Gay Dtatns Europe: Where to Celebrate Summer - misterb&b

Contents:

• THE WORLD'S MOST GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH CI AND RORTS
• THE BT GAY BEACH EUROPE (AND BEYOND)
• 10 BT GAY BEACH THE WORLD
• BT GAY BEACH DTATNS
• GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI
• 40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS
• GAY HOLIDAYS EUROPE

THE WORLD'S MOST GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH CI AND RORTS

Although urban statns tend to be most popular wh gay travelers bee of their rich cultural offergs, vibrant nightlife districts, and chic shoppg and dg, a number of the world's most gay-popular ci also enjoy picturque settgs on the water. From megaci wh skyscrapers on the ocean to relatively smaller statns on tranquil bays and lak, here's a ndown of the world's 20 bt gay urban beach statns (populatn 150, 000 or greater).

THE BT GAY BEACH EUROPE (AND BEYOND)

Wh outstandg mms, distctive archecture (cludg several treasur by Antoni Gdi) a lively gay nightlife scene centered mostly around the sophistited Eixample district, and an abundance of stylish rtrants and hotels, Barcelona is a terrific statn for urban, yet there's a sweepg and betiful gay beach, Barceloa, jt mut om the cy center. It's jt a short drive south along the ast to vis some of the Southern Hemisphere's most betiful beach, cludg swank Camp Bay, which li the shadows of the Twelve Apostle mountas, and Clifton, which has a scene-y gay beach.

And as 's set on the eastern shore of Zealand Island, on Ørund (a stra that divis the North and Baltic seas), Copenhagen is close to a number of priste, wdswept stretch of sand, cludg such gay hangouts as Bellevue and Ishøj beach. For many years known primarily as Florida's "sprg break" pal, Fort Lrdale began an amb transformatn to a more sophistited rort statn startg around the early 1990s, which cid wh efforts to urt gay and lbian travelers. Sce that time, more than a dozen gay men's rorts have opened wh a few blocks of the cy's betiful oceanont beach, as have several luxury high-rise hotels.

10 BT GAY BEACH THE WORLD

5 ln rints—prisg the Kowloon Pensula, New Terrori, and Hong Kong Island—is neverthels que forward wh regard to gay and lbian issu when you nsir the regn as a whole. This dramatilly suated cy on the island of Oahu has several gay bars, a great dg scene, and proximy to many notable attractns, om Queen's Surf gay beach to Pearl Harbor. One of the world's leadg gay and lbian statns, Los Angel is much more than a sgle metropolis - rather, 's an entire llectn of both sprawlg and many s scenic neighborhoods and adjacent ci.

BT GAY BEACH DTATNS

Here and funky Venice Beach, to the south, you'll fd que a few rtrants, hotels, and bars wh a mixed gay/straight followg, along wh one of the Wt's classic gay dive bars, Roosterfish. The cy is pecially popular as a gay statn durg Midsumma Ftival, a three-week LGBT arts and cultural ftival held om mid-January through early Febary. The regn has been eclipsed by nearby Fort Lrdale recent year's as the state's top gay statn, but you'll still fd plenty of gays and lbians livg and playg the parts - and visg durg the several big gay circu parti held South Beach each year, om Wter Party to Whe Party to Miami Gay Pri.

The largt cy on the famoly swank and sophistited French Riviera, Nice (populatn 350, 000) is not que a gay playground on the same plane as such Euro-queer hot spots as Ibiza and Mykonos, but this stylish cy wh an outstandg variety of tony rtrants and shops do have a growg gay prence (this is also te, by the way, of nearby Cann, which is smaller but also is beg creasgly popular wh gay travelers). You'll fd gay bars, snas, and f mostly or Old Town, and along the curvg wateront gg the Mederranean, rabow flags note a gay prence at Co Beach as well as at Castel Plage. S., and Canada, the romantic Mexin Riviera rort of Puerto Vallarta mak for an approachable, relatively affordable, and fectly fun and lively gay getaway om late fall through early sprg ( quiets down here nsirably durg the hot summer months).

GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI

The gay scene here has grown steadily over the past uple of s, wh the most popular GLBT beach and several welg hotels, rtrants, and bars centered upon the charmg and historic Zona Romanti district. R Janeiro jtly renowned for s sugary beach, and a party-driven, ftive gay scene that's ncentrated chiefly around trendy Ipanema and the more touristy Copabana areas, both of which ont the ocean and are ial for glazg, joggg, or playg the sun and sea.

40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS

Ipanema, wh s lonial-style buildgs and tree-led streets, is pecially charmg; you'll fd a number of LGBT-popular f and bars around here, as well as a stunng gay beach jt off Rua Farme Amoedo. One of the regn's most betiful beach, Fort Doto County Park, has a b of a gay followg, and there's also a great gay beach at Treasure Island, lled Sunset Beach.

Petersburg Gay Pri, the largt the state, the area is home to a diverse mix of gay-iendly lodgg choic, om grand hotels to elegant bed-and-breakfasts pl Florida's largt gay rort. The cy's btlg Hillcrt neighborhood is a hub of gay nightlife and retail, and you'll also fd plenty of GLBT-equented bs nearby North Park and Universy Heights.

Head for the oceanont muni of Pacific Beach and La Jolla, and you'll disver a geo stretch of gold-sand beach, wh the gay-popular Black's Beach among the most spectacular. San Diego also has a rich cultural scene downtown, ol rtrants and slick hotels the Gaslamp Quarter, and outstandg mms and attractns leafy Balboa Park, home to the San Diego Gay Pri ftival each July.

GAY HOLIDAYS EUROPE

Among the top 10 largt ci the Caribbean, sunny and vibrant San Juan (metro populatn 2 ln) has the bt gay scene and most welg attu toward GLBT travelers. Arguably the gay epicenter of the Southern Hemisphere, scenic Sydney is a major bs and cultural center that jt happens to be flanked by some of the world's most geo beach.

Sydney's gay scene is foced tradnally around Oxford Street, a 20-mute walk om the much-photographed Inner Harbour and Sydney Opera Hoe, but nearby ner suburbs like Newtown, Erskeville, and Glebe have sizable LGBT populatns and many mixed bars and rtrants. Israel's send-largt cy after Jesalem, the Mederranean-ged metropolis of Tel Aviv (populatn 400, 000) is also among the most secular and gay-iendly municipali Israel. It's long had a sizable gay prence, cludg plenty of f, bars, and boutiqu terg to GLBT rints and visors—Shenk Street li at the heart of the cy's gay scene.