Kronenhalle Bar

The Kronenhalle Bar opened in 1965 as an addition to the famous Kronenhalle restaurant at Bellevue. Gustav Zumsteg, the art-collecting son of the restaurant's founders, wanted it to be sans pareil, without equal, and he commissioned the Zurich architect and designer Robert Haussmann to create a classic American bar. Gustav, who lived from 1915 to 2005, had been hanging original paintings in the restaurant since the 1940s, and he brought the same eye to the bar. The result has hardly changed since, and the restaurant notes that many people consider it the best bar in the world.

The room is intensely atmospheric. The seat cushions are covered in green saffiano leather, the ceiling is panelled in mahogany, and five-armed alabaster lamps by the Swiss sculptor Diego Giacometti give the room a soft, moonlit glow. On the walls hang works by Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee, and the bar's own note that art even appears in the cocktail glasses captures the attention to detail. There is no background music, so conversation and the sound of the shakers set the mood.

Cocktails are the speciality, prepared with care and drawn from a signature repertoire built on guests' memories and favourites. Recipes go back to former head bartenders Paul Nüesch and Peter Roth, and the current bar host, Christian Heiss, who has won numerous bartending titles, keeps guests' favourite recipes in notebooks stored under the bar. The signature drinks are the obvious choice for a first visit.

The bar opens at 11:30 every day and stays open until midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until 00:30 on Friday and Saturday. Reservations are only accepted for the restaurant, not the bar, so arrive early in the evening if you want a seat, especially at weekends. Prices are high, as you would expect. It is perfect for a drink before or after dinner at the Kronenhalle or a performance at the nearby Opernhaus.

The bar is part of the Kronenhalle building on Rämistrasse at Bellevue, close to the lake, the Opernhaus, Café Bar Odeon and the Sternen Grill. The southern end of the Old Town and the Niederdorf are only a few minutes away along the river.