A charming inn on the River Ouse, Holywell's Old Ferry Boat has purportedly been serving drinks since the 6th century. Postcard-pretty, with its thatched roof and snug interior, it’s also thought to be home to the ghost of a jilted young woman.

This pub in St. Albans touts itself as the oldest in England, but that hasn’t stopped other pubs clamoring for the coveted title. It harks right back to the 700s, though the present-day building dates to the 11th century. Reportedly, there are even tunnels running between Ye Olde Fighting Cocks and the city's cathedral, which were once used by local monks. Unsurprising given the name, cock fighting was once a favoured pastime at the bar. 

The Bingley Arms in the north of England has quite a history. Dating to at least AD 953, the pub was used as a safe house for those in danger from Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries (hence its earlier name, The Priests Inn), and as a watering hole for thirsty pilgrims. It also acted as a court, before being taken over by Lord Bingley in 1780. Legend has it it's home to more than one ghost today too. 

Situated in the ancient town of Athlone in central Ireland, this pub has records dating back to the 10th century, and its proprietors have included the pop star Boy George, who reportedly owned it briefly in the 1980s. The Guinness Book of World Records has verified claims by Sean's Bar that it's the oldest pub in Ireland.

Describing itself as the oldest freehouse in England (meaning it’s not affiliated with a particular brewery), the Royal Standard of England has mentions dating right back to the Anglo-Saxon period. It was also historically used as a lodging house for Norman kings when they went on hunts in local deer parks. Inside you’ll find the original medieval tiled floors, ancient wooden doors and beams.

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 it has an unsettling history. Witch trials reportedly took place outside and some of its landlords were sentenced to death.

This is another English pub that claims to be the country's oldest. While formal records began in 1760, there are some historic caves beneath Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem that are thought to have been used as ale cellars for many centuries. It's also thought that, in AD 1189, King Richard the Lionheart and his men stopped here before journeying to Jerusalem (hence the pub's curious name).

This former coaching inn has served booze since the 12th century, though it's thought that the present building was constructed in 1754. The Brazen Head is still recognised as one of Ireland’s oldest pubs, however, and one that writers James Joyce and Brendan Behan graced on numerous occasions.

There’s been a tavern on this site for 800 years with records showing that the Adam & Eve was a brewhouse for laborers building Norwich Cathedral. The current pub is thought to date to the 17th century, and has a cozy interior with ceiling beams, a huge fireplace and plenty of dark wood.

Though this pub has been rebuilt and remodeled, the original vaulted cellar still remains and Man n'Scythe, as it's known locally, has a fascinating history. Legend has it that the Earl of Derby was murdered outside in the 1600s, due to his role in the Bolton Massacre. The pub is locally revered for its ciders and real ales too. 

Although this famous 14th-century brewhouse was all but destroyed by bombings during World War II, Brauhuas Sion was rebuilt in the 1950s. Today it continues to serve Kölsch beer – the local specialty it’s been famous for, for hundreds of years.

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. Today it's an award-winning establishment known for its live music and hearty pub grub. 

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.

Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth II have both imbibed at what is considered Scotland’s oldest surviving public house – albeit hundreds of years apart. Today the menu at the Sheep Heid Inn boasts decorative cocktails and modern takes on pub-food classics.

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.

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

Rich in history, the Ye Olde Mitre tavern in London's Hatton Garden housed a cherry tree that Queen Elizabeth I is said to have danced around, while her father King Henry VIII was married next door. It's also a stone's throw from the oldest Roman Catholic church in London (St Etheldreda's Church), and the spot where William Wallace was hung, drawn and quartered, so history is never far away here. 

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, who are suitably impressed by the venue's stained glass windows.  

Located near Prague Castle in the historic district, this bar-cum-restaurant 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, who come for the traditional food as much as for the beer.

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.

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.

Rebuilt shortly after the Great Fire of London, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese has been around since 1667, although a pub has stood on this site since 1538. The pub is best known for its literary associations, with its most notable patrons including Mark Twain, Alfred 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. 

This classic Spanish tapas bar is Seville’s oldest, and it is charm personified. Even if it's not the best tapas place in town, El Rinconcillo's sense of history is palpable, making it well worth a visit. The decor will whisk you back in time with barrel tables and mismatched old bottles – and waiters still even write your order down on the mahogany bar in chalk, as was once traditional. 

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Widely credited with being the oldest watering hole in America, the White Horse Tavern has been integral to its community over the centuries, acting as a focal meeting point for the Criminal Court, City Council and Colonel's General Assembly. Though it became a boarding house for a time in the late 19th century, it reverted back to a tavern in the 1950s. Today its clapboard façade and beamed ceilings conjure up images of the past.

Though rebuilt after a fire in 1676, and for a time used as a coffee house, The George Inn in Southwark is the oldest galleried inn still standing in London. It was visited by writers William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, no less, and mentioned in Little Dorrit, with records of the inn dating back to 1542. It’s now owned by heritage charity the National Trust.

Situated in St Mark’s Square in the heart of Venice, Caffé Florian has been serving coffee, wine and sweet treats for centuries, and was even used as a makeshift hospital during the 1848 uprising. It was also a regular haunt of the legendary womanizer Casanova because it admitted women – a rarity for such establishments in the 18th century. Now its elegant interiors – think red velvet seats and gilded mirrors – still pull in the crowds.

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 too – it was once owned by pirate, spy and folk hero Jean Lafitte, who purportedly used the blacksmith shop as a base for his illegal smuggling operations. But its future looks certain – it’s hailed as one of the best bars in New Orleans.

Situated a stone's throw 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. Today the inn is a family-run business, known for its high-quality menu and cozy accommodations.

The first auberge in North America to receive a liquor licence (in 1754), L’Auberge was built by a French soldier in the 17th century. It was turned into a private residence in the 19th century, but thankfully reopened as a bar-restaurant in the early 1900s, and has remained so ever since. Alongside all the history, the auberge now delights visitors with its fine regional cuisine and popular speakeasy. 

Tipped as Rome's oldest café, this coffee shop-cum-bar has been a meeting point for great minds since its original Greek owner opened it on Via dei Condotti 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. There is currently a campaign to save the lauded café from closure in the midst of rising rent prices. 

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. It's also famed as the place where George Washington bade farewell to his officers at the end of the American Revolutionary War. Now there's a 200-strong list of whiskeys and even a museum.

A bit of a London legend, the Lamb & Flag in Covent Garden was previously known as The Coopers Arms (with early mentions dating to 1772). It later earned the gruesome monicker the Bucket of Blood, because of the bare-knuckle fighting that took place here. Since 1883, the pub, beloved by Londoners as a place for a post-work pint, has been known as the Lamb & Flag – though the brickwork hails from the 20th century, an 18th-century wooden frame still exists.

The Horse you Came In On purports to be America's oldest continually operating saloon and that's not its only claim to fame. Legend has it that famous writer Edgar Allan Poe had his last drink in this Baltimore bar and that his ghost still walks the haunted halls. Come here to seek out the spectre of the late author, catch some live music and feast on American comfort food. 

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. Today you can see banners from temperance advocates who protested here in the 1840s, and sup brews in the historic taproom.

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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. Today the inn will transport you back in time with its roaring fireplaces and cozy wood-clad interiors. 

Named after Boston's last town crier Jimmy Walker, Bell in Hand Tavern has been open since 1795 when Walker exchanged his bell for the bar. Although Walker served the city for 50 years, delivering news of everything including the Boston Tea Party, the tavern is now more famous for its own Bell In Hand Ale.

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. 

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 this Catalonian city’s hidden highlights. Come today to sip the stalwart spirit of absinthe amidst the chandeliers and rows of dusty bottles.

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

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. However, owner Johnny Johnston changed the inn's name to the Duke of Marlborough, after the richest man of the time, shortly afterwards – the spot had earned itself a rather debaucherous reputation, and Johnston wanted to restore some honor. Come to dine, drink or hole up in one of the plush guest rooms today.

Built by convicts in 1927, 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, hearty pub grub and live music keeps the crowds pouring in today. 

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.

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 for a drink and even late Beatles member John Lennon is known to have ordered a few cold ones here.

This men-only bar in the New Market area (pictured) is always busy, partly because it’s one of the cheapest bars in the city. More than 100 years old, Chhota Bristol has no menu as such – instead, a stock exchange-style board displays drink prices. It's a race to find a seat, but once you're settled it's an ideal spot for people watching. 

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. The signature drink here is a cocktail called Denki Bran – it's made from brandy, gin and wine, and tastes better than it sounds.

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. Today punters come for a dose of history, some great beer and meaty German-style mains. 

One of the oldest surviving bar-restaurants 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. Look out for original features from the dark-wood counter to the decorative floor.

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