The 33 Best Bars in Switzerland
Switzerland is missing from the 2026 world list, but the best bars in Switzerland run from Zurich's Langstrasse to a cellar bar in Thun. Late Bloomers on Dienerstrasse is the only Swiss bar on Europe's first 50 Best Bars list, at No. 44 in 2026, and its Papara puts feta, cucumber and tomato together with retsina and agave spirits. In Basel's Kleinbasel, Norbu Tsering and Martin Bornemann's Herz sits in a 19th-century building in the remains of the old town wall, looks out on the copper stills of the distillery that supplies many of its spirits, and changes its menu with the seasons, often with ingredients the owners forage themselves. In Thun, Atelier Classic Bar sits in a vaulted cellar some 250 years old on Rathausplatz and was named Best Longseller Bar at the Swiss Bar Awards 2025. Absinthe was first distilled in Couvet in 1792, banned in 1910 and legal again in 2005. At Atelier, indoor tables can be booked only until 8pm, and the terrace takes no bookings. These are the thirty-three we would start with.
EUROPE'S 50 BESTCocktail BarLate Bloomers
Late Bloomers is a contemporary cocktail bar on Dienerstrasse in Kreis 4, off the Langstrasse, opened in November 2022 by Aineias Chilas, Stylianos Kalemis and Vangelis Dimitris, three bartenders from Greece. It aims to be a second or third home, a safe and welcoming room for open-minded, international guests, and serves modern cocktails and high-quality coffee. The drinks lean Mediterranean; the Papara mixes retsina, tequila and mezcal with tomato, cucumber and feta. Local DJs play funk, soul and new disco on weekends, and the team offers private events, bar catering and bartender training. It holds No. 44 on Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026 and The Best Bar in Switzerland title.
Dienerstrasse 20, 8004 ZürichTue–Thu 18:00–00:00, Fri–Sat 18:00–02:00Full profile- Bar LupoCocktail Bar
Bar Lupo
An Italian-inspired food bar in Zurich's Kreis 4 built around three pillars: housemade pasta, natural wine and cocktails. The list runs to roughly 140 natural wines, and the aperitivo-style cocktail menu includes a signature Negroni with pomegranate and bergamot, served alongside dishes like pappardelle ai funghi. No reservations.
Badenerstrasse 155, 8004 ZürichTue–Sat 18:00–00:00Full profile - Bar am WasserPINNACLECocktail Bar
Bar am Wasser
Bar am Wasser sits on the Stadthausquai in central Zurich, overlooking the Limmat near the lake. Host and co-owner Dirk Hany opened it in 2018 around the idea of fine drinking: every guest is seated, there is no standing room, and the evening opens with an amuse cocktail before a three-course tasting menu of starter, main and dessert drinks, in High, Low or No volume. Single cocktails are there too, and the menus change every season. Behind the bar sits a 25-square-meter lab with rotary evaporators and centrifuges. It holds one Pin in The Pinnacle Guide and was named Switzerland's Bar of the Year at the Mixology Bar Awards 2023. It is walk-in only.
Stadthausquai 1, 8001 ZürichTue–Wed 16:00–00:00, Thu 16:00–00:30, Fri–Sat 16:00–01:30Full profile - Widder BarHotel Bar
Widder Bar
Widder Bar is the bar of the five-star Widder Hotel on the Rennweg in Zurich's old town, nine medieval townhouses that architect Tilla Theus joined into one hotel in 1995. The bar has its own street entrance and sits among ancient wooden beams, red leather seats and a lapis lazuli wall. It holds more than 650 whiskies among some 1,200 spirits, poured as rare drams or in custom-crafted cocktails, and live piano carries on a long jazz tradition; reservations are not accepted. The hotel says the bar ranks No. 1 in the DACH region on the Top 500 Bars list. It won Best Hotel Bar (2022) and Best Longseller Bar (2023) at the Swiss Bar Awards and is a 2026 Best Hotel Bar finalist.
Widder Hotel, Rennweg 7, 8001 ZürichMon–Thu 12:00–01:00, Fri–Sat 12:00–02:00, Sun 12:00–00:00Full profile - Old CrowCocktail Bar
Old Crow
Old Crow is a spirits bar on the Schwanengasse in Zurich's old town, run by Markus Blattner, with more than 1,700 bottles on its shelves and a particular focus on whiskey. Its motto is to offer not something for every guest but a great deal for a few, and service is tailored to each one. The cocktail list is arranged by base spirit, from aperitifs and Champagne drinks to sake, pairing classics such as the Martinez and Corpse Reviver No. 2 with rare and forgotten recipes and house creations like the Nachtvogel with Islay whisky, port and Champagne. The bar keeps exclusive bottlings, among them a 2007 Caol Ila from a PX sherry cask. It takes no reservations.
Schwanengasse 4, 8001 ZürichTue–Sat 17:00–00:30Full profile
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Cocktail BarHerz
A modern cocktail bar on Clarastrasse that is also a neighborhood room, somewhere to end a day or start a night. From the counter you can see the copper still through the window, which tells you what the house cares about.
Clarastrasse 11, 4058 BaselTue-Sat 18-01Full profile
Hotel BarLakeview Bar & Cigar Lounge
A bar and cigar lounge at the Bürgenstock Resort, on the ridge five hundred meters above Lake Lucerne.
Bürgenstock 17, 6363 ObbürgenFull profile
Hotel BarMO Bar
MO Bar is the cocktail bar of Mandarin Oriental, Geneva, on Quai Turrettini by the Rhône. Head bartender Christophe Pinto writes the cocktail and mocktail list, whose current edition is framed as a travel journal of flavors gathered across continents. The room is dressed in smoky brown and turquoise, the bar also serves tapas and classic drinks, and the terrace stays open until midnight.
Quai Turrettini 1, 1201 Geneva, SwitzerlandMon-Fri 10:30-00:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-00:00Full profile
Cocktail BarTales Bar
Tales Bar calls itself Das Cocktail-Wohnzimmer, Zurich's cocktail living room: a late-night bar on the Selnaustrasse run by hosts Michel, Mark, Adam and Wolfgang, now in its second decade. The menu reads like a book in five chapters: Classics à la Tales; low-alcohol drinks built only from ingredients of 20% ABV or less; tiki under Welcome to Paradise; zero-proof cocktails; and Our Holy Cows, house favorites such as the Coppersmith Negroni and Lee Loo that have stayed on the list for years. Several signatures are sold bottled to take home, reservations are taken by phone, and the team runs a bar catering service, Rolling Tales.
Selnaustrasse 29, 8001 ZürichThu–Sat 20:00–03:00Full profile- American Bar Château GütschHotel Bar
American Bar Château Gütsch
The bar of the Château Gütsch, the turreted hotel on the hill above Lucerne, with the lake and the Alps below it.
Kanonenstrasse, 6003 LucerneFull profile - Atelier Classic BarCocktail Bar
Atelier Classic Bar
Atelier Classic Bar is a cocktail bar on the Rathausplatz in Thun, run by owner Ivan Urech for over ten years. It won Best Bar Menu at the Swiss Bar Awards 2021, and in 2025 the same awards named Atelier their Best Longseller Bar. Bartender Baris Aydin became Swiss classic cocktail champion in 2026. The bar opens daily from 4 pm to 12:30 am; indoor tables can be booked only until 8 pm, and the terrace takes no reservations.
Rathausplatz 3, 3600 ThunFull profile - Bar 63Cocktail Bar
Bar 63
Bar 63 is a rum bar on the Rolandstrasse in Zurich's Kreis 4, behind the Langstrasse, on the Zinistrasse corner where the room once traded as Chez Sylvia. The back bar holds more than 70 rums, and the house pours its own rum at 63% ABV, the base of the signature Punch 63. The cocktail menu changes with the seasons, and past editions have been built around tiki, mezcal and the 1980s. The same team runs J.B. Labat, a spirits shop a short walk away. Bar 63 takes no reservations.
Rolandstrasse 19, 8004 ZurichFull profile - Bar Beau-Rivage PalaceHotel Bar
Bar Beau-Rivage Palace
The bar of the Beau-Rivage Palace at Ouchy, on the Lausanne shore of Lake Geneva.
Place du Port 17-19, 1006 LausanneFull profile - Bar IrisHotel Bar
Bar Iris
Bar Iris is the mixology bar of the Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle, in The Circle, the development beside Zurich airport. It sits in the wing linking the hotel to The Circle Convention Center, with Swiss design touches and a view over the main square, and the hotel says its wide drinks list takes its cue from Swiss ingredients. The menu runs in playful chapters, from spritzes such as the Mountain Mist with Mount Rigi, St-Germain, prosecco and cucumber to Smoky Business, where the Black Magic Truffle mixes mezcal, Campari, vermouth, black truffle and strawberries. Bar Iris is a finalist for Best Bar Menu at the Swiss Bar Awards 2026.
The Circle 41, 8058 ZurichFull profile - Bar Les Trois RoisHotel Bar
Bar Les Trois Rois
The bar of the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, on the Rhine at Blumenrain, in a house that has taken guests since the eighteenth century. Panelled and formal, with a terrace over the river and a classics list served to the standard the room implies.
Blumenrain 8, 4001 BaselFull profile - BarflyCocktail Bar
Barfly
Barfly describes itself as Basel's hidden gem, a gin bar that opened in February 2015 and has grown its collection past 338 gins, which it calls the largest selection in town. Guests who cannot choose are steered to a gin tasting board, four gins and a tonic, and there are single malts, beers and premium soft drinks for anyone not in the mood for a mixed drink. Open Tuesday to Saturday from five, in the St. Johann quarter.
St. Johanns-Vorstadt 11, 4056 BaselTue-Thu 17:00-23:00, Fri-Sat 17:00-01:00Full profile - Canvas Bar & LoungeHotel Bar
Canvas Bar & Lounge
Canvas Bar & Lounge is the lobby bar of The Dolder Grand, the 1899 hotel on the Adlisberg above Zurich, with views over the city, the lake and the Alps. Küchel Architects redesigned the room for the hotel's 125th anniversary, tying it to the house art collection, and the work was shortlisted at the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2025. Head bartender Matthieu Doucet, who learned his craft in London, has led the bar since January 2022; signatures include the Dolder Negroni with strawberry-infused Campari and a Grand Espresso Martini made with the hotel's own coffee liqueur. A DJ plays in the evenings, and seating is first come, first served. Canvas was named Best Hotel Bar at the Swiss Bar Awards 2023.
Kurhausstrasse 65, 8032 ZurichFull profile - Carlton Bar & LobbyHotel Bar
Carlton Bar & Lobby
The bar and lobby of the Carlton in St. Moritz, facing south over the lake and the Engadin valley.
Via Johannes Badrutt 11, 7500 St. MoritzFull profile - Chedi Bar & Living RoomHotel Bar
Chedi Bar & Living Room
The bar and living room of The Chedi Andermatt, in the Urseren valley at the foot of the Gotthard pass, with a fireplace and a long whisky library.
Gotthardstrasse 4, 6490 AndermattFull profile - Das Werk 8Cocktail Bar
Das Werk 8
A bar and kitchen in the Gundeldingen quarter, in a converted works building on Dornacherstrasse. It runs themed evenings and set menus alongside the drinks, so the room works as a restaurant and a bar on the same night.
Dornacherstrasse 192, 4053 BaselFull profile - Dr. ZhivagoCocktail Bar
Dr. Zhivago
Dr. Zhivago is a cocktail lounge on the Bärengasse, off the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich's financial district, built around its own Swiss spirits label, Dr. Zhivago Spirits. The house range runs from vodka, yuzu vodka, gin and rum to breadwine and cherry, pear and raspberry spirits, and the signature cocktails start from them, such as the clarified Velvet Curtain with breadwine, blackberry, poppyseed and Szechuan pepper, or the Tokyo Sidecar with yuzu vodka and sake. The bar admits guests aged 21 and over and asks them to keep their phones away.
Bärengasse 29, 8001 ZurichFull profile - Eden BarHotel Bar
Eden Bar
Eden Bar is the bar of La Réserve Eden au Lac on the Utoquai, the lakeside hotel that Philippe Starck reworked as an imaginary yacht club. Its menu follows a 50/50 concept: half cocktails, half mocktails, with every cocktail given a zero-proof counterpart made with the same care. The drinks reinterpret classics by era, from the Mint Julep and Gimlet of the early 1800s to the Champagne Cocktail and Americano, using house-made ingredients and modern techniques, and a three-course drinks tasting comes with or without alcohol. Rosé from Château La Mascaronne in Provence is on the list, and DJs play in the evenings.
Utoquai 45, 8008 ZurichFull profile - Eden BarHotel Bar
Eden Bar
The bar of the Hotel Eden Roc on Lake Maggiore in Ascona, on the Italian-speaking side of Switzerland.
Via Albarelle 16, 6612 AsconaFull profile - Einstein BarHotel Bar
Einstein Bar
The bar of the Hotel Einstein in St. Gallen, in a former embroidery factory in the old town.
Berneggstrasse 2, 9000 St. GallenFull profile - Kronenhalle BarCocktail Bar
Kronenhalle Bar
A legendary classic opened in 1965 next to the storied Kronenhalle restaurant, designed by Robert Haussmann with green morocco leather, a mahogany-panelled ceiling and lighting by Diego Giacometti, surrounded by original works by Miró, Picasso and Klee. Head bartender Christian Heiss keeps a decades-long archive of regulars' cocktail preferences, and drinks are served with no music under the house motto Sans pareil.
Rämistrasse 4, 8001 ZürichOpen dailyFull profile - L'Apothicaire Cocktail ClubCocktail Bar
L'Apothicaire Cocktail Club
L'Apothicaire calls itself the reference in Genevese mixology for over ten years, and runs on a house creed of good vibes only. The signature list is renewed with the seasons, with drinks such as Bad Trip, Desperados, Gaijin and Birdy priced around eighteen to nineteen francs, and the bartenders, drawn from bars around the world, will also build a cocktail to a guest's personality rather than the menu. It sits on Boulevard Georges-Favon in Plainpalais and opens from five in the evening, Tuesday to Saturday.
Boulevard Georges-Favon 16, 1204 GenevaTue-Wed 17:00-00:00, Thu 17:00-01:00, Fri 17:00-02:00, Sat 18:00-02:00, Sun-Mon closedFull profile - La Distillerie BarCocktail Bar
La Distillerie Bar
La Distillerie describes its offer as handcrafted cocktails, natural wines and locally sourced products, in that order. It is a neighborhood room on Boulevard Carl-Vogt rather than a destination lounge, open early in the week for a short evening and late on Friday and Saturday, with Monday off.
Boulevard Carl-Vogt 77, 1205 GenevaTue-Wed 17:00-22:00, Thu 17:00-00:00, Fri 17:00-02:00, Sat 18:00-02:00, Mon closedFull profile - Le Verre à MoniqueCocktail Bar
Le Verre à Monique
A cocktail bar in the Plainpalais quarter, away from the lake and the banks, on a street of small shops and restaurants.
Rue des Savoises 19, 1205 GenevaFull profile - Little Eminente BarrelSpeakeasy
Little Eminente Barrel
Little Eminente Barrel is a rum bar in Eaux-Vives that describes itself as an intimate speakeasy, and the shelf is the point: a collection of nearly 140 rums, from the Antilles to Latin America and on through Asia, poured neat or worked into signature cocktails. The room holds up to fifty for private tastings and evenings, which is how the bar prefers to be used, as a place to sit down with a bottle rather than pass through. It opens at six, Tuesday to Saturday, and closes on Sunday and Monday.
Rue du Lac 15, 1207 GenevaTue-Thu 18:00-00:30, Fri-Sat 18:00-01:30, Sun-Mon closedFull profile - MoonSpeakeasy
Moon
Moon is a Prohibition-era speakeasy by intent, styled on 1930s New York and open only after dark, because, in its own words, the night is its domain. The cocktails start from clandestine recipes of the period and are brought forward with clarification and house-made spirits, and the food is what the bar calls a junk food revolution, Brooklyn-style comfort plates done generously. It is on Rue Henri-Blanvalet in Eaux-Vives, opening at half past five from Tuesday, with the latest nights on Thursday to Saturday.
Rue Henri-Blanvalet 14, 1207 GenevaTue 17:30-00:00, Wed 17:30-01:00, Thu-Sat 17:30-02:00, Sun-Mon closedFull profile - Renée BarCocktail Bar
Renée Bar
Renée calls itself a bar and live venue, and lists what it is for in five words: champagne, music, drinks, wine, food. It sits on Klingental behind the barracks in Kleinbasel and runs a Culture Club program of DJ nights, seventies art rock and soul one night, synth the next, with the bar open until three on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and until midnight the rest of the week.
Klingental 18, 4058 BaselSun-Wed 17:00-00:00, Thu-Sat 17:00-03:00Full profile - Rivage CaféHotel Bar
Rivage Café
Rivage Café is the bar and bistronomic restaurant of the Beau-Rivage hotel on Quai du Mont-Blanc. The bar side serves signature cocktails, premium spirits and Swiss and international wines, with tapas-style plates that rework bar classics, in a space filled with natural light that joins a contemporary bar to the dining room.
13 Quai du Mont-Blanc, 1201 Geneva, SwitzerlandDaily 10:30-00:00Full profile 
Temporarily closedCocktail BarBaltazar
A cocktail bar on Steinenbachgaesslein, in the lanes behind the Steinenvorstadt. Closed since 1 June 2026 while the building is renovated and the bar takes the chance to refit; the house says it expects to reopen.
Steinenbachgaesslein 34, 4051 BaselFull profile
The best bars by city in Switzerland
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These 33 are the starting point. The full BarMagazine directory covers every listed bar in Switzerland, with a map, filters by bar type, and new openings as we verify them.