Harry's New York Bar Cocktail Bar / Historic Bar / Piano Bar

Les Halles / Rivoli - 1er / 2eme, Paris –

Rumors abound about Harry’s New York Bar, with regulars swearing it’s the oldest cocktail bar in Europe, and doing so with the kind of pronounced assuredness only a silver-foxed Frenchman can portend.

The scuttlebutt is equally firm that the Bloody Mary, White Lady, and Sidecar were all invented behind the bar, much to the appreciation of former regulars Ernest Hemingway and Coco Chanel, though Hemingway was always more of a mojito guy.

Entering Harry’s is like stepping back into the Big Apple circa 1920, with its dapper crowd of sophisticated regulars, white-coated bartenders, and the soft tinkling of a piano streaming from the basement.

Swinging saloon doors, oak paneling, and vintage photos add to the effect, as do the faded American college pennants that hang near the pressed tin ceiling.

Midday brings in nearby office types looking for a stiff lunch-break drink, while creative young professionals and chic girlfriends mingle over martinis after work.

Before heading to the theater, dressed-up couples and tourists stop in to peruse the list of over three hundred whiskeys, though patrons looking for the full throwback effect make their way down to the Piano Bar, where plush red chairs provide space to settle in with a Manhattan and listen to some live jazz.

A cocktail lover’s paradise, Harry’s New York Bar is a chic and refined spot with a healthy helping of nostalgia on the side.