LGBTQ+ Guide to Barcelona
Bars & Clubs
La Frederica
La Frederica is a very cute and nicely decorated queer bar that offers delicious gin tonics, cocktails and wines, served by a great team of lovely bartenders. There is also a varied food menu with many vegetarian options to choose from. Regular theme parties and art exhibitions give character to this bar. It is a great place to meet new people and all genders and sexualities are welcome!
El cangrejo raval
El Cangrejo is a bar which is famous for its hilarious and original dragshows. These shows take place on Friday and Saturday nights, usually around 23:30. After the show, the venue turns into a bar where people dance on queer pop hits from the 80s, 90s, and 00’s. The bar is open to all and offers a friendly and festive environment where everybody feels welcome.
Átame Bar Musical
Átame is a gay bar in Barcelona’s gay district Gaixample. The atmosphere is great, there are affordable drinks, regular drag parties and the staff super friendly. The cocktails are a hidden secret and one of the best in Barcelona.
Versailles Barcelona
Versailles is a beautiful gay bar with a camp but cheerful decor full of chandeliers, crystal, gilt and painted ceilings. The bar plays great 80’s music, and serves cheap drinks at all times. A good place to start your evening, before you head out to dance in one of the other bars in the gay district nearby. Unfortunately, the door policy is a bit outdated, and females are not allowed to enter the bar.
Bookshops
Libreria Complice
In the charming Gothic Quarter, you will find an LGTBQ+ bookstore called ‘Libreria Complice’. The store sells a large number of books, comics, movies and magazines with queer related themes. The store has been around for 19 years, and strives for the integration and equal rights of gays, lesbians and transsexuals. The store does not only sell books, but it also assists upcoming writers, by helping them in publishing their work.
Website: www.libreriacomplices.com/
Libreria Antinous
Libreria Antinous serves as a meeting point for people in Barcelona who have an interest in LGBTQ+ themed literature. The shop does not pretend to be neutral or apolitical. It actively supports queer associations, which since the advent of democracy in Spain started a fight for the rights and freedoms of gays and lesbians, together with the selfless work of many anonymous volunteers. In the shop, you will find a wide variety of books and films, ranging from narrative and poetry to theater, essays, dictionaries and biographies. The shop hosts events regularly and it is a great spot to meet new people while browsing through queer books, and listing to interesting discussions.
Website: www.antinouslibros.com
Gay Saunas
Condal Gay Sauna
Condal Gay Sauna is primarily targeted at mature men, bears and their admirers. The sauna has a relatively small bathing area, but a spacious cruising zone which is set out over three floors. The sauna is open 24 hours a day, organises bear and leather parties regularly, and provides a special fare for those who are unemployed.
Entrance: 18€/16€ Concessions
Website: www.pases.es/
Sauna Casanova
Because of its convenient location within walking distance from the popular gay area, this sauna is visited by a younger crowd. The best times to visit the sauna is during lunch, evenings, and at night in the weekend when people leave the clubs to go home.
Entrance: €18/€16 Concessions
Website: www.pases.es/
Sauna Bruc
Sauna Bruc is a popular gay sauna, which is located close by Plaça de Catalunya. The staff is friendly, the atmosphere good and the sauna is kept clean at all times. The sauna is popular among an older crowd of all shapes and sizes, and both locals and tourists visit the place. With an entrance fee of 12.80, the sauna is also relatively cheap.
Entrance: €12.80/€10 Concessions
Website: www.saunabruc.com/
Cruising Areas
Montjuïc
The best and by far busiest gay area in Barcelona is Montjuic. If you visit this magic mountain, you will find LGBT+ people at any time of the day. Because of the size of the mountain, it can be hard to find the right place. The most popular spot is located on a slope Northeast of the Passeig de Jean Forestier. You can access this stroke from the parking station close to the golden stairs. However, several areas can be found on Montjuic. Especially the area surrounding the Ethnographic and Archaeology Museums are interesting places to wander around.
Exhibition: Cruising Pavilion Montjuic
Location: 41.37029, 2.154320
Nova Mar Bella
The Mar Bella Beach is an openly gay and partially nudist beach in Barcelona. During the summer, there are plenty of guys swimming here and showing off their bodies. It can even be difficult to find a free spot! People meet near clean and spacious toilets and in the park behind the beach.
Location: 41.401699, 2.215212
Queer Events
FICGLB
The Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival shows films with homosexual themes annually. A festival that invites to be tolerant and respectful towards different sexual choices. The festival is attended by many guests related to the films presented.
Website: www.barcelonafilmfestival.org/
Pride Barcelona
Every summer since 2008, Barcelona has been organising a pride celebration. For more than a week, the city celebrates the lives of LGBTQ+ people with protests and festivities. The Pride offers a program for everyone: there are large events such as concerts and the Pride Parade, but there are also smaller social and cultural activities, such as conferences, talks, movies and exhibitions. Every year, a special theme is selected, to provide a platform for visibility and awareness. Examples are: ‘LGBTQ+ refugees’, ‘homophobia in sport’, ‘transgender people’ and ‘same-sex marriage’. Especially worth a visit is the ‘Carrera de Tacones’, a high heels race in which participants have to run on stilettos with heels over nine centimeters.
Website: www.pridebarcelona.org
LGBTQ+ Organisations
The Enllaç Foundation
The Enllaç Foundation was created to support LGBTQ+ elderly people who find themselves in permanent or temporary situations of vulnerability, dependency or disability, regardless of cause. The organisation wants them to know that they never have to feel alone again. The organisation counters loneliness by calling up people to chat, visiting them in their homes and facilitating contacts with LGBTI people across different age groups. The programme specifically includes the provision of care, advice and assistance to transgender people.
Website: www.fundacioenllac.cat/
BCN Checkpoint
BCN Checkpoint is a community-based center for the detection of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, targeted at gay men, other men who have sex with men, and transgender women. BCN Checkpoint is a center conceived and run by the community and is unique in Spain in that it approaches sexuality openly, without fears, moral judgments or prejudice. Their services are provided free of charge and confidentially and used by over 6,000 people every year.
Website: www.bcncheckpoint.com/
TangoQueer Barcelona
TangoQueer Barcelona was born to create a space where people can beak with stereotypes and relate through dance without imposed or pre-established identities. TangoQueer rejects the hierarchical vision and of opposites to which conventional binarisms reduce people. The association rejects macho and sexist attitudes, and homophobic or transphobic attitudes are not accepted.
Website: tangoqueerbarcelona.com/
Panteres Grogues
Panteres Grogues (Yellow Panters) is a non-profit association whose objective it is to offer a space where gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals can practice sports in a free and relaxed way. Panteres Grogues allows members to participate in a variety of sport activities, ranging from soccer, volleyball and rugby to tai chi, synchronised swimming and theatre. The organisation was born in 1994, when a group of gays and lesbians were given a yellow ball from a gay volleyball team from Germany.
Website: www.panteresgrogues.cat/