You can spend a lifetime here and not scratch the surface, but here’s where we’d start

WORDS RHYS THOMAS

Back in 2013, if it were an independent country Mexico City (known variously as Ciudad de México, CDMX and DF), would have been the fifth-largest economy in Latin America. It is simply massive, and has one of the most varied, sensorially stimulating energies you’ll find. An architectural paradise, a food-lover’s utopia and, above all, a chaotic beautiful unforgettable place to experience. So, how should one experience it? Let’s begin. 

The queer scene has always been vital but has grown exponentially in the 2020s. In terms of legislation, equal marriage has been legal in the city since 2009 (the first place in Mexico to do so) and it also recognises same-sex unions. This makes the city generally tolerant and accepting. It’s recommended to stick to neighbourhoods which have a friendlier reputation though, as sadly like anywhere, hate crimes exist. For that reason, we’d stay in and stay mainly around Juarez, Roma, Condesa, Polanco, Escandón, and Santa Maria la Ribera. PDA is very much a thing through the city though, so in these places especially, you will see queer affection all around. 

Zona Rosa

The pink zone is in Juarez, and has been present in one form or another there since the 1950s. This is the hub of the capital’s gay community, and is where Pride is hosted each June. In this area alone there’s over 50 LGBTQ+ nightlife venues and bars. If you want to call one small part of CDMX home, this will do very well. If you’re not sure you’re there, check the floor, its iconic pink cobblestone streets will indicate home. Calle Amberes is the main street in the area, you’ll find everything you need. Of course, for the more alternatively curious, other places might be more to your taste. 

 

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Underground parties 

There’s obviously a bunch of recurring parties in Mexico City, and a good swathe of them are LGBTQ+, some are more catered to gay men only. Fixxion and Por Detroit are more for anyone wanting a good night, focussed on more eurocentric rave ideas than anything specifically queer, though very accommodating and sometimes including dark rooms in the latter’s case. Brutal is another night, techno focussed and a little more queer. CERDOS is a new kid on the block, you can locate it on Instagram. And then, of course, there’s Pervert, the biggest on the scene – very much a dance and fuck spot, darkrooms and late nights guaranteed. Generally these will happen in the more progressive neighbourhoods, but a cab can be advised when they’re more obscurely hidden, or you’re travelling at rogue hours. For something more permanently on, Tom’s leather bar will cater to men (and is, for those interested, predominantly dark room).

La Perla

For something to tick both the party and queer history itch, La Perla. A cabaret open Fridays and Saturdays, which has been running since 1946 (peaking in popularity in the 1990s). You’ll want to rock up early to get a good table, as early as 9pm, things truly kick off from 11. 

Sodome 

Between Roma and Polanco, you’ll find this unassuming sauna that has become something of a party destination, even hosting boiler room events. It’s CDMX’s only European style bath house, but also has a lobby which becomes a dancefloor, an upstairs containing a foam room and a (very active) dark room – you may see these called Cuarto Oscuro when there. There’s bars throughout, and of course, steam rooms and Turkish baths. It isn’t the cheapest entry, but contains a world of ways to unwind (wildly), all night long. For a more traditional bath house, Baños Finisterre is accessible and also in a safe area. It is listed as a public toilet on Google, it’s often quite sparsely populated due to the size, but is also a good place for secluded, intimate cruising. 

 

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FLINTA-friendly spots 

While there’s a few male-only venues, most do have at least days if not generally open doors to all genders. Kinky Bar (formerly Lipstick) is also a great established bar – Thursday nights are supposed to be more lesbian-themed, La Purisima is also a favoured spot among locals who are not male, as is Revuelta Queer House. 

Drag 

There’s loads, but Club Roshell is a great place to head for. Super friendly, super energetic, this is exactly how you’d imagine Mexico City doing a drag night. Staff have even been known to help you top up make-up. A social clun in theory, this space does everything from a quiet drink to comedy nights to sweaty dancefloors. 

A brief note on opening times 

It’ll likely save you at least once on the trip if you check venue Instagram pages regularly in case there is a last minute change of plan.

 

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More leisurely activity

Of course it doesn’t all have to be parties. Mexico City is home to more museums than you’ll ever manage to visit, for example, as well as gorgeous brutalist and art deco architecture, and of course centuries of rich and varied history.

Among the most popular attractions (and worth visiting) are Zocalo, Chapultepec Park, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, and the Museo Frida Kahlo. Teotihuacan, a well preserved ancient city short trip out of the city, is also worth a day. There are dedicated LGBTQ+ centers with exhibitions on also.  

Queer safety

Despite a thriving muxe population in the Oaxaca region, Mexico is considered the second most dangerous country in the world to be trans, according to many human rights groups.

While Mexico City will be relatively tolerant, it is still important to stress that in 2020 the United Nations wrote “Trans women in Mexico City [are] an often persecuted group”. Sticking to LGBTQ+ accepting areas and travelling in groups is highly recommended. 

Also, public drinking is illegal in Mexico – and it’s reportedly the instigated for less than savoury confrontations with police. Worth remembering, especially where parties spill out onto the streets. 

The post Mexico City, here’s how to make the most of it appeared first on GAY TIMES.

“Oh we do love to be beside the seaside, oh we do love to be beside the sea!”

WORDS RHYS THOMAS

The south coast of England has clusters of quaint villages, queer landmarks, and welcoming locals. Here, we’ve curated a guide for how to explore this lovely pocket of the UK, the GAY (TIMES) way. 

Brighton 

Essential for: those who like some seaside with their queer city (so everyone really…) 

The obvious starting point. Many queer men were initially drawn to Brighton to visit the enormous numbers of soldiers garrisoned in the town during the Napoleonic Wars. This was the beginning of the place as a haven for the LGBTQ community, and today the city is often referred to as the LGBTQ+ capital of the country. 

To play

Naturally, it’s an accommodating place to visit and live, with an accepting culture at large. It’s also a great place for enjoying the sea, quirky independent shops, bars and eateries – many of which are clustered in The Lanes, and on Preston Street. Some of our favourites include Bincho Yakitori, The Hole in the Wall, Baby Bao, and Halisco. The new-ish Sea Lanes is also worth a visit for an outdoor pool, a whole host of health and wellness classes, and also cocktails in serene seaside surroundings. 

While a great place to visit at any time of the year, Brighton Pride attracts around half a million people across the weekend, this year’s Pride takes place on August 2 and 3, which makes for a fun if busy time to check out what the city has to offer. 

For a Pride-esque feeling outside of that weekend, Centre Stage is an ideal place to visit. Open seven days a week, the LGTBQ+ cabaret and show venue is the heart of Brighton’s “gay village” and general queer offerings – they do Sunday Roasts from 12-4 on Sundays also!  

To stay 

Kemptown, however, is the heart of Brighton’s LGBTQIA+ community. Just east of the city centre, the area has a relaxed community feel, making it an ideal place to stay and a relaxing area to feel home in when you’re feeling less inclined to be in the city proper. We’d recommend the gorgeous Drakes Hotel, a four-star boutique right on the seafront in a pair of Regency townhouses. It’s as good as it sounds.  

Accessibility

Brighton does have steep hills, but most of the things to explore are among the relatively flat seafront. The train station connects you to London, and is fairly central, though up a hill from the seafront. 

Hastings  

Essential for: bougie trinket hoarders, relocating away from city life forever with your tiny impractical gorgeous dog 

When it comes to lovely south coast places to visit, Brighton does a good job of projecting a pavilion-shaped shadow over most other places. Hastings is well worth visiting though, and we’re here to shed some light on why. 

To play 

Hastings is full of creative talent, it seems to be a place where many have flocked for a more peaceful time of things, and the space to simply make the things they want to make. Consequently, the place is a dream for window browsing, and generally has a lot of well-preserved beauty to admire, whether it’s in the pubs (especially First Inn Last Out) or the exterior of old houses (including those opposite said pub). 

Hastings has two areas really, old town and … (well) new town but both are very charming. Trinity Street is the cute hub of the not old town, and is home to Stooge Coffee which is both a specialty coffee shop and a ramen restaurant, the beautiful homeware store Dyke & Dean, and bar/venue The Printworks. There’s often food markets, and a variety of independent shops to spend time browsing and discovering too. 

On the more blatantly queer front, Hastings Queer History Collective is well worth your time. The group of dedicated volunteers formed in 2020, and is committed to collecting, preserving, and sharing the queer history of Hastings and the surrounding area. You can learn more about visiting here.

And for real tourist musts, there’s the pier, Hastings Castle, Hastings Contemporary, and East Cliff Railway. They promise a variety of very gorgeous visual treats. 

To stay 

Hastings House B&B would be our pick. There’s seaside views, calm and luxury decor. It’s an ideal place to weather a storm, or to enjoy a coffee overlooking a beautiful sunny day on sea. 

Visiting Times

Hastings is quite a sleepy spot, and most places aren’t open early in the week. It’s one to visit for a long weekend, for sure. 

Accessibility

Given the rickety old vibe of the place, some roads are narrow, and there are a few hills, but generally Hastings and its train station are accessible to get to. 

Dungeness  

Essential for: the artist in you, feeling very profound feelings 

Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent. It’s completely flat, mainly a shingle beach, there’s an old light house, a few houses in a straight line, and a general sense of being at the edge of the world. It’s a memorable and stunning place, somewhere you will always remember. And the main attraction, well worth the trip on its own, is Prospect Cottage. 

Prospect Cottage, Dungeness

Prospect Cottage was the final home and sanctuary of Derek Jarman, a pioneering artist, filmmaker, gay rights activist and gardener. The place is often referred to as a site of pilgrimage, and when there it’s hard to not feel the profound power and emotion of the place and its significance pour through you. The slightly strange, almost dystopian, surroundings add to the experience.

Visiting times

Varied, it’s best to check the website and to book in advance. 

Accessibility

The cottage is at ground level, though on uneven road; public transport to the building is very limited and so we would advise a car.

Price

£20 Standard, some concessions available.

To stay 

If you’re taking a car, you could drive here from Hastings and back pretty comfortably. But if you wanted to stay, we’d recommend Shingle House. Inspired and placed neatly in the area, this modern architectural beauty right on the shingle is inspired by the old tarred exteriors of the fisherman’s hutsdotted across the land. You’ll feel completely at home, and on holiday, all at once. 

The post From Brighton to Dungeness, here’s how to travel England’s south seaside (the gay way) appeared first on GAY TIMES.

Behold: a totally subjective guide to the queerest landmarks in London, Hell Island’s occasionally redeemable capital city.

WORDS RHYS THOMAS

Have you ever stomped about a city like a feral rat with a penchant for iced vanilla matcha? Stomp, clack, stomp, the ice rattling everywhere, wired headphones in, pushing straight cis men in suits out of the damn way? Well, one sunny weekend, I did. 

I had no agenda for my tirade of steps. But then I decided on one: visit like all of the queer landmarks across London. Because, well, why not. They’re there, they’re queer, etc. and so here’s where I went… 

Hampstead Heath 

Where else can we begin but the Somme of the culture wars, the centre of the battle, Hampstead Heath (we were here first!). Despite recently being the focus of a poster campaign shaming cruisers, it’s still a queer-friendly haven and a lovely place to get some steps in. The ponds, particularly, are known for their salacious stories of hook-ups. In reality, they’re sweet, freeing and friendly places to lounge or swim. I did not swim, for wild swimming isn’t chic to me. I marched on… 

 

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Virginia Woolf’s houses (all of them)

Woolf and I have a lot in common, most of it unfavourable to our wellbeing. Another is that we’ve lived in a fair few houses in London. Though I imagine she was less plagued by the rental market of the time. Blue Plaques adorn the houses in which she spent time, from her birthplace which is on one of the impossibly expensive and pristine roads near Hyde Park where all the embassies are based (22 Hyde Park Gate) through to Mecklenburgh Square which she departed when it was bombed during World War II, never returning to London. This could be an entire day’s walking alone, and she’s worth it. 

La Camionera

Where else would one stop for a coffee break? La Camionera is one of two FLINTA-owned lesbian bars in London (the other of which being Goldies, which we also recommend), you may remember it popping off on TikTok in June 2024. At the weekends it’s open from 10am, and visiting in the quieter hours is a really lovely way to experience it and enjoy a haven of your own. There’s also great wine but try not to run into your ex-girlfriend…

 

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Alan Turing Statue, Paddington

Paddington might be synonymous with that furry royal bootlicker in the red hat, but there’s actually a reason to step foot here on our travels: The statue of everyone’s favourite mathematical genius, Alan Turing, who was born in nearby Maida Vale and would later be resurrected by Tia Kofi on season two of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK. 

Gays The Word

The UK’s oldest LGBTQIA+ bookstore, founded by a gay socialist group in 1979, is in central London and remains open today. The place is steeped in a library of its own history, has hosted readings and evenings with just about everyone, and of course has just about any and every book you can imagine – including rare original editions. Gays The Word is a bastion of the UK’s queer community, and a sacred place to spend an hour or two. You should go here and marvel at the first edition of Audre Lorde’s Need, for example. 

 

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Oscar Wilde Statue, Strand 

Get ready for another statue! This time, Ireland’s most flamboyant playwright, and a true icon of queer rights – even defending his relationships in court. Oscar Wilde, of course. Fittingly it’s pretty near the theatre district he constantly left gagged. 

Islington South Library

More literary ideas! Joe Orton. Wrote dramas as dark as his life, had a life as dark as his dramas. What could have been… I will always howl at the defacing he did to books at this library a small walk from where he and his boyfriend lived on Noel Road (not endorsing crime, by the way!). A personal highlight is the baboon placed inside a rose within the Collins Guide to Roses, you can view more of the covers at the Islington Local History Centre. 

 

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Dalston Superstore 

And then, the night is calling. This means Dalston Superstore, obviously. “East London’s notorious big queer pleasure palace” as they refer to it. 

The Grapes

Well how tiring that all was, I thought. And so, I went to Limehouse for a little refreshment near the river. The Grapes, where else! Sir Ian McKellen’s very own pub. It’s got a 500 year history though, even featuring in Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend. The pub is something of a local haunt but also very welcoming and joyful, a great place for a quiet drink and a spot of classic pub food. There are also very well loved pub quizzes here, and sometimes Sir Ian will host them. 

The post A fictional mental health walk through London’s queer landmarks appeared first on GAY TIMES.