Bars You Won't Believe Exist

Eight Out-of-This-World Drinking Destinations

Bars used to be four walls, a worn countertop, and a neon beer sign. Not anymore. Across deserts, oceans, and even a Swedish mine shaft, architects and bartenders are re-imagining what it means to share a drink. Ready for a tour? Pack your passport—these eight venues prove happy hour can happen absolutely anywhere.

1. Below Zero Ice Bar • Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

Blown-glass stemware? Try blown-ice. Set inside the original ICEHOTEL, this bar is rebuilt from scratch every November with 2,500 blocks of Torne River ice. You'll sip lingonberry vodka from a hollowed-ice "glass" that melts back into the river come spring—a literal closed-loop bar program.

House Pour: "Kiruna Glow" (sea-buckthorn liqueur, cloudberry cordial, Swedish vodka).

2. Subsix • Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives

Accessible only by speedboat, Subsix descends six meters beneath the Indian Ocean. Wall-high windows frame angelfish and reef sharks that glide past as fiber-optic chandeliers mimic sea anemones overhead. Order a sapphire-blue gin sour and toast a passing parrotfish—no aquarium ticket required.

3. The Wild Monkey 47 SchmieGin Bar • Black Forest, Germany

Hidden in an 18th-century Black Forest farmstead, Monkey 47's micro-distillery bar caps seating at 15. Guests sign a "forager's log" before a guided forest walk to identify the gin's 47 botanicals, then return for a five-course cocktail pairing. The barware? Hand-turned spruce cups felled within 10 km.

4. Giger Bar • Gruyères, Switzerland

If H. R. Giger—artist behind Alien—built a cathedral, this would be the nave. Vertebrae arch into a skeletal ceiling while xenomorph barstools cradle guests like eggs in a nest. Try the absinthe fountain; the green liquor drips through glass vertebrae coils before filling your chalice.

5. Alux Cave Lounge • Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Formed during the Pleistocene and once used by Maya priests, Alux's limestone cavern stretches 10,000 m². Stalactites glitter under soft LEDs; cenote pools reflect candlelight. Mezcal flights arrive on a slab of onyx still cool from the cave's natural 20 °C (68 °F) climate.

6. Hells Club • Healthy Village Mine, Finland

1,380 feet below Lapland's permafrost, an old slate mine now throbs with techno every full moon weekend. A funicular ferries revelers down the main shaft, where bartenders pour smoke-infused aquavit beneath heat lamps that double as art sculptures.

7. Ozone at The Ritz-Carlton • Hong Kong

Perched on the 118th floor, Ozone stakes its claim as one of the world's highest bars. A honeycomb-glass façade blurs city lights into a kaleidoscope while typhoon-rated glass keeps the wind at bay. Order the "Altitude"—Japanese whisky, yuzu, and chrysanthemum bitters served under a cloud of dry-ice vapor.

8. The Treepod Bar • Koh Kood, Thailand

Guests at Soneva Kiri resort climb into rattan "pods" hoisted 15 m into the rainforest canopy. Staff zip-line with trays of cocktails—no noisy pulleys, just gravity and good balance. At dusk, fireflies drift through the branches like living fairy lights.

Field Notes: What These Bars Teach Us

Conclusion

From frozen rivers to coral reefs, the newest wave of bars treats geography as both stage and ingredient list. They remind us that a cocktail's flavor isn't confined to the glass—it's etched into the walls, sung by the soundtrack, and, sometimes, carved from the very ice beneath our feet. Next time wanderlust hits, skip the museum ticket and head for a bar that rewrites the map of where a good drink can happen.