Cerveceria Alemana (German Beerhouse), Madrid

Sitting on the southern edge of Santa Ana Square, the German Beerhouse was once the favorite taproom of Ernest Hemingway and many other celebrities of the day, including American actress and singer Ava Gardner, who either lived in or visited Madrid quite often throughout the 20th century.

Established in 1904 by a group of German manufacturers (hence the name), the brewery is still "a good place to drink beer and coffee" – as Hemingway once put it in his article in Life magazine – to be shared, if lucky, with "the most beautiful woman in the world". Hemingway's regular table here still stands in the near right-hand corner, and it feels every bit as though the man himself might walk through the door at any moment. This classic Spanish beer hall prefers buckets of olives to preening pretensions of city life, with wooden beams, hat racks and black and white photographs from past bullfights.

The food fills, the beer range (German, Belgian and Spanish) is broad, and the service is efficient. As you indulge in a caña (draught beer), it's advisable to be mindful of the tapas, as the bill can quickly add up.