Crown Liquor Saloon

The Crown is the rare pub preserved as a national treasure. Owned by the National Trust and still pulling pints, this High Victorian gin palace on Great Victoria Street is a riot of carved mahogany, mosaic tiling, etched glass and gas lamps.

Its most famous features are the ten wooden snugs — private booths with their own doors, gunmetal plates for striking matches and bells that once summoned service. The tilework was done by Italian craftsmen brought over to decorate the city's Catholic churches, who moonlighted on pubs in the evenings.

Sit with a stout and a bowl of champ or oysters and you are drinking inside a piece of design history that has survived both redevelopment and, across the street, decades as neighbour to the much-bombed Europa Hotel. It is touristy, yes — but deservedly so.

Visitor tips

• Snugs are first-come — arrive off-peak to claim one.
• The upstairs dining room is quieter at busy times.