Outdoor bars in NYC

Rooftop bars

New rooftop bars: Although they might be a little tricky to get into, both A60, atop the 60 Thompson Hotel in Soho, and Above Allen (pictured), atop the Thompson Hotel LES, offer impressive views, fresh air and swanky decor. (For A60, your best bet is to be a hotel guest, but for Above Allen, we recommend making friends with someone in possession of a membership card.) Much farther uptown, on West 46th Street and practically the Hudson, lives the new Hudson Terrace, a decked-out two-level bar and party space with all sorts of technological advances ensuring good times in all weather.

Old rooftop favorites: Always good for some crowded, open-air fun in a vaguely rainforest-y atmosphere, The Delancey on the Lower East Side has a retractable roof and surprisingly decent prices. With arguably the best view in Manhattan, 230 Fifth's palm-tree covered rooftop lounge, in the Flatiron District, offers almost 360 degrees of crazy-beautiful city skyline. We've also got a soft spot for the rooftop of Rare Bar & Grill, in Midtown East, where the shirts are striped, the pants are khaki and the vibe is cheesy but also kind of awesomely country club-ish. For a quieter and less view-oriented rooftop, we like the pretty bistro Juliette, in Williamsburg, where the food is French and the breeze is soft. And for party heads, the palm-tree-filled rooftop deck at Studio B in Greenpoint provides a breezy oasis above from the sweaty dancefloor—and is rentable for private events. Hipster wedding? (But Studio B's only open until the end of July, when it's closing. Again. Probably.)

Photo by Sam Horine