The World's Most Gay-Friendly Beach Ci and Rorts

Contents:

• THE WORLD'S MOST GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH CI AND RORTS
• THE BT GAY BEACH EUROPE (AND BEYOND)
• BT GAY BEACH DTATNS
• 10 BT GAY BEACH THE WORLD
• THE WORLD'S GAYT BEACH

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

The naturalistic and gay part is loted between the textile beach of Jnais and the semaphore at the tip of Chemoul. 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).

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. Wh cy lims, the bbltone streets of De Waterkant district are led wh gay-popular bs, cludg several fun bars and rtrants. 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.

Near the cy's uber-gay Boystown, also known as Lakeview, the GLBT set nverged for many years at Belmont Rocks, an area that no longer exists. However, a b farther north, Hollywood (aka Kathy Osterman Beach) is a hot spot for gay sun lovers all summer long.

THE BT GAY BEACH EUROPE (AND BEYOND)

But this historic, e-iendly, smartly prerved and laid-out cy is one of the most progrsive, gay-welg ci the world. 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.

Back the betiful cy center, you'll fd gay bars, snas, clubs, and shops all a pact and walkable area - many are along Studitræ.

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.

BT GAY BEACH DTATNS

Fort Lrdale is also close enough to Miami and Palm Beach for quick viss to eher place, makg an ial base for a sunny and relaxg gay vatn. 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. Travel a b farther afield, and you'll fd several betiful beach wh gay prenc, among them Gold Coast Beach and Middle Bay.

And the pal cy of Honolulu, wh s vibrant though rather heavily veloped Waikiki beachont, ntas the heart of the state's gay scene. 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.

10 BT GAY BEACH THE WORLD

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 WORLD'S GAYT BEACH

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. In Miami Beach, you'll fd a pair of betiful and popular gay beach, cludg 12th Street Beach South Beach, and Hlover Beach farther north. 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). 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.

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. 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.