gaypartyblog.com gay nightlife scene

Not that many years ago I was in London’s West End, the heart of the capital city and I wanted to visit a gay bar. There were only three then. But now? Well, now there are more bars and clubs, coffee houses and restaurants than ever before and you could probably visit a different one every day of the year and still not see them all. Add to this the number of places that are outside of the West End and you’ll find London a great destination for a gay holiday.

The first thing to do when you hit London is pick up a copy of Timeout (timeout.com) . This is a listings magazine that will give you the name, address and details of every bar (gay and straight) and venue in town. You can also check out theatres, restaurants, events, festivals, museums… you name it, they will have it listed. For more specific gay information then pick up a copy of one of the free magazines that you will find in any gay venue; QX is a good free one to look out for. Once you’ve done that head for Leicester Square (pronounced Lester Square) or Piccadilly and start your investigations in the Old Compton Street area: the heart of London’s queer city.

The Gay London on-line directory currently lists 34 gay bars in Central London alone. 79CXR on Charing Cross Road really gets going in the evenings and you’ll find a mixed crowd here on its two floors. It’s a long bar with some recesses at the back where you can pose, wait or generally cruise. The ones to look out for when you want to find a younger set would be Bar Code in Archer Street or The Village Soho at the end of Old Compton Street. Along the way you could stop off for some shopping at Clone Zone or call in for coffee at the trendy Kudos Café or the equally trendy coffee house, The Box. All of these places get busy in the evening and most are open all day. Watch out for the London prices though as you won’t find drinks very cheep. Your best value is to try somewhere like Comptons, which is more of a pub than a bar and which has pump ale and lager as well as the over priced bottles of designer beer. Comptons is one of the older bars and has a mixed crowd. As does Brief Encounter which, when I was last there, was rocking and you were guaranteed a pick up if you cruised hard enough.

There are 16 gay clubs in the centre of town too. G.A.Y. at the Astoria is probably the most popular with guest appearances and live music as well as late night dancing and non-stop cruising. This is the number one place for the 18 – 25 crowd on a Friday and Saturday night. There is also the world famous Heaven, under the arches at Charing Cross railway station. This has been running for more years than I care to remember (as some remember it from as far back as the early 1980’s) and is one of THE places to be seen.  Again, it’s not going to be cheep but most of the clubs in London offer rates for Students, so if you have a student I.D. card, don’t forget to take it.

Outside of the city centre but only a short underground or bus ride away, you’ll find loads of other bars and clubs. These tend not to be as pretentious, the bois don’t pose as much and the staff tend to be more friendly. If you want to rip your shirt off, show off your pecs and get off on music then try Trade at Turnmills in Clerkenwell Street. Benjy’s on Mile End Road (Sundays) is packed with hunky and fit East End lads and down at Kings Cross, Central Station has something different on every night. The student folk of the north and east areas tend to hang out at The Duke of Wellington and other Islington area bars and if you want cabaret, cruising and everything in between the good old Black Cap in Camden is the place for you.

These are just some of the better places to visit on your trip to London, if I were you I’d check out the links below, pick up a copy of QX for addresses and listings and prepare yourself for a rave. If it’s happening, it’s happening in the gay scene in London!

• g-a-y.co.uk - GAY nightclub
• gaylondon.co.uk - has lists of venues and events
• qxmagazine.com - on-line and printed gay news and listings magazine – free information.

Summer is a coming in (if you’re in the northern hemisphere at any rate) and my mind is turning to hot days by the sea. And what could be better than finding a beach where you can do the full Monty and strip everything off? Doing a quick search for Gay Nude Beaches (USA) brought up over one million hits so the problem is really where to start?

Florida seemed like as good a starting point as any and the news here is that with over 12,000 miles of coastline, nude and clothing optional beaches are really taking off. The two that came up most frequently were: Haulover Beach, in the North Miami Beach area. It has many facilities including lifeguards (so something to ogle at apart from naked guys) and parking that is available from sunrise to sunset. Or there is Playalinda Beach which has fewer facilities but is extremely popular. A word of warning: some states have different laws so check out where you are before you strip off! If you’re further north you might be surprised to learn that there are at least five nudist beaches in New York. Cherry Grove in Suffolk County is actually one of the gay resort communities on Fire Island, which you’ve probably heard of, and is more than just a gay nudist beach. Here they have ‘awards night’ and a July 4^th gay barbecue and it is one of the more popular gay destinations in the USA.

Leaving the United States and jetting off around the world towards Europe and you are spoiled for choice when it comes to stripping off. Mykonos, one of those idyllic Greek islands, has long been famed for its gay night life and there are plenty of go-naked places to be found. Which is kind of strange as Greece only has a very few registered and official nudist beaches. But as long as you are discrete and don’t offend anyone then most people turn a blind eye, particularly on Mykonos which is still something of a gay party island, though it can be expensive. Croatia, apparently, has a long tradition of nudist beaches and, though not necessarily gay ones, there are some very popular places along the Dalmatian coast. The same goes for the south of France where, particularly on the smaller beaches, most everyone strips off and those who don’t do not seem to care. A similar attitude is held in Spain and Portugal, in fact Europe seems to be a great destination for anyone wanting to get bare by the sea. In Spain, you have famous nude beaches such as Sitges and Maspalomas (it’s the Gran Canaria gay beach).

But what about England? It rains there all the time doesn’t it? Well, no, not all the time and if you want a good gay experience then pop down to Brighton and walk along the shingle shore towards the Marina. Here you’ll find a bank of shingle between the road and the sea and over it you’ll find the nudist beach. This one was officially opened by The Queen Mother (though she didn’t strip for the ceremony) and is a very popular destination for gay sunbathers and cruisers. Just behind the beach is the area known as ‘the bushes’ where, particularly after dark, gay guys go to cruise. Contrary to popular thought, the Brits aren’t all prudes and most locals know what goes on here. Bring a flask of something to keep you warm and… enjoy!

Of course these are only a few destinations and there are hundreds more out there. One of the best sites I found was gayoutdoors.org and if you look there you will find masses of links and a search facility that will enable you to look up what’s good, nude and gay near you. This sites features all kinds of other outdoor activities for gay guys (and girls) and has some pretty hot boys adorning its many pages. So strip off your hot clothes and dive in boys!

Brighton is an historic seaside town on the southern coast of England. It is famous for its two piers, the West pier which is now more or less destroyed by time and the elements and the recently renamed Brighton pier which is famous for its fairground attractions. Brighton is also famed for its Royal Pavilion, a fancy Palace built in the Regency style for King George IV in the early 19^th century.

But there is so much more for the gay traveler to enjoy in Brighton than the usual tourist sites. Whether you fancy a night eating out, clubbing or simply cruising in the bars you’ll find a whole load of places to choose from as Brighton is now known as the ‘gay capital of Europe.’ O.k. so you might think that Amsterdam, London, Manchester or even Gran Canaria should deserve that title and you’d probably be right. But this article is about the ‘city by the sea’ so let’s have a quick tour around the better places to go in Brighton.

Which, by the way, is also a student town with two universities and several colleges, so there is plenty of young talent around.

Brighton bars seem to fall into two sets; the bar for the older guy and the bar for the younger set. For the younger crowd though go to Charles Street, on the seafront. It is a large bar that serves food and has a night club upstairs. You can call in for breakfast, read the papers, sit on the terrace or just meet your friends for drinks before a night out. It, like many of the Brighton bars, is friendly and welcoming. Next door you will find Kruze which also caters for the younger set with up to date music and swanky decor. If you’re more into the real student crowd then The Marlborough will appeal with its pool table, theatre and well priced food. You can also get real English ale here which makes a change from the standard lagers the other bars rely on. You’ll also find young and old alike enjoying cabaret and Karaoke at The Queens Arms and this traditional English Pub likes to have cute and sexy barmen behind the counter.

For a night of dancing and cruising then Revenge is your destination. This is Brighton’s biggest club, and its two dance floors and bars regularly attract a young and hip crowd. You’re guaranteed to have a wild night here and your eyes will be popping out of your head at the young guys dancing in their sexiest clothes long into the night. Once a month you can go to Wild Fruit, a party night event that has been running regularly since 1992 and one which attracts the cream of the boi crop. Check their website for when the next event will be. (See below). For a bit of everything in one place you can try Legends. This place has just been revamped and now contains a bar that has regular cabaret and the new Dance Venue downstairs. Upstairs is a hotel so you can even have a place to stay.

And if you want something a bit more steamy then The Amsterdam also has a hotel attached, a lively bar with a great terrace on the seafront and a busy sauna down in the basement. You’ll find a mixed age crowd here but everyone is friendly and you’ll be made to feel welcome.

That’s the good thing about Brighton: it’s small enough to keep a community, friendly feel and you can be anonymous or you can get yourself noticed. Most of the bars and clubs are within walking distance of each other and there’s even an open air cruising ground along at ‘the bushes’ by the Marina.

Useful Gay Travel links:

gay.brighton.co.uk for a list of venues, clubs, bars, accommodation and shopping
wildfruit.co.uk for news on the next monthly party
gscene.com Brighton’s monthly, free gay news magazine that is also available as an no-line download

Looking for a trip this Summer?

Gran Canaria is one of the islands in the Canary Islands group, just off the west coast of north Africa. It is a Spanish island – so lots of hot Hispanic bois – but most people in the bars and clubs will speak English. It has a good holiday climate all year round, a little chilly at night in the winter and has a huge carnival every February. There are lots of gay only or gay friendly hotels and apartment complexes to stay at and it also has two other added tractions: The Dunes is an area of Playa de Maspalomas, the gay beach where cruising is the name of the game, day or night and the Yumbo Centre (also at Maspolomas) turns from being a regular shopping centre by day to the centre for gay partying by night.

With Gran Canaria it’s really a question of knowing where to start but my advice is to start at the Yumbro centre on your first night and take a look around. Find a place that suits you and use it as a base to explore all the other attractions this gay paradise has to offer. There are around 40 bars in this one area alone and they are as varied as they are many. There is also an international feel to the place with English, Welsh, German and Dutch run bars working along side the Canarian and Spanish ones. For something camp try the La Belle show bar or Ricky’s cabaret bar. For leather lovers you can choose between Contact (a small bar) or Construction. If you like bears then you can’t miss Barenhohle, for waiters in thongs you’ve got Fiction, for Country and Western you have Dolly’s Bar and when you need to sit quietly and get over all of that you have Hollywood, a place to chat and chill.

Phew! And that’s just some of them! Many of these stay open late and the crowd spills out on to the street. The Yumbo Centre is built on several levels and many guys start of at ground level and eventually work their way up to the top one as the night goes on. Many of these bars also have darkrooms for anonymous and quick sex and specific cruising areas. If you’re not sure what to expect then a general rule of thumb is: if there’s camouflage netting, dark lights and guys with mustaches hanging near a door then don’t go in unless you know what you’re doing. To find the younger set just wander the levels until you see the kind of guys you’re looking for and then try that place. As it’s mainly warm over there in the evenings a lot of cruising happens outside the bars as well as inside and most have an outdoor terrace. You’re safe in the crowds, taxis pull up outside the Yumbro regularly through the night and bar prices aren’t expensive so it really is a cool place to be for a vacation.

For a night of dancing you have Heaven (the same owners as the famous Heaven in London) which is open from 1.00 a.m. to 7.00 a.m. and Mantrix which starts at around 2.00 in the morning and goes on until… whenever.

But there’s more to Canaria than the night life. In fact, if you stay at one of the gay resorts or apartment complexes you’ll be tempted to go nowhere else. All of these places have pools, some have saunas and Jacuzzis too and in general the guys who stay at them are friendly and hot. (He says from experience.) You can stay at a general hotel or ‘gay friendly’ one of course and these may be cheaper but the reception you get and the safety you feel at an exclusively gay resort can’t be beaten.

Update: Contact is now closed down. We also found a great site to find updated information in Gran Canaria:

There is static general information section and then a changing news or info story below that (which is updated between 2 and 5 times a day). However, if you look at the categories in the sidebar, you will see there’s a wide range of categories with tons more stuff attached (see - for example - the Gay Pride category) and the event calendar has specific dates in it linked to items.

I’m a gay man who lives in GC, and the whole point of starting the site was to try and make sure there was something up to date available. –Owner of GayMenGC.com.

Other Useful links

owen100.com/gay.html for good general and specific information on Gran Canaria.