The ‘world’s best bar’ for 2026 has been revealed

50 Best Bars 2026 5 photos Bar Leone Courtesy 50 Best Bars 50 Best Bars 2026 Bar Leone in Hong Kong is designed to look and feel like the owner’s grandmother’s living room. Courtesy 50 Best Bars Milan’s Moebius Milano has been crowned the world’s No. 2 bar. Named for the sci-fi illustrator Moebius, it’s an avant-garde drinking spot in a former textile warehouse. Courtesy 50 Best Bars Alquimico, at No. 3, offers three stories of carnival-esque fun in the Colombian coastal city of Cartagena. Courtesy 50 Best Bars Bar Us in Bangkok, which ranks No. 4, is a dimly lit “drinking room” that takes its cocktail flavors very seriously. Courtesy 50 Best Bars At Line in Athens (No. 5 on the list), drinks are fermented right on site. Courtesy 50 Best Bars Prev Next 50 Best Bars 2026 Food & drink Aviation news See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Threads Link Copied! Follow Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, and where to stay.

In our round-up of travel stories this week: Why one US family moved from Virginia to Naples, how to stop a runaway plane, plus the verdict’s in on the world’s best bars, restaurants and hotels.

When Lorenzo Antinori opened Bar Leone in Hong Kong’s fashionable Sheung Wan neighborhood in 2023, he wanted the Italian bar to feel “like my grandmother’s living room.”

That mood is captured by the simple dark wood counter, the framed photos of everyone from Al Pacino to the pope, and the laid-back mid-century “dolce vita” feel – although not everyone’s nonna does such a delicious line in filthy martinis and olive oil sours.

Bar Leone has for the second year running taken the No. 1 spot in the annual list of the world’s best bars put together by UK-based media company The 50.

Its global academy of voters has anointed Milan’s Moebius Milano as the world’s No. 2 bar. Named for the sci-fi illustrator Moebius, it’s an avant-garde drinking spot in a former textile warehouse with a huge two-story-tall olive tree right in the center.

At No. 3 is Alquímico, three stories of carnival-esque fun choreographed by an all-female bartending crew in a colonial building in the Colombian coastal city of Cartagena.

The top 5 is rounded out by Bar Us in Bangkok (No. 4), a dimly lit “drinking room” that takes its cocktail flavors very seriously, and Line in Athens (No. 5), where drinks are fermented right on site.

In recent years, The 50 has grown to become quite the list factory, turning out influential annual verdicts on the world’s best restaurant (Maido in Lima), hotel (Rosewood Hong Kong) and vineyard (Vik in Chile’s Millahue Valley).

Those lists are mighty useful for publicists and for in-the-know travelers who love that zeitgeist zest – but, personally, my favorite bar of 2026 is an Irish pub in North London with a pool table, karaoke and 10 flavors of Baileys. Just follow the checklist in your heart.

The Salesberry family from Virginia relocated to the Naples region of Italy where they lived for many years in the ancient port of Pozzuoli. Laz@Photo/iStock Editorial/Getty Images European countries such as Portugal and Spain are a popular choice for US expats. For the Salesberry family from Virginia, however, it was Italy that stole their heart. They moved to Naples sight unseen nine years ago and never looked back.

“We had to learn the art of slowing down,” says Jason Salesberry of a local culture where restaurants rarely open for dinner before 7 p.m. and meals might last two or three hours. “Yet, the benefits have far outweighed the adjustments.”

Turkey’s record-breaking iGA Istanbul Airport has overtaken London Heathrow as the world’s best-connected airport, according to a new report by global travel data provider OAG.

The huge megahub opened in 2018 and the site is bigger than the whole of Manhattan. Last month, it opened a fourth runway and CEO Selahattin Bilgen tells CNN they’re just getting started. Read more about the airport’s ambitions.

New innovations are also being introduced at US airports. A type of concrete called EMAS is being installed at the end of runways as a safety feature for when a pilot loses control of an aircraft. Watch here to see how it can stop a runaway plane.

Video Ad Feedback NYC sounds off on new public bathrooms What to do when you’ve “gotta go” on the go in New York City? Mayor Zohran Mamdani has implemented a new program rolling out free modular public bathrooms in high-traffic areas across the city, and CNN went to check one out in Queens.

NYC sounds off on new public bathrooms 1:23 Tourists and locals alike can be more at ease when exploring NYC, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani implements a new program rolling out free modular public bathrooms in high-traffic areas across the city. CNN went to check one out in Queens.

This Pennsylvania city was the US capital for a day.

Two hundred and fifty years later, it’s having another moment in the sun.

She met a “cute boy” in line at the airport, but they lost touch.

It was once the answer to the world’s greatest geological mystery.

Today it’s the gateway to a natural wonderland.

A student uprising. A hurricane threat. A grand homecoming.

What do you remember from the week that was?