for film fans.

AER, Four Seasons Mumbai

AER crowns the 35-storey Four Seasons Hotel in Worli and is billed as India's highest rooftop bar, with an open deck looking out across Mumbai.

Rock Bar, AYANA Resort, Bali

Not a rooftop at all, Rock Bar is built on natural rock formations at the foot of the cliffs of Jimbaran Bay, 14 m above the Indian Ocean, at AYANA Resort in southern Bali. Guests ride a small inclined lift down from the cliff top, and sunset is the time everyone queues for.

Rooftop bars in Europe

Radio Rooftop, ME London

At ME London on the Strand, Radio Rooftop is a cocktail bar and terrace with a panorama that runs from the Shard and St Paul's Cathedral downstream to the London Eye and Big Ben.

Coq d'Argent, No 1 Poultry, London

Coq d'Argent fills the rooftop of No 1 Poultry, James Stirling's postmodern building at Bank junction, clad in even stripes of pink and yellow limestone and completed in 1997, five years after his death. Its terrace and formal garden give an unusually green view across the City of London.

Hotel de Rome, Berlin

The Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome stands on Bebelplatz, the square on Unter den Linden framed by the State Opera, St Hedwig's Cathedral and the Old Library. Its roof terrace looks down on the square and across the historic centre of Berlin.

Long Island Summer Lounge, Frankfurt

Frankfurt has Germany's most famous high-rise skyline, and this seasonal rooftop lounge looks straight at it, with the bank towers lighting up at dusk.

The Penz, Innsbruck

The Penz hotel on Adolf-Pichler-Platz, in the centre of Innsbruck, keeps its American bar, the Fifth Floor, on the roof. From the terrace the mountains of the Nordkette rise straight above the city, so in winter you can sip a cocktail while looking at snowy peaks.

ME Madrid Reina Victoria

The white Reina Victoria building on Plaza de Santa Ana, in the Barrio de las Letras, is now the ME Madrid. The hotel was long a favourite of bullfighters, and Manolete always reserved room 220. Its rooftop bar overlooks the tiled roofs and domes of central Madrid.

Galaxy Bar, Hilton Athens

Few hotel bars anywhere had a view like this. From the Galaxy Bar on the top floor of the Hilton Athens, on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, the floodlit Parthenon stood on the Acropolis across the city, with Lycabettus Hill close by. The Hilton opened in 1963 and became a landmark of modern Athens; it closed in January 2022 for a full rebuild, and the building reopened on 23 April 2026 as The Ilisian, home to the Conrad Athens hotel and private residences. An evening drink high above Athens, as the marble of the Acropolis turns gold, is still one of the finest ways to end a day in Greece's capital.

Rooftop bars in the Americas

Skye, Hotel Unique, São Paulo

Hotel Unique, designed by Ruy Ohtake and opened in 2002 in the Jardins district, is an inverted arc about 100 m long, often compared to a boat or a slice of watermelon. On its roof, Skye's bar and restaurant serve chef Emmanuel Bassoleil's cooking beside a red-lit pool, with São Paulo spread out all around.

La Purificadora, Puebla

This Grupo Habita hotel stands in the historic centre of Puebla, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its rooftop terrace with a long pool looks across to the domes and bell towers of the colonial city.

230 Fifth, New York

230 Fifth, at 1150 Broadway between 26th and 27th Streets, claims the largest rooftop space in New York City and sits a few blocks from the Empire State Building. From November to April, heated transparent igloos let guests stay outside in the cold.

Plunge, Hotel Gansevoort, New York

The rooftop of the Hotel Gansevoort, at 18 Ninth Avenue in the Meatpacking District, pairs a pool with a bar called Plunge, high above one of New York's nightlife hubs.

ROOF on theWit, Chicago

ROOF is the rooftop bar of theWit hotel in Chicago, with indoor and outdoor space and views over the city's towers.

Three Sixty, St Louis

Opened in summer 2011 on top of the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, Three Sixty lives up to its name: the view runs all the way round, into Busch Stadium, home of the Cardinals, and out to the Gateway Arch, the riverfront and the city skyline.

Perch, Los Angeles

Perch is a rooftop bar and restaurant high above downtown Los Angeles, looking out over the towers of the city centre.

Palihouse, West Hollywood

Palihouse West Hollywood is a boutique hotel with a relaxed rooftop where guests look out over the low roofs and palms of West Hollywood.

BO-beau kitchen + roof tap, Long Beach

From the Cohn Restaurant Group, BO-beau kitchen + roof tap on Pine Avenue in downtown Long Beach pairs a casual-elegant dining room with an urban-style rooftop beer garden: picnic tables, marquee lights and 50 craft beers on tap.

POV, Hotel Washington, Washington, DC

The Hotel Washington, which first opened in 1917, has one of the best views in the capital, over the White House and the Washington Monument. Its rooftop was known as POV during the years the building operated as the W Washington; in 2023 the hotel returned to its historic name, and the rooftop is now called VUE.

Rooftop bars in Dubai and Sydney

Cu-ba, Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, Dubai

Cu-ba was the Latin American–themed rooftop bar on the eighth floor of the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel in Garhoud, near Dubai Creek, with a pool, loungers and views of the skyline, the creek and the nearby golf course. It has since closed.

The Glenmore, Sydney

The heritage-listed Glenmore Hotel stands on Cumberland Street in The Rocks, the harbourside district settled soon after the colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788. Its rooftop terrace looks out over Sydney Harbour.

Tips for visiting rooftop bars

• Arrive 30 to 45 minutes before sunset to get a table for the best light.
• Many high-rise bars in Asia have a dress code: no shorts, sleeveless shirts or flip-flops.
• Book ahead on weekends, and check for minimum spends or entry fees.
• Open-air bars close in storms and high winds, so keep a plan B in the rainy season.

Love a view with water in it? See 29 Pool and Waterside Views: Infinity Edges, Resorts and Natural Settings, and for more of South America, Ten Colourful Places Across Latin America: Cities, Heritage and an Oasis.

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