Gay Budget Travel London

Where it's at.

If Soho, London’s gay village in the West End, is the symbolic heart of the city’s gay community, then its backbone is Old Compton Street. A long strip of gay bars, restaurants, clothing and book shops, it's a haven of tolerance and laid-back al-fresco drinking and dining.

Whilst much of the action has been traditionally focused on Soho, there are also burgeoning gay scenes in Earl's Court and in the painfully trendy areas of Shoreditch, Hoxton to the east, and Vauxhall.

If it's a new frock you need, bargains can be found with many markets across the city, the hotbed of mainstream retail that is Oxford St and more high-class stuff in the flashy boutiques and fashion houses of Bond Street, Chelsea and Knightsbridge.

When to come.

England's weather doesn't have the best reputation on earth but it's hot in the summer so come then if you want to drink, dine and people watch al fresco, otherwise you can reenact scenes from Bridget Jones's Diary midwinter with a big coat or some skimpy knickers, whichever you prefer.

Acting as the highlight of London’s gay calendar, the annual London Pride LGBT cultural festival, which traditionally takes place from mid-June to early-July, is among the largest and most exhilarating of its kind.

Outside of London, the United Kingdom has one of the largest gay and lesbian communities anywhere in the world, and there are two other gay scenes of notable size in the seaside town of Brighton and on Manchester’s Canal Street.