Alison Millington | Insider | August 29, 2018
Finding hidden gem bars and restaurants is one of the best parts of travelling — but it can be hard not to fall into the tourist traps.
Jurgen Lijcops, who has 28 years of experience working in food and drink, put together “150 Bars You Need To Visit Before You Die” for that exact reason.
Starting as a waiter in a small pub before falling into the world of wine, Lijcops worked in a number of Michelin-starred restaurants before starting his own cocktail bar in Antwerp, Bar Burbure, in 2015.
A master sommelier with a second passion is for spirits, he told INSIDER: “I couldn’t find a guide/book about beautiful bars, so I thought I could make it myself.”
Visiting 40 of the bars himself, he spent a year using his own experience and recommendations from friends and colleagues around the world to produce a “guide to local watering holes located across the globe,” from the US and South America to Europe, the UK, North Africa, Asia, and Australia.
He said that each bar on the list gives you a “special feeling” when you visit.
“Each and every bar I selected has a story to tell, which is certainly not always about the drinks,” Lijcops writes in the book’s intro. “Often this story is told by the owners and the staff, or by the location.”
Scroll down to see the 25 bars everyone should visit before they die, ranked in alphabetical order — and why they’re worth the trip, according to Lijcops’ book.