Gay Budget Travel Barcelona - GAYbcn.com

Barcelona is a chic, relaxed city and almost certainly the most liberal part of what is a very live-and-let-live, progressive sort of country.

Its broad, elegant streets are packed full of some of the best shopping in Europe should you need a new outfit for a night on the town, or if sightseeing's more your thing, the narrow, winding alleyways of the Barri Gotic, the city’s Gothic quarter, are rich in historic architecture.

But it is as the sun sets that the city really comes to life, bars and clubs everywhere, with a great deal to offer the gay or lesbian traveler.

Where it's at.

The epicenter of Barcelona’s gay party scene is undoubtedly the glorious Eixample. But all across the city, from funky eateries by the marina, to less formal bars where you can knock back a few and stuff yourself with an assortment of choice bites. There’re more choice here than you could shake a stick at.

A little to the south of the city the town of Sitges, long a haunt of artists – Miró was born there, and Dalí used to take his holidays in the town – is a hugely popular gay beach resort.

The Calle de San Bonaventura, one of the town’s main thoroughfares, is lined with most of the town’s gay bars and clubs, and in the day, proves an ideal place to sit, have a coffee and watch the world go by. As well as being home to many of the best bars and clubs, the area also houses several of the city’s gay-interest shops and bookshops.

When to come

Summer obviously is when everything is at it's most divine, cafe bars to sit outside and watch the people go by. But come at any time of year to be rewarded with one of the best scenes that Europe has to offer, it's got a huge welcome all year round.

If it's the big party you're after though, arrive for the Carnival in February where, once a year, mayhem descends on the town, an explosion of flamboyance, color and gay pride.