Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There's a vibrant gay and lesbian scene in Barcelona (or “Gaycelona”, as some would
haveit),backedupbyanestablishedorganizationalinfrastructureandagenerallysup-
portive city council. Information about the scene - known in Spanish as el ambiente,
“the atmosphere” - is pretty easy to come by, while locals and tourists alike are well
awareofthelureofSitges,mainlandSpain'sbiggestgayresort,justfortyminutessouth
by train. Bars, clubs, restaurants and hotels aimed specifically at a gay and lesbian cli-
entele are scattered across Barcelona, though there's a particular concentration in the
so-called Gaixample, the “Gay Eixample”, an area of a few square blocks just northw-
est of the university in the Esquerra de l'Eixample. But you'll also be well received at
plenty of other nominally straight dance bars and clubs in a city that's generally wel-
coming to its gay and lesbian visitors.
PARTY TIME
The biggest event of the year - in the country's biggest gay-friendly resort - is
Carnival
in Sitges, while the main city bash is Barcelona's annual LGBT
Pride
festival (
pride-
barcelona.org
), which has events running over ten days each June, from street parades
and stiletto races to Tibidabo fun-fair parties. Barcelona is also often the venue of choice
for other international gatherings - in the past, the city has hosted the
Eurogames
(the
EuropeanGayandLesbianSportsChampionships),whilethegayandlesbian
Circuit
fest-
ival (
circuitfestival.net
)
is a Barcelona stalwart. For movie buffs there's the annual
Bar-
celonaInternationalGayandLesbianFilmFestival
(
cinemalambda.com
)
, usually in
July, while the appearance of the sun also sees the city's
Mar Bella
beach come into its
own as Barcelona's own gay summer beach zone.
ESSENTIALS
Accommodation
Finding sympathetic accommodation in the city isn't a problem, as there's
anynumberofchic,boutiquepropertieswithagay-friendlyvibe.Barcelonaalsohasoneout-
and-out gay hotel, the very cool “heterofriendly”
Hotel Axel
, which is right in the middle of
theGaixampledistrict.OrcontactOutlet4Spain( 938102711,
outlet4spain.com
),anac-
commodationagencythatspecializesingay-friendlyhotels,villas,apartmentsandflat-shares
in Barcelona and Sitges.
Information
For up-to-date information and other advice on the gay scene, you can call any
ofthe organizations listed under “Useful contacts” below,ortry the lesbian and gay city tele-
phone hotline on 900 601 601 (toll free; daily 6-10pm only).
What's on
Aside from the weekly bar and club listings in
Guía del Ocio
(
enbar-
celona.com
,
in Spanish) and
Time Out Barcelona
(
timeout.cat
,
in English), there's also a
good free magazine called
Nois
(
revistanois.com
,
in Spanish), which carries an up-to-date
review of the scene in Barcelona and Catalunya. Single best English-language website is the
