World's best bar crawls

By Darrell Hartman

updated 6:50 p.m. ET Oct. 2, 2008

Early to bed, early to rise: It's many a traveler's credo. Have to fit in the boat tour and those two museums, right? But despite all the sensible reasons to opt out of hard-core nightlife—the ill-advised 4 a.m. kebab, the waking up with your clothes on, the headache that pounds through your sightseeing the next day—no trip is truly complete without a good elbow-bending session at an authentic local watering hole (or three). If you do it right, you'll remember enough of the night before to know it was fun. You learned to say "cheers" in the native tongue. You finally talked with some locals. Maybe you even went home with one. We know, we know—it was a cultural experience. Read on to find our favorite bar crawls around the world, from Bollywood hangouts in Mumbai to dancing on the bar in, yes, Beirut.

For a complete slideshow of the World’s Best Bar Crawls, click here.

1. London

What's on tap: Tippling and tapping your happy feet with London's hipster set.

Why it's worth a shot: You're probably tired of hearing about how once-gritty East London is now international scenester ground zero. But for every "Nathan Barley"—British slang for the neighborhood's legions of casually employed, fashion-conscious youth—there's a Bacchanalian dance club that's way ahead of the curve. The challenge, of course, is getting in: Many are hard to find, and the big-spender shtick that lowers velvet ropes in Soho doesn't impress anyone here. The right vintage piece and a credible air of disaffection work much better.

Booze route: Grease the pre-clubbing wheels at Cargo, a Shoreditch standby with a beer garden that is—amazingly—still cool more than five years after it opened. Next up is Bethnal Green Workingmen's Club. Half Moulin Rouge, half bingo hall, it's earned a loyal following for its burlesque and polka-dot tea party theme nights. Do your homework, pack an appropriately cheeky costume, and look for the yellow-flower tag by graffiti artist Banksy outside—the ultimate hipster seal of approval. For late-night debauchery, head north to Dalston, the new hipster frontier and home to Barden's Boudoir, an unmarked club sandwiched between a kebab joint and a discount shop. The pretty, artsy young things will be dancing up a storm in the basement. Extra points if you lure one of them onto a ratty couch.

Hangover cure: A pack of cigarettes, naturally. How else are you going to keep yourself looking svelte for the next party?

Cargo
Tel: 44 20 7749 7844

Bethnal Green Workingmen's Club
Tel: 44 20 7739 7170

Barden's Boudoir
Tel: 44 20 7249 9557

2. New York City

What's on tap: A crawl through the city's best Russian bars; epic amounts of vodka.

Why it's worth a shot: America's great melting pot has absorbed the drinking traditions of many a country—but few as robust as Russia's. A crawl through the Big Apple's best Slavic bars weeds out the pretentious and weak-of-liver—ordering an appletini here will get you banished to Siberia. Plan for a long, steady night of straight vodka, with enough zakuski (snacks, such as smoked meats and pickled vegetables) to keep you from toppling over.

Booze route: Start with a bowl of borscht ($6) and a couple quick nips of the clear stuff at Uncle Vanya on West 54th Street, a homey midtown café with timbered ceilings. Head a few blocks south to Russian Samovar on West 52nd Street, site of the infamous first date between Carrie Bradshaw and Aleksandr Petrovsky in "Sex and the City". A gulp of the horseradish-infused vodka should cut right through the place's musty mystique. Take your buzz across the street to the more convivial crowd at the Russian Vodka Room, a low-ceilinged piano bar with a serious list of hard-to-find vodkas, before heading downtown to Nolita's Pravda on Lafayette Street, where you can get fancy with cocktails like the Kempinsky fizz (vodka, cassis, lemon juice, ginger ale). If you need a snack, indulge in the Caspian osetra for two. But beware that it costs roughly as much as a flight to St. Petersburg ($780).

Into the wild Green retreats Pollution solutions World’s most romantic restaurants

Hangover cure: Pull yourself out of bed to detox at the East Village's quirky Russian & Turkish Baths on E. 10th Street. You'll be in good, if rough hands: The masseurs have been beating heavy drinkers (and, recently, in-the-know celebrities such as Colin Farrell and Russell Simmons) back into shape with brooms since 1892. It's got saunas and a bracingly cold pool but not the cleanest locker rooms, so bring your own flip-flops.

Uncle Vanya
Tel: 212 262 0542

Russian Samovar
Tel: 212 757 0168

Russian Vodka Room
Tel: 212 307 5835

Pravda
Tel: 212 226 4696

Russian & Turkish Baths
Tel: 212 473 8806

3. Beirut

What's on tap: A surprisingly hip bar district in a survivor city.

Why it's worth a shot: Given all of the strife in Beirut's recent past, you'd be forgiven for assuming it's not a great party town. But the one-time "Paris of the Middle East" remains, despite political tensions, a bastion of liberality. And though Islam forbids the use of alcohol, the notion of a stress-relieving cocktail is embraced in Gemmayzeh, an old neighborhood that made it through Lebanon's 15-year civil war remarkably intact and is now full of artsy, shoebox-size boîtes.

Booze route: Start at the tiny, Torino Express at 253 Rue Gouraud, a former picture-framing shop so committed to partying that it remained open during Israel's bombardment of the city in 2006. Drink a toast to that survivor mentality before heading a few doors down Gouraud Street to Dragonfly, an Art Deco hole-in-the-wall where barmen in aprons and shirtsleeves mix a mean caipirinha. Next, follow the neon-red sign to Bar Louie, a grottolike space where the live jazz music will help you tap into the vibe of the raucous old Beirut. End your night in the rollback-roofed bar above French restaurant Centrale, a stylishly gritty space with excellent views, assuming you can still see straight, of the city's pockmarked skyline.

Hangover cure: Don't go to bed without a late-night shawarma and a sloppy game of backgammon at the historic Gemmayzeh Café, also known as the Glass Café by locals.

Torino Express
No phone

Dragonfly
Tel: 961 1 561 112

Bar Louie
Tel: 961 1 575 877

Centrale
Tel: 961 1 575 858

Gemmayzeh Café
Tel: 961 1 580 817

4. Tokyo

What's on tap: Kitschy, off-key fun in the karaoke capital of the world.

Why it's worth a shot: Tokyo is full of places where you can drunkenly sing your heart out to pop classics. Two tips: The Japanese are well aware that this form of entertainment is more fun to perform than to listen to, so private-room rentals are the norm. Also, the entrance fee typically includes one or more drinks.

Booze route: One place where you can share your slurred version of "Livin' on a Prayer" with a larger audience is gaijin-friendly Smash Hits, which claims to be the world's largest English-language karaoke stage bar. For an only-in-Japan experience, book the Jacuzzi Room at Shakura, an upscale karaoke lounge in Roppongi, where your botched high notes get muffled by the jets of the hot tub you're lounging in. It might be too much fun for one evening, but Festa, also in Roppongi, has a costume closet full of stewardess uniforms and anime-character outfits that you're free to don before singing. Don't feel bad about passing out at the open-all-night Shibuya flagship of karaoke megachain Shidax: Wasted locals often rent one of the 130 rooms for a nap before catching a morning train home.

Hangover cure: Around the time you're belting out your last encore, the world-famous Tsukiji Fish Market is opening up—as are the sushi joints that line its entrance. Give the vocal chords a break with some green tea and the freshest sushi you've ever tasted.

Smash Hits
Tel: 81 3 3444 0432

Shakura
Tel: 81 3 3401 5711

Festa
Tel: 81 3 5570 1500

Shidax

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