The Rough Guide to Barcelona 8 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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GAY AND LESBIAN BARCELONA
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Gay and lesbian
Barcelona
T here’s a vibrant gay and lesbian scene in Barcelona (or “Gaycelona”, as
some would have it), backed up by an established organizational infra-
structure and a generally supportive city council. Information about the
scene is pretty easy to come by, while locals and tourists alike are well
aware of the lure of Sitges, mainland Spain’s biggest gay resort, just forty
minutes south by train.
The expression for the gay scene in Spanish is “el ambiente”, which simply
means “the atmosphere” – it’s the name of the useful section in the weekly
listings magazine Guía del Ocio, which lists gay and lesbian bars, clubs, restaurants
and other services.
We’ve picked out the best of bars, clubs, restaurants and hotels aimed specifi-
cally at a gay and lesbian clientele. They’re scattered across the city, though
there’s a particular concentration in the so-called Gaixample, the “Gay
Eixample”, an area of a few square blocks just northwest of the main univer-
sity in the Esquerra de l’Eixample. Bear in mind that you’ll also be welcome
at plenty of other nominally straight Barcelona dance bars and clubs.
For up-to-date information and other advice on the scene, you can
contact any of the organizations listed below, or call the lesbian and gay
city telephone hotline on T900 601 601 (toll free, daily 6–10pm only).
Aside from the weekly bar and club listings in Guía del Ocio and Time Out
Barcelona, there’s also a good free magazine called Nois (W www.revistanois
.com), which carries an up-to-date review of the scene. BarcelonaGay
(W has a useful map highlighting the main gay and
lesbian attractions in the city, W has more gay-friendly
reviews, while W is a forum and chat site for gay men
living in or visiting Barcelona.
The biggest event of the year is Carnival in Sitges (see p.153), while there’s
the Barcelona International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival every October
(W ). Barcelona’s annual lesbian and gay pride
march is on the nearest Saturday to June 28, starting at Plaça Universitat.
Barcelona is also often the venue of choice for other international gay and
lesbian gatherings – in 2008, for example, the city hosted both the Eurogames
(the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Championships) and the Girlie Circuit
Festival (international lesbian rally and festival).
K