It’s an understatement to say Madrid is gay-friendly. Truthfully, strolling by its streets, it typically looks as if there are extra homosexual males than straight. Madrid is just not “tolerant” and even “accepting”—it’s positively welcoming to the LGBTQ+ group.
As such, there’s quite a bit to do for any visiting homosexual vacationer—moreover gawking on the lovely males, that’s. Whether or not you’re a queer lover of tradition, a homosexual foodie, an evening owl, and even only a bit attractive, listed here are our high gay-focused actions to get pleasure from across the metropolis.
Take the Madrid Homosexual Nightlife Tour
Chueca is the place the gays go to play. The official gayborhood of Madrid has palpable homosexual power flowing by its streets any day of the week, however by evening is when it actually places the pedal to the steel. Probably the greatest methods to dive into the motion is on our very personal Madrid Homosexual Nightlife Tour.
On the tour, you’ll go to three homosexual bars and study a bit in regards to the homosexual historical past of the world. Beginning at one of many oldest Spanish taverns within the coronary heart of Chueca, you’ll get pleasure from a conventional Spanish drink earlier than shifting on to a preferred homosexual cocktail bar—recognized for its generously sized cocktails and smoking-hot bar employees. Lastly, you’ll finish at one in all Chueca’s hottest homosexual bars, which straddles the road between membership and bar, epitomizing what Chueca is all about within the number of males who frequent it.
Hit the Golf equipment, Saunas or Cruising Bars
In Madrid, the evening would not have to finish when the bars shut, as the town gives loads of homosexual golf equipment to select from. Relying in your tastes—and the evening of the week—you may go to Delirio for a poptastic, tacky expertise, Kluster for a extra tops-off circuit get together vibe, Boite for one thing in between, Marta Cariño for a contact of sophistication, or Chocolate con Churros and CAЯBS for a queerer surroundings.
Should you really feel the decision, Madrid additionally has loads of cruising bars and saunas.. The most well-liked saunas are Paraiso and its kinkier brother, Sauna Seaside. For cruising bars, you’ll be able to’t go fallacious with Boyberry, Robust, or The Ring, relying in your style in males and stage of kink.
Take the Madrid LGBTQ+ Tapas Tour
Spanish meals is interwoven into the very material of their tradition, and in Madrid, it’s no exception. There are beautiful eating places throughout the town, however Chueca encompasses among the greatest. These wishing to totally immerse themselves within the Madrid LGBTQ+ expertise, whereas nonetheless satisfying their appetites, may think about taking our very personal Madrid LGBTQ+ Tapas Tour. As locals who might have been recognized to frequent the world a bit, we all know all the very best locations to eat, drink, and be merry.
On the three-and-a-half-hour hetero-friendly tour, you’ll go to the very best tapas bars within the space—together with a recent Spanish tavern, a preferred Galician tapas bar, and Chueca’s bustling meals market. You’ll pattern dishes like ensaladilla rusa (Russian salad), croquettes, patatas bravas (bravas potatoes), gilda (an olive, anchovy, and spicy pepper skewer), and chipirones (battered squid)—all garnished with slightly queer historical past imparted by your information.
Uncover the Queer Artwork Inside Madrid’s ‘Golden Triangle of Artwork’
Madrid is legendary for its massive three museums: the Reina Sofia, the Prado, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza—all inside strolling distance of one another and collectively often known as ‘The Golden Triangle of Artwork.’ Right here, you’ll be able to see the works of Picasso, Dalí, and Goya, but in addition among the many collections are works by queer artists and people with apparent homoerotic themes.
On the Thyssen, you’ll be able to actually study the queer backstories of its sculptures and work on their Inclusive Love Tour, which dives deep into how artwork served as the key language of gay love by the centuries.
Go for a Swim in Casa de Campo
Should you’re fortunate sufficient to time your go to throughout the summer season months, you is likely to be questioning the place the gays of Madrid go to chill down once they’re missing a seashore. The reply lies within the many out of doors swimming swimming pools dotted across the metropolis. You’ll discover gays strutting of their speedos in any respect of them, in fact, however by far the preferred is ‘Piscina El Lago’ within the large park that’s Casa de Campo.
Situated barely exterior the middle, the park is well reachable by taking the metro to Lago. To enter the pool space, you’ll have to obtain the Madrid Móvil utility in your telephone and guide your ticket beforehand. Lago truly has two massive out of doors swimming pools, with a hilly financial institution by the higher pool being the favored sunning spot of the homosexual group—the place nudity is allowed.
The park itself, Casa de Campo, is big and nicely value exploring. Simply across the nook from the pool is a scenic lake encircled by eating places, excellent for a romantic meal. There’s additionally a discreet cruising space situated someplace behind it—or so we hear.
Stroll Via the Iconic Parque Oeste
Retiro Park is most individuals’s first port—or fairly park—of name when visiting Madrid, and there’s nothing fallacious with that. It’s lovely there, and also you’re certain to see many homosexual {couples} picnicking on the grass in the summertime.
Nonetheless, there’s one other underrated gem of a park on the opposite facet of the town known as Parque Oeste (West Park), which appears to be particularly well-liked with the native LGBTQ+ group. There, you’ll discover inexperienced banks, hidden valleys excellent for extra secluded picnics, the Temple of Debod (an oddly out-of-place Egyptian temple gifted to the town), a cable automotive that takes you throughout to the aforementioned Casa de Campo, and a monument to the enduring trans girl Cristina Ortiz—higher often known as La Veneno.
La Veneno is one thing of a queer icon, having as soon as labored within the park as a intercourse employee till a fateful encounter with a TV reporter propelled her into the highlight, resulting in her turning into a Spanish tv sensation earlier than her dying in 2016. Her monument includes a diamond-shaped plaque that reads, “Courageous trans girl seen within the 90s.” Sadly, it was not too long ago vandalized however is because of be repaired within the close to future and is nonetheless value visiting for a glimpse into Spanish queer herstory.
Have a Drink in Lavapies: A Hipster Homosexual Paradise
Chueca doesn’t have a monopoly on Madrid’s homosexual scene. Lavapiés is a extra bohemian, cosmopolitan various to Chueca. If a queerer, much less mainstream vibe is extra your model, right here you’ll discover many pierced and tattooed varieties ingesting within the night on the world’s many terraces.
There aren’t any official homosexual bars, however you’ll discover the LGBTQ+ crowd gravitating towards locations like Sala Equis (an outdated porn cinema transformed right into a bar), Bar El Rincón Guay (affectionately nicknamed “Rincón Homosexual”), and Ciriaco Brown (a speakeasy liquor retailer/cocktail bar that transforms right into a secret homosexual membership on Sunday nights).
Attend Drag Brunch or Drag Bingo
Naturally, Madrid has a thriving drag scene. You’ll discover drag queen exhibits throughout Chueca on most nights of the week, with LL Bar being probably the most well-known venue.
Nonetheless, for a completely fleshed-out expertise, you’ll be able to’t beat Madrid’s Drag Brunch. Going down at Teatro Esclavo, it’s a four-hour affair that includes an eclectic array of drag queens, horny dancers, distinctive gastronomy, cocktails, and mimosas. An alternative choice is the Drag Queen Bingo VIP Brunch Desk in Madrid on Saturday afternoons, providing a enjoyable and foolish time with drag queens and rambunctious video games with prizes.
Expertise a Tailor-Made Tour with Madrid Tour Expertise
There’s quite a bit to see in Madrid, and a information can both assist you to discover its must-see websites or take you to a few of its hidden nooks and crannies. Madrid Tour Experiences is an LGBTQ+ pleasant tour firm with an infectious ardour for the town. Their excursions present an authentically Spanish expertise and assist you to keep away from being handled like a vacationer. Select from a variety of excursions, from a Full Metropolis Tour to a Madrid “Soho” Buying Tour, or craft your personal customized tour underneath their steering. Madrid Tour Experiences additionally gives day journeys exterior the town, with highlights together with excursions of the very best wineries or a visit to Segovia to see its well-known aqueduct.
Keep on the Axel Resort
All resorts in Madrid are “gay-friendly,” however one actually stands proudly on its excessive heels—Axel Accommodations. This lodge model has places across the globe, from Cuba to Berlin, and is the one lodge model on the earth to outline itself as “hetero-friendly.”
The Axel Resort in Madrid is only a quick stroll from Chueca or Lavapiés, situated within the close by Barrio de Las Letras—a cool space the place well-known Spanish writers like Cervantes as soon as known as dwelling. Its rooms have a particular avant-garde inside impressed by Madrid’s socio-cultural motion of the Eighties. The rooftop bar has a mini-pool and is a well-liked hangout for gays, whether or not they’re staying within the lodge or not. Should you’re feeling courageous, you can too make use of the “Do Disturb” indicators to ask the eye of anybody who is likely to be cruising the corridors at evening.
Attend Madrid Delight
Madrid Delight is known! It’s the largest in Europe and the third greatest on the earth, drawing LGBTQ+ individuals from all throughout the globe yr after yr. Going down across the first weekend of July, Madrid Delight is totally the very best time to go to, as the entire metropolis transforms to showcase simply how homosexual Madrid actually is.
For an entire week, there are live shows and occasions in Chueca and Plaza España, that includes all method of DJs and homosexual icons. On the primary Saturday of July, an enormous Madrid Delight Parade marches all the way in which from Atocha practice station to Plaza de Colón—each shade of the LGBTQ+ rainbow represented in an explosion of pleasure. After the parade, it’s a straightforward stroll as much as Chueca, which descends into lovely chaos with all-night avenue events and membership nights.
Should you plan on going to a membership after the festivities, you’ll want to purchase your tickets nicely prematurely, as you’ll discover each venue filled with hotties, each native and worldwide. Everybody lives their greatest—and unashamedly homosexual—lives to the fullest in a metropolis that embraces them at its very coronary heart.