Originally Posted by
Diplomatico
I'll caveat my comments by saying I've never been to Venice. However, I lived for three years in Sicily and have spent quite a bit of time in Catania, Palermo, Naples, Rome, and Florence.
If by "pubs" you mean a typical American/British/Irish type of place, I think you'll find them few and far between. Italian style "bars" - unless you visit hotel bars - are more of the family coffee/pastry shop type of places that also sell beer and wine. You may find the occasional Irish pub or a disco but the atmosphere of a pub crawl in Italy is going to be much different than that to which you are accustomed.
Enjoy your trip!
Actually in this respect Venice is different than the Italian cities you've visited. Agreed the only '"pubs" are would-be Irish (i.e., in Venice, the Fiddlers Elbow - just off the Strada Nova) that cater to foreign visitor. However, there are lots of wine bars scattered throughout Venice and in function/atmosphere they are quite similar to their UK counterparts.
As for crawls, they're pretty common in the summer - esp. since bars are now allowed to serve using plastic cups so that visitors can 'take a traveler"
To the OP: you will be looking for "bacari" - when you visit a monument, or buy a post card, simply ask the person working at the establishment which bacari near by they go to - and you'll be on your way.