Searching for the World’s Oldest Pub

When it comes to pubs, older seems to be better.  No matter where in the world you are, pubs will hang signs outside their doors that mark historical events or visitors and prominently feature their founding years. If the pub’s lucky enough, it’ll be the oldest one in the city, state, or county and they’ll absolutely let you know. But oldest pub in the world is harder to pin down. There are four main possibilities, with decent arguments to be made for each one. Three of them are in England, while one is in Athlone, Ireland, and each one lays out exactly why they’re older than all the rest. There’s no denying they’re all very old and worth a visit, but since there can be only one, the Irish pub does make the most compelling argument, with full documentation going back to the 900s. Granted, it hasn’t been the same people running it for 1100 years, but you can win them all.