The very first american bar in Europe was opened on Thanksgiving's day in 1911 by 2 Americans who dismantled their bar in New York, shipped the wood paneling to France and rebuilt it in Paris. In 1923, it was taken over by Harry MacElhone, a famous bartender, who transformed it into a haven for American expats.

Some of the most well-known cocktails were born here: Bloody Mary, Side Car, Blue Lagoon, White Lady or the Petrifier Cocktail. Actually the original recipe for Bloody Mary is still disputed between Harry's and the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz but Harry's says that mixing vodka with tomato juice was their idea.

The decor remained the one from the days of Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway - mahogany tables, dark wood-panelled walls, red-leather booths and pennants of American colleges on the walls. The atmosphere is completed by a thin haze of smoke from the French cigarettes and the music coming from the piano bar in the cellar.

Even though the drinks are quite expensive it still pays to be able to have a drink in the same place and breathe the same air that some of the world's greatest writers, actors and even royalty did.

5 rue Daunou, 75002 Paris
http://www.harrys-bar.fr