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Piccolo Teatro Delle Melodie Veneziane
There's nothing very Venetian about the melodies, and the entertainment consists of half-hearted striptease and a little louche lap-dancing. Casanova and Byron would have been mortified!
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Pub Tortuga
During the day this is a fairly standard café-bar, where you can pop by for a coffee, a beer and perhaps a bruschetta. At night it livens up as local punters slip in to sample the various imported beers on tap and, occasionally, a little live music. It's a warm little island in this lonely Cannaregio corner.
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Sacro E Profano
Known as Da Valerio to regulars and hidden beneath the porticoes of what was once the goldsmiths' district, this tiny cubicle of a bar is another good spot to continue a Rialto night out. Try the cicheti and more substantial dishes (like the lasagne) or just sip wine and cocktails to the chilled ambient music. It's something of a hangout for artists and bohemians.
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Summer Arena
Set up under the stars in Campo San Polo in the hot months of summer, this outdoor cinema allows residents to see the movies from their windows! Again, it's all dubbed, and sound quality is poor.
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Suziecafé
This happy student bar picks up in buzz in the summer months as punters crowd the outdoor tables on the square hidden back a short stumble from the waterfront. Together with the nearby El Chioschetto , it creates a lively summertime corner in Dorsoduro. From May to June it organises occasional concerts of anything from blues to ska.
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Tarnowska's
Watch your step as you pop down a couple of steps into this elegant hotel bar (locals know it as La Contessa, the Countess), ideal for a cocktail or postprandial brandy. With its polished tile floors, it spreads into several separate spaces. Alongside those having an animated chat over lovingly prepared tall drinks are other folks beavering away at computers, for this is one of those rare things in Venice, a wi-fi spot. The Russian Countess Maria Tarnowska, it is said, had one of her lovers assassinated in this very place.
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Taverna da Baffo
Named after Casanova's licentious poet pal Giorgio Baffo and lined with his rhymes in praise of 'the round arse' and other parts of the female body, this bar has a young, chirpy feel. In summer the tables outside are an especially pleasant spot to sip a spritz or two, and the imported beers are good as well.
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Teamo
Every now and then you get the feeling that savvy new wind is blowing through Venice, bringing a modern, sophisticated buzz to some of its quiet corners. The high back leather padding along the bench against the wall, the high stools, the hip choice of music, make this a very un-Venetian little drink stopover. You can eat as well. But wouldn't it be marvellous if you could sip cocktails here at ?
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Teatro Fondamenta Nuove
Expect the unexpected. Here you might see a modern adaptation of a classic by Carlo Goldoni, Sardinian folk dancing or world-music performances. A around €20 season pass gives discounts on all performances.
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Teatro Goldoni
Named after Venice's greatest playwright, this is the city's main drama theatre. It's not unusual for Goldoni's plays to be performed here - after all, what better location? You might also see anything from Shaw's Pygmalion done by a Calabrian theatre company to contemporary Italian drama. All sorts of other events, including concerts, take place here too.
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Teatro Junghans
Locals call it the Teatro Formaggino (Little Cheese Theatre) because it looks like a wedge of cheese. With seating for 150 and a unique three-sided stage, it was inaugurated in early 2005 and is part of an urban-regeneration project in the formerly rundown factory zone of the island.
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Teatro La Fenice
The grand opera theatre of Venice is back in action, providing an experience music lovers will not want to miss. First-night spots can cost several thousand euros. First raised in 1792 and rebuilt after fires in 1854 and again in 2003, it is one of the world's great opera stages.
Some of the operas are staged at the charming 17th-century Teatro Malibran (Calle del Teatro, Cannaregio 5870; tickets around €10 -95), with a capacity of 900, instead.
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Teatro Toniolo
This busy forum in Mestre, in business since 1912 (and renovated in 2004), runs programmes ranging from Shakespeare to local drama, occasionally in dialect. Concert cycles and children's theatre are also a feature.
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Terrazzamare
Sitting on a beach at the southern end of Lido di Jesolo (near the lighthouse) is this classic self-described 'theatre-bar'. Music thumps into the night, and punters often groove in the sand. Theme nights dot the summer calendar.
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Torino@Notte
This unlikely looking spot (during the day) livens up at night as a young student set, combined with carefree and relaxed holidaying visitors, settles in for mixed drinks, music and the occasional live performance (jam sessions often take place on Wednesday).
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Un Mondo Di Vino
It's standing room only in this postage-stamp-sized wine bar where you can sample from a long list of wines and a bar-load of snacks. It gets lively with the chatter of locals and the clinking of glasses. Try a cheese platter (around €8 ). Wine by the glass goes for around €2 to €3 depending on your tipple.
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Venice Casino
If you feel that quantity is more important than ambience, then this might be the casino for you. It's Italy's premier mainland gambling house and is near the airport. The dress code is casual.
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Venice Jazz Club
For years known as Round Midnight and the place to dance and drink until the wee hours, this little bar has morphed into a tamer jazz club. The VJC Jazz Quartet, along with local and international acts, puts on a wide variety of tunes, from Bossa Nova to Cool Jazz.
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Videoteca Pasinetti
This film archive and research centre occasionally puts on film nights featuring classics. You'll need a membership pass, which costs €25 for one year.
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Vitae
When things around here start to look grim, people converge on this place. On a Friday or Saturday night it's a lively joint for a convivial drink - and one of the few seriously decent options in the San Marco area for a fun-loving, unpretentious crowd. Vitae is also busy by day - it's a popular brunch spot for local office workers - and it's packed for after-work drinks, too.
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Zanzibar
This crooked kiosk that looks set to crumble into the canal provides some great life-theatre entertainment. Pull up a seat on the square and settle in for a few people-watching drinks to the thumping music emanating from the bar.
