Gay Barcelona Guide

This is your gay Barcelona guide page and will give you a detailed overview of the gay scene in Barcelona, including Gay accommodation, bars and clubs to help you plan and enjoy your holiday. By the end you should have a good knowledge of what Barcelona has to offer the gay travel tourist.

Barcelona has long had the reputation as a city with a vibrant and integrated gay scene. Whilst there are some areas that are frequented more by the gay community, everywhere in the city is welcoming and open-minded, making Barcelona a gay friendly popular destination for members of the gay community.

Barcelona Areas that are popular with the Gay community

Many of the gay bars, clubs and hostels are around the area called Eixample (pronounced eshaumplay) and nicknamed gayxample. This is the heart of the gay scene, although it's not exclusively a gay area.

Eixample is a beautiful and relatively modern and trendy district in the centre of Barcelona, with all you could ever need in the form of bars, clubs and accommodation for both the gay and straight communities.

Another area that is very popular with the Gay Community is Sitges, which is just a short train journey away from Barcelona. See the foot of this page for our Sitges guide.

Gay Accommodation in Barcelona

Barcelona offers a good selection of accommodation specifically suitable for the Gay and Lesbian community, everything from Gay hotels, Gay hostels and even flats and apartments that are gay friendly.

To find out more about accommodation that is suitable for members of the Gay community click on the link below.

Click here for our Barcelona Gay Accommodation Guide

Gay Clubs in Barcelona

Barcelona boasts a vibrant and lively Gay Club Scene. Many of the Gay clubs (and gay friendly clubs) are based in the Eixample district of Barcelona which is the area just north of the very heart of the city centre.

Click here for our Gay Barcelona Club Guide

Sitges - popular Gay Beach area

Sitges is one of the most beautiful towns along the Barcelona coast, and was an artists colony in the late 19th century (it was where Miro was born and Dali had his holidays). Therefore it is unsurprising that it has become a very popular gay beach resort, with the gay population accounting for almost 30% of summer tourism.

The Gay beach is called Platja de la Bossa Rodona, which is directly under the Picnic Restaurant on the seafront. This is where you will find all the gay singles and couples strutting their stuff in very small swimming costumes! However with the growing popularity of Sitges now all the beaches are tolerant and friendly. If it is an all-over tan you’re after then a ten minute walk in any direction along the beach should get you to a nudist beach.

The bars and discos are mostly centred around Calle de San Bonaventura, humorously translated as the street of good adventure! There is a place for everyone, cocktail, drag and bear bars galore.. and all day there are cafes open onto the street where the whole gay community seem to sit and watch each other walk on by checking everyone out for the night ahead.
As yet there is no lesbian club, however with the growing number of clubs hosting lesbian nights there is no doubt that there will be one soon.

Bear in mind that you will need to book well in advance if you want to come to Sitges for the Gay Carnival in Feb, it gets packed out pretty quickly.

Spain was actually the third country in the world to legalize gay marriage, thus it has a very progressive tolerant outlook.

Welcome to Gay Barcelona!

As you can see there really is a wealth of places especially designed for the gay community, who simply add to the rich tapestry that is life in Barcelona. Also, if it’s the arts that you like then why not plan your trip around the annual Gay and Lesbian film festival that is held every October.

Barcelona may not have the gay clubbing of New York, or even the diversity of London, but it’s friendly, it’s fun-loving and it’s hot so what more could you want?

Related Pages

Gay Barcelona Guide Main Page
Barcelona Gay Bar
Barcelona Gay Accommodation
Barcelona Gay Clubs

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