The highest-rated rooftop bars on earth.

Why it's here: A hidden top-floor library bar with a rooftop garden above Clarence Street — 4.7 stars across 1,300+ Google reviews, the highest of any rooftop we track. What's good: Serious cocktails downstairs in the library, then the greenhouse roof for the second round; the kitchen's late-night toasties are local legend. Who should go: Drinkers who want the bar to be as good as the view — the lift queue moves, stay patient.

Why it's here: The Walkie Talkie's three-storey garden holds a 4.6 across an extraordinary 76,000+ Google reviews — free to enter with a booking, which makes it the best-value high-rise drink in Europe. What's good: Go at golden hour, take the south terrace, and keep it to a spritz — you're paying for altitude, not mixology. Who should go: Visitors and date-nighters; book the free slot days ahead and clear security like a flight.

Why it's here: Built into the cliff face at AYANA with the Indian Ocean breaking underneath — not technically a roof, but the most dramatic open-air bar in Asia, at 4.4 across 8,000+ Google reviews. What's good: Anything cold at sunset; take the inclinator down before 5pm or queue with everyone else who had the same idea. Who should go: Couples and sunset hunters — surf-side seats are first-come, so commit early.

Why it's here: Twenty-two floors above the William Vale with the definitive front-on Manhattan skyline — the rare hotel rooftop where the drinks program holds up its end. What's good: The cocktail list reads seasonal and actually is; weeknights before 7pm get you the rail seats without the scene. Who should go: Anyone showing a first-timer New York — this is the postcard, with a proper drink in hand.

Why it's here: Fifty-four floors up Address Sky View with the Burj Khalifa close enough to touch — Dubai's most coherent rooftop, pool club by day and skyline bar by night. What's good: The terrace at dusk when the fountain show starts below; cocktails are resort-priced, so make them count. Who should go: Special-occasion crowds; book the terrace rail, and check the dress code before you go.

Why it's here: A treehouse terrace in the Santa Teresa jungle looking down over Guanabara Bay — 4.3 across 6,000+ Google reviews, and the view that makes everyone fall for Rio. What's good: A caipirinha with the house cachaça as the parrots come past; stay for dinner, because leaving feels like a mistake. Who should go: Couples and slow afternoons — take a taxi up the hill and book a garden-edge table.

Why it's here: The roof of 1 Hotel South Beach — ocean on one side, Biscayne Bay sunset on the other, and a 4.5 across nearly 5,000 Google reviews that survives the hotel-bar tax. What's good: Frozen cocktails by the pool before sunset; the bay side at dusk is the best light in Miami Beach. Who should go: Hotel guests have priority at peak — go on a weekday or book; sneakers and swimwear both somehow work.

Why it's here: Fifty-two floors over Toranomon Hills with Tokyo Tower in the frame — the city's definitive open-air drink in a city that mostly drinks indoors. What's good: A highball or champagne at the open parapet; weather closes the terrace fast, so check before crossing town. Who should go: Anyone with one rooftop night in Tokyo — smart-casual, and the early slot beats the post-dinner rush.

Why it's here: The Hotel Urban's rooftop pool terrace floats over the museum district — Madrid's most grown-up evening roof, away from the Gran Vía hotel-roof circuit. What's good: A gin-tonic done with Spanish seriousness as the city cools down after 10pm. Who should go: Late-evening drinkers — Madrid roofs peak at midnight, not sunset; summer only.

Why it's here: Seventeen floors up a glass lift on an unglamorous block — the inside-knowledge Berlin roof, with the TV tower and the whole flat city spread out. What's good: A negroni at the window as the lights come on; the slightly dated lounge feel is part of the charm, not a flaw. Who should go: Anyone who finds hotel rooftops sterile — this one feels like Berlin kept a secret.