What's better than going on a bar crawl when on vacation? Why, taking in a little history while your imbibing at each stop, of course!

The Urban Village Tours' West Village Prohibition Pub Crawl is a fun way to check out all the speakeasies that our former neighbors frequented during Prohibition. Way before Civil Rights protests and the Stonewall rallies, West Villagers turned up their noses at the Eighteenth Amendment by frequenting bars on just about every corner. (Clearly we've always been rebels at heart.)

The tour guide will tell stories about the customers of the speakeasies...about the bootleggers, the actors, writers and other bohemians who dared to imbibe. You'll learn about the club owners and entertainers like Texas Guinan, who was nicknamed Queen of the Speakeasies. And they'll tell you about Jimmy Walker, the playboy mayor at the time who turned a blind eye to the goings on, enabling the alcohol culture to boom.

You'll see a speakeasy that once had two entrances: one for the patrons and one for the police, plus a place that had cockroach races for entertainment...all the while enjoying craft cocktails by skilled bartenders.

Tickets are $63 and include one craft cocktail, and food will be available at many of the stops for purchase.

Tours start out at Abingdon Square (8th Ave. & 12th St.) right near the hotel at 2 p.m. and last about three hours. It's day-drinking, people! What better way to spend a vacation! Oh--and obviously folks must be 21 to participate.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Image via Johnn/Flickr