France

Paris crowned best-hidden bar city in the world

Published

3 years ago

November 23, 2023

A new study by Radical Storage analysed the numbers of speakeasies in each city, Google reviews, and the number of followers on Instagram to create The Speakeasy Index.

Key findings:

Paris is the speakeasy capital of the world, with the highest score on our index (9.42/10), boasting numerous hidden bars to choose from.
There are 16 speakeasies in total in Paris, second on the list is Bangkok with 11 speakeasies, followed by London with 10.
London, Sarajevo, and Berlin are home to some of the world’s most hidden speakeasies with fewer than 400 Instagram followers and Google reviews.
Paris’s most secretive speakeasy is Le Bistrot Des Cinéastes, with under 500 Instagram followers.
Sydney is Australia’s top speakeasy spot, while Dubai and Singapore offer the best-hidden drinking spots in Asia.

Finding a great place where they can relax and grab a drink on holiday is an important part of many travellers' holidays. Many large cities across the globe have some wonderful hidden bars (speakeasies), that offer a range of exciting drinks (wines, beers, cocktails, and mocktails) for the weary traveller and residents alike.

This new study by the travel trends analysts at Radical Storage reveals the best locations for the best-hidden bars by looking at Google reviews, the number of speakeasy bars, and the number of Instagram followers to give a definitive ranking.

The 50 best cities in the world for speakeasies

Rank	City	Number of hidden bars	Average Instagram followers	Average Google rating	Speakeasy index score
1	Paris	16	13,753	4.4	9.42
2	Bangkok	11	5,953	4.5	8.93
3	London	10	4,884	4.6	8.80
4	Rome	10	14,918	4.4	8.56
5	Berlin	10	1,606	4.3	8.53
6	New York	10	25,288	4.3	8.23
7	Liverpool	6	10,038	4.7	8.22
8	Las Vegas	7	14,754	4.5	8.21
9	Los Angeles	7	14,333	4.3	8.04
10	Athens	5	2,521	4.5	8.00
11	Perth	4	2,731	4.6	7.96
12	Amsterdam	5	11,411	4.5	7.90
12	Manchester	5	13,477	4.5	7.89
14	Dubai	3	2,446	4.6	7.86
15	Belgrade	2	2,295	4.9	7.83
15	Ibiza	2	3,230	4.8	7.83
17	Birmingham	3	5,540	4.6	7.81
18	Sydney	4	10071	4.7	7.79
18	Singapore	3	5,411	4.6	7.77
20	Bologna	2	3,332	4.6	7.71
20	Zurich	2	2,179	4.8	7.69
22	New Orleans	2	5,161	4.6	7.68
22	Seoul	3	7,575	4.4	7.66
24	Hongkong	3	11,630	4.5	7.65
24	Vienna	2	6,314	4.7	7.65
26	Montreal	3	11,320	4.6	7.62
27	Adelaide	2	6,711	4.5	7.59
28	Budapest	2	7,980	4.6	7.57
29	Phoenix	4	25,049	4.5	7.56
30	Frankfurt	1	3,967	4.7	7.56
31	San Francisco	3	5,547	4.6	7.55
31	Hamburg	1	3,850	4.7	7.54
33	Manila	1	606	4.5	7.54
33	Hanoi	1	1,735	4.6	7.51
33	Houston	4	10,427	4.1	7.51
36	Ho Chi Minh City	1	3,240	4.6	7.50
36	Stockholm	2	5,889	4.5	7.49
38	Cape Town	2	12,400	4.7	7.45
39	Copenhagen	2	3,714	4.5	7.44
40	Miami	5	29,057	4.3	7.43
41	Istanbul	2	5,193	4.3	7.42
42	Nottingham	5	37,985	4.3	7.40
43	Barcelona	7	47,636	4.4	7.37
44	Melbourne	2	16,600	4.7	7.36
45	Sarajevo	1	75	4.2	7.34
46	Torino	1	8,769	4.4	7.29
47	Tokyo	1	5,687	4.3	7.29
48	Chicago	6	73,411	4.5	7.12
49	Milano	2	22,250	4.5	7.08
50	Buenos Aires	2	94,500	4.3	5.78

The best city to visit speakeasies is Paris, France, with a score of 9.42 out of 10 on our speakeasy index. In second place is Bangkok, Thailand with a score of 8.93, followed by London, UK in third with 8.80.

Some of Paris’s top speakeasies

The most popular speakeasy in Paris is Little Red Door. This secret bar has over 45,000 Instagram followers, so a very popular bar for the city, and an average Google rating of 4.4 from over 2,000 reviews. Little Red Door describes itself as a ‘cocktail wonderland’, offering a ‘universe of cocktails and flavours’.

Other popular hidden bars in Paris include The Syndicates (35,900 Instagram followers), Candelaria (27,800 followers), and Serpent A Plume (17,400 followers).

The bar with the fewest Instagram followers is Le Bistrot Des Cinéastes with 483, which could be considered the best speakeasy for those who want a more secretive and low-key bar experience.

Speakeasy	Instagram followers	Google rating	Google reviews
Little Red Door	45,700	4.4	2,252
The Syndicates	35,900	4.5	1,287
Candelaria	27,800	4.3	2,310
Serpent A Plume	17,400	4.1	395
The Lavomatics	13,300	4.1	1,831
Le Bar De La Maison Souquet	13,200	4.8	573
The Mezcaleria	11,500	4.1	744
Moonshiner	9,615	4.5	2171
The Epicier	10,000	3.9	776
1905	9,798	4.5	286
Rehab	9,301	4.6	136
Secret 8	7,293	4.3	54
Golden Promise	4,842	4.7	368
No Entry	2,182	4.7	351
Le Liquorium	1,741	4.4	168
Le Bistrot Des Cinéastes	483	4.6	830

For the full research including the top 50 best cities for hidden bars, the top speakeasies, and cities with the most hidden bars.

Commenting on the findings, Giacomo Piva, travel trends analyst and cofounder at Radical Storage had this to say:

“Coming across hidden bars when visiting a city is always an exciting find, but with the likes of TikTok and Instagram making hidden bars more popular than ever, they have now become part of the itinerary for people visiting new cities.

"As our research shows, there are some hidden bars that have very few reviews, which suggests some may well be more hidden than others, However, it is worth considering that not all hidden bars will be disguised from the public, as they wouldn’t have enough custom to remain open.”

Methodology

In this study, we defined speakeasies as bars that refer to themselves as a speakeasy, or are a hidden or secret bar. These bars are typically in obscure locations or have hidden entrances that would deliberately not be obvious to someone walking past. Due to the secretive nature of speakeasies, there may be more around the world that are not mentioned online and could not be included here.

We used data from Google Maps reviews and Instagram to determine an index score for each of the speakeasies, and then ranked the speakeasies based on their index scores.

This is how the weighting was calculated for the index contributing to an average 10/10 points:

Average Google reviews = 10%
Average Google ratings = 10%
Instagram followers = 30%
Number of speakeasies/hidden bars in the city = 50%

About Radical Storage

Radical Storage (formerly BAGBNB) are luggage storage experts, providing a network of convenient and safe luggage services for holidaymakers, backpackers, and business travellers in over 600 cities around the world since 2017.

Working with local partners and businesses, Radical Storage helps to make a holiday or business trip lighter and more enjoyable, taking care of travellers’ belongings as they explore their destination.

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