Spain gay city

So if you’re thinking of planning a trip to Spain, here is a list of the top 10 most gay-friendly cities to visit in this European hotspot. Pick one or pick them all, and you’re sure to be impressed and head home with memories to last a lifetime. Spain is widely known for its progressive LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance, making it one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly countries in the world. These are the cities that stand out as particularly welcoming and vibrant for the LGBTQ+ community: 1.

Madrid, located in central Spain.

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Spain is known for being a very LGBTQ+ -friendly country, with many cities that are particularly welcoming to the community. Some of the most popular cities for LGBTQ+ individuals in Spain include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Sitges. The best of gay Spain - gay bars dance clubs, gay-rated hotels, gay saunas cruise clubs, gay beaches and more across Spain including Barcelona, Madrid and Gran Canaria.

Spain offers LGBTQ expats safety, community, and freedom. Discover vibrant cities where you can truly be yourself—and thrive under the sun. The walkway outside Mariquita Copas , a hole-in-the-wall bar in Torremolinos' main "gaybourhood", La Nogalera , glowed blue. The makeshift drinking terrace I was sitting at was surrounded by palm-filled squares in the heart of southern Spain's Costa del Sol, a few blocks up from the Mediterranean.

As I sipped a beer on my first night in town, I surveyed the scene: pedestrians holding shopping bags had stopped to chat; a man and woman sat entwined on a bench; and gay locals clinked cocktail glasses. In the midst of it all was a bearded drag artist, outlandishly tall in knee-length platform boots, leather cap and skin-tight camouflage bodysuit.

This, I soon realised, was just another night in Torremolinos. Of course, it wasn't always this way. But, as I was about to learn, not only did the country's first gay-friendly bar open here back in , it was also where Spain's gay rights movement began — rather violently. Why Torremolinos? Let's start, as we Brits like to, with the weather. Originally a poor fishing village, Torremolinos' sub-tropical climate — among the warmest in Spain — was key in its metamorphosis into a resort during the s.

With Francisco Franco 's fascist government keen to encourage hotel construction to kickstart Spain's war-decimated economy, by the town boasted the country's first five-star hotel Hotel Pez Espada. Aided by the rise of charter flights in the late s, the increasingly cosmopolitan and liberal town began attracting artists, musicians, writers and queer visitors, too. Tony's was an instant smash and over the next few years, it inspired a slew of other establishments catering to the gay community.

What was once a sleepy fishing community soon transformed into a queer hub known for its inclusivity and hedonism. Torremolinos' buzzy scene was also home to Manolita Chen , a pioneering trans woman who became the first Spanish person to legally change her gender and adopt children: "At that time, in , I was working in a restaurant on Calle San Miguel," Chen later said. Those lights, for us, it was like we were in New York, we had never seen that neon in our lives.

On 24 June that year, the police ruthlessly raided the area, closing and fining venues while arresting more than people some reports suggest up to — the majority of whom were tourists. Sure enough, the area emptied after the raid, and squatters, prostitution and drugs moved in — a trend that extended to the town as a whole. By the early s, Torremolinos had become increasingly synonymous with tacky bars and a cheap escape for boozy British holidaymakers.

Today, those pioneers would likely be thrilled to know that this 68,person community is home to dozens of thriving queer bars, clubs and businesses. Marco America, founder of Pinktorremolinos. Gill Douglas, owner of the gay bar Boomerang , swapped Scotland for Torremolinos two decades ago. There are still a couple of monthly girls' nights, and Boomerang has customers from across the spectrum and of every nationality… exactly the way I wanted it.

After finishing my beer on our first night in town, my boyfriend and I left the drag bar and explored the scene, from La Nogalera's lively wine bar El Armario Bodega to the capacious club Aqua and long-established Men's Bar, home to an older crowd. Torremolinos has had quite the cultural journey, and its story is still evolving. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.

Skip to content. Torremolinos: Where Spain's gay rights movement began. Stephen Emms Features correspondent. Share Save. Stephen Emms.