The oldest surviving bar-restaurant in Peru, Cordano is famous for its eminent customers, including artists, politicians and writers. It's also well loved for its delicious butifarra – ham and sweet-onion relish baguettes.

One of the oldest and most traditional watering holes in Rio, Bar Luiz is of German origin. While it has changed buildings, names and owners over its 130-plus years, it has always remained a bar, and was probably the first beer brewery in Brazil.

Billed as Tokyo’s oldest Western-style bar, Kamiya may not be the most attractive venue in the city, but it’s one of the most atmospheric and friendly. Its signature drink is a cocktail called Denki Bran – it's made from brandy, gin and wine, and tastes better than it sounds.

It's rumored there's been a tavern at this location, near Notre-Dame Cathedral, since the 13th century. La Reserve de Quaisimodo has stood here since the 1800s and is a wine shop and restaurant-bar that’s renowned for its inexpensive food and drink.

An Irish pub in the heart of New York City's East Village, McSorley's Old Ale House has been serving beer since 1854 and proudly shows off its history in the old photos and historic documents that adorn the walls. Both Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt Jr have dropped in here for a drink, singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie stopped in here to wet his whistle and even John Lennon is known to have ordered a few cold ones here.

Sydney’s oldest continuously licensed pub was built by one-time convict Samuel Terry, and became a watering hole patronized by sailors and soldiers who used it at their “first and last stop ashore”. Although it has a more eclectic clientele these days, war veterans still use the Fortune of War bar as a meeting point on Anzac Day.

Built by convicts, the Brunswick Hotel in Tasmania’s capital, Hobart, claims to be the second oldest continuously licensed pub in Australia, though it shares this claim with the Lord Nelson in Sydney. The lengthy wine list keeps the crowds pouring in. 

A local institution on Russell’s waterfront, on New Zealand’s North Island, the Duke of Marlborough began life as the gloriously named Johnny Johnstone’s Grog Shop. It started as, and remains, "a pub for the people".

Located in New Norfolk in Tasmania, Australia’s oldest continuously operating pub (on the same site) got its licence in 1825, though the building predates this by 10 years. Rumour has it, some of the rooms at the historic Bush Inn are haunted.

Entering Bar Marsella is like stepping into the past – nothing much has changed about this absinthe bar since it opened. Once a haunt for the likes of Hemingway and Picasso, it’s one of the Catalonian city’s hidden highlights.

Claiming to be la cuna del daiquiri – the cradle of the daiquiri – this historic bar in Havana, Cuba opened its doors in 1817. However, El Floridita is probably best known as Ernest Hemingway's local watering hole during his years in Cuba. Today, a life-sized sculpture occupies the stool where the American writer used to sit and drink double-strength daiquiris by the bucketload. 

Named after Boston's last town crier Jimmy Walker, Bell in Hand Tavern has been opened since 1795 when Walker exchanged his bell for the bar. Although Walker served the city for 50 years and delivered the news, from the Boston Tea Party to the birth of the nation, the tavern is now more famous for its two glass beer pours – one for the ale and one for the froth. 

Although it was rebuilt in 1815, and has changed names more than once, The Olde Angel Inn in Niagara On The Lake remains a key part of the town. It’s celebrated for its anti-oppression revelry in 1793, following a law that was passed criminalizing slavery.

The Griswold Inn has survived Prohibition and the rise and fall of the age of sail and steam (it's ideally placed in Essex on the Connecticut River) to stand proud in the 21st century.

The Horse you Came In On claims to be America's oldest saloon and that's not its only claim to fame. Half a century after it opened its doors, Edgar Allan Poe stopped by. Legend has it that the famous writer had his last drink in this Baltimore bar and that his ghost still walks the haunted halls.

A bit of a London legend, the Lamb & Flag in Covent Garden was previously known as The Coopers Arms. It then earned the monicker the Bucket of Blood, because of the bare-knuckle fighting that took place here, but has been known by its current name since 1883. Though the brickwork hails from the 20th century, an 18th-century wooden frame still exists.

Today it’s a bar-restaurant specializing in craft beer and whiskey, but this 18th-century tavern on Pearl Street played an integral part in America’s history – the fundamentals of the US government were shaped here. In Fraunces Tavern today, more than 200 whiskeys are on offer.

This coffee shop-cum-bar has been a meeting point for great minds since its original Greek owner opened it in the 18th century. Byron, Goethe and Ibsen are just some of the literati to have frequented Antico Caffe Greco and even the legendary Casanova visited.

The first auberge in North America to receive a liquor licence, L’Auberge was turned into a private residence in the 19th century before re-opening as a bar-restaurant in the early 20th century, and remaining so ever since.

Situated three miles from Loch Lomond, the Clachan Inn touts itself as the oldest registered licensed pub in Scotland. It was first licensed to Mistress Gow, the sister of the outlaw Rob Roy, who has since become a Scottish folk hero.

Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar is an old, rambling shack on Bourbon Street that looks like a set from a vampire movie. It’s got a notorious past – it was once owned by pirate, spy and folk hero Jena Lafitte, who called it a blacksmith’s shop to fox the authorities. But its future looks certain – it’s hailed as one of the best bars in New Orleans.

Situated in St Mark’s Square in the heart of Venice, Caffé Florian has been serving coffee, wine and other nourishment for centuries – it was even used as a makeshift hospital during the 1848 uprising. It was a regular haunt of the legendary womanizer Casanova because it admitted women – a rarity for such establishments in the 18th century.

Though rebuilt after a fire in 1676, and for a time used as a coffee house (visited by the writer Charles Dickens, no less, and mentioned in Little Dorrit), The George Inn in Southwark is the oldest galleried inn still standing in London. It’s now owned by heritage charity the National Trust.

Probably the oldest watering hole in America, the White Horse Tavern has been integral to its community over the centuries, acting as a courthouse and a focal meeting point for the Founding Fathers. Though it became a boarding house for a time in the late 19th century, it reverted back to a tavern in the 1950s.

This classic Spanish tapas bar is Seville’s oldest, and it’s charm personified. Even if it's not the best tapas place in town, El Rinconcillo sense of history is palpable, making it well worth a visit.

Rebuilt shortly after the Great Fire of London, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese has been around since 1667, although a pub has stood in this place since 1538. The pub is best known for its literary associations, most notable patrons including Mark Twain, Alfed Tennyson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, P.G. Wodehouse and Charles Dickens. It is said that Dickens, who was a regular, drew a lot of inspiration for his masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities from here. 

Although the current building is a 17th-century one, there’s a long-held belief that an inn has stood on this site since the 12th century, as it’s located on a pilgrim trail heading to Llanthony Priory. Skirrid Mountain Inn has a dark history, having been used as a meeting point for Welsh revolters, and as a courthouse and place of execution, which may explain its purported hauntings.

Owned by St John’s College, Oxford University, The Bird and Baby (as it’s nicknamed) may have been a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War – though this claim is disputed. It was also the pub of choice for esteemed writers C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse novels.

The Bavarian state government now owns this brewery, bar and restaurant, which was once a royal brewery owned by the Duke of Bavaria, attracting the likes of Mozart and Lenin. Hofbräuhaus beer is legendary, so it’s no surprise that the brewery runs one of the largest tents at Munich’s famous Oktoberfest beer festival and has several franchises in the US.

Located near Prague Castle in the historic district, this bar was originally called Dolejsi. Its name changed to Na Slamníku around 1766 – while it was a coaching inn – to honor the Slamnik festivities that celebrated tailors. These days it's frequented by locals and tourists alike. 

The oldest bar in Antwerp dates from the 16th century. Once called Gulick, after a region from which merchants came to trade in the city, one of Quinten Matsjjs' rooms was reserved for customers’ horses. These days the bar is just for human guests.  

Rich in history, the Ye Olde Mitre tavern in the City once housed a cherry tree that Queen Elizabeth I is said to have danced around, while her father King Henry VIII was married next door.

Regarded as Bruges’ oldest pub, Café Vlissinghe is as popular today is it ever was, thanks to the cozy atmosphere and its reputation for hosting famous artists such as Rubens, who allegedly ‘paid’ with a coin drawn on the table.

This wine bar is officially dated to 1435 (when it was called Hostaria del Chiuchiolino) – but there may have been an inn on the site since the 12th century, feeding and watering the workmen who built the city’s cathedral. Either way, Al Brindisi is the oldest wine bar in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. The astronomer Copernicus lived upstairs for a time and even Pope John Paul II visited.

Founded as a tavern where monks served food and drink, Zum Franziskaner has retained its name throughout the centuries, though it has moved building twice. The current venue, which dates back to 1910, boasts Art Nouveau décor.

There are claims that there was an inn on this site in Holywell, overlooking the River Ouse, since the 6th century, but it’s more likely to have been founded in the early 15th century. Postcard-pretty, with its thatched roof and snug interior, the Old Ferry Boat reportedly home to the ghost of a jilted young woman.

Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth II have both imbibed at Scotland’s oldest surviving public house – albeit hundreds of years apart. Today the menu at the Sheep Heid Inn boasts comforting pub classics and decorative cocktails.

The upstairs of House of the Hound, as it translates, has been used as a tavern and meeting place for councilmen and noblemen since the 14th century. There's still an impressive curved wooden ceiling on show in what is now the Gothic Room restaurant.

Though this inn has fallen in and out of favor over the centuries, today it’s regarded as a Kilkenny institution, and one with a colorful past. Kyteler's Inn was founded by four-times married Alice Kyteler, who was tried for witchcraft – she was sentenced to death, but managed to escape to England.

Although this famous brewhouse was bombed during World War II, Brauhuas Sion was rebuilt in 1952 and continues to serve Kölsch beer – the local specialty it’s been famous for hundreds of years.

Though this pub has been rebuilt and remodeled, the original vaulted cellar still remains. Man n'Scythe, as it's known locally, has a fascinating history – legend has it that the Earl of Derby was murdered outside in 1644 during what became known as the Bolton Massacre.

There’s been a tavern on this site for 800 years; records show the Adam & Eve was a brewhouse for laborers building Norwich Cathedral. The current pub, which was built in the 17th century, houses a Saxon well beneath the lower bar floor.

This former coaching inn has served booze since the 12th century, though whether it’s the same building is debatable. The Brazen Head is still recognised as one of Ireland’s oldest pubs, however, and one that the writer James Joyce graced on numerous occasions. 

This is another English pub that claims to be the country's oldest. Although the current building is only about 300 years old, it was built to incorporate some ancient caves, which were used as drinking rooms and a brewery – as they are today. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem gets its title from fighters that reputedly supped ale there en route to the Holy Land for the Crusades.

This handsome building is said to be the oldest inn in Germany. Zum Riesen boasts a roll call of esteemed guests, from King Ludwig of Bavaria to Elvis Presley, but has a unsettling history – witch trials took place outside and some of its landlords were sentenced to death.

Described as the oldest freehouse in England (meaning it’s not affiliated with a particular brewery), there’s mention of an inn of sorts on this spot in Beaconsfield in the 1086 Domesday Book. Inside the Royal Standard of England you’ll find the original medieval tiled floors, ancient wooden doors and timber beams.

The Bingley Arms in the north of England has quite a history. It was as a safe house for those in danger from Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries (hence its earlier name, The Priests Inn, before being taken over by Lord Bingley in 1780), and a watering hole for thirsty pilgrims. It has also acted as a court, and is reportedly home to more than one ghost.

Situated in the ancient town of Athlone in central Ireland, there are records of this pub’s various owners dating back to the 10th century (including the pop star Boy George, who owned it briefly in the 1980s). The Guinness Book of World Records has verified claims by Sean's Bar to be the oldest in Ireland.

The Guinness Book of Records recognized this pub in St. Albans as the oldest in England, but that hasn’t stopped other pubs clamoring for the coveted title. The building was a pigeon coop, hence its octagonal shape, but didn’t exist on the site until 1539 – however, there are earlier foundations and it’s thought there are tunnels running between Ye Olde Fighting Cocks and the city's cathedral.