Cocktail culture in Europe is not uniform. Some cities have a long tradition of aperitivo and vermouth; others have built modern bar programmes that benchmark against the best in the world; a few have entire neighbourhood cultures built around a single drink. The city you choose determines the kind of night you'll have.

The Cities

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona's cocktail culture has two distinct registers. The first is the vermouth tradition, centred in the Eixample and Sant Antoni neighbourhoods, where pre-lunch vermut with olives and anchovies is a near-sacred ritual. The second is the modern cocktail bar scene, concentrated in the El Born and Raval districts, which has produced some of the most creative bartending in Europe over the last decade. The city's late schedule means the cocktail hour starts later than anywhere in Northern Europe and the best bars don't hit their stride until midnight. The combination of tradition and innovation in a compact geography makes it the most complete cocktail city in Southern Europe.

Best for: Drinkers who want both aperitivo culture and serious modern cocktail bars within the same city break.

Madrid, Spain

Madrid is the gin and tonic capital of Europe, which sounds unpretentious until you see what the city does with it. The Spanish G&T is an elaborate, garnish-heavy, botanical construction that takes the drink seriously in ways that would surprise most British drinkers. The Malasana neighbourhood is the centre of the bar culture, with a density of cocktail bars and late-night venues that reflects the city's serious commitment to nightlife. Madrid also has a vermouth culture that runs parallel to Barcelona's, anchored in the Lavapiés district.

Best for: Gin lovers and anyone who wants to understand how a European city can build an entire cocktail identity around a single spirit.

Milan, Italy

Milan invented the aperitivo hour and the Negroni, and the city takes both seriously. The Navigli canal district and the Brera neighbourhood are the twin poles of Milan's bar culture: the former more populist and aperitivo-focused, the latter more design-conscious and expensive. The Campari brand is Milanese by origin, and the city's relationship with bitter, complex drinks runs through its entire drinking culture. Milan's bars tend to open earlier than Spanish equivalents and peak between 7pm and midnight.

Best for: Aperitivo devotees and Negroni enthusiasts who want to drink in the city that made both culturally significant.

Vienna, Austria

Vienna's bar scene is less internationally celebrated than it deserves to be. The city has produced excellent bartending over the last decade, concentrated in the Naschmarkt and Neubau districts, and the Austrian spirits industry, particularly its schnapps and gin producers, has given local bars interesting native ingredients to work with. The coffee house culture provides a useful parallel: Viennese drinkers take their beverages seriously, and that attitude extends to cocktails. The city is significantly less crowded than the obvious Western European capitals for bar-hopping.

Best for: Travellers who want sophisticated cocktail bars without the crowds and prices of London or Amsterdam.

Paris, France

Paris has become one of the great cocktail cities of Europe, partly through the influence of French wine and spirit culture and partly through a generation of bartenders who trained globally and returned with technique. The cocktail bars of the Marais, Pigalle, and South Oberkampf have a level of craftsmanship that rivals London at a slightly more accessible price point. The French approach to drinking emphasises quality over quantity, which is a good cultural fit for cocktail culture: the city's bars tend to be serious places with considered menus rather than high-volume operations.

Best for: Travellers who want world-class bartending combined with the most food-serious city in Europe.