LGBTQ+ Guide to Lisbon
© Rita Campos
Clubs & Bars
Finalmente Club
Finalmente Club is a small but iconic drag club in the center of Lisbon. Born in 1976, Finalmente is the oldest gay club in town. The club has reinvented itself several times, but always remained a bastion of freedom for the drag and performance arts. In finalmente Club, the stage is used as a place where artists fight for social transformation and the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Drag shows start around 3 a.m. but it’s wise to come early as it can get very crowded inside.
Website: www.finalmenteclub.com/
TR3S
TR3S is a bar that is popular among masculine bear men and their admirers. The staff is talkative and friendly, and they prepare top quality cocktails. It is not allowed to smoke inside and music is at a comfortable level so you can still have a proper conversation. It is also a nice place to go during the summer, as the bar has a beautiful terrace outside. A good place to have fun in a cheerful, welcoming and non-judgemental environment.
Website: www.tr3slisboa.com/
Trumps
TRUMPS is a large gay and ‘hetero-friendly’ nightclub that is located in Lisbon’s gay district Príncipe Real. The area for dancing is downstairs and divided in electronic music and pop music. The club gets very busy and packed on Friday and Saturday nights. Visited by a younger crowd of both gays and lesbians.
Website: www.trumps.pt/
Bar 106
Bar 106 is an LGBTQ+ friendly bar which is open to anyone, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation. The bouncers and staff always make sure that customers feel welcome, and even if you visit the bar on your own you can always find someone friendly to talk to. Because of its welcoming environment, the bar is very popular among crossdressers and transgender people. Drinks are affordable, and there are regular themed parties and live music shows. On Sundays there is the popular and crowded ‘message party’.
Gay Saunas
Trombeta Bath
Trombeta Bath is a great sauna that is situated close to the vivid nightlife in the city center of Lisbon. The sauna provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere and is visited by a mixed crowd of all ages, sizes and shapes. The sauna hosts a hot tub, steam sauna, dry sauna, film area, cruising space, several play and dark rooms, and massages. There are also regular events and parties with DJ performances. The sauna is open 24 hours a day during the weekend, and till 6 am during the week.
Entrance: €15/€11 Concessions
Website: www.trombetabath.com
Cruising Areas
Park Eduardo VII
Park Eduardo is very popular during the evening. It attracts gay guys from of all ages and backgrounds. Guys connect near the Carlos Lopes Pavillion by the subway station. However, be careful if you want to visit this park on your own. Over the past few years, several incidents have been reported and some mobiles have been stolen. If you plan to visit this park after dark, it would be best to bring a friend and leave your valuables at home.
Location: 38.728300, -9.152683
Beach 19
Beach 19/Praia 19 is the most popular gay nudist beach in Portugal. From Lisbon, it takes around 25 mins by bus to get there. In Caparica, you can take the small beach train and get off at stop 19. This is where the gay beach starts. It is officially a nude beach, but you can opt between being naked or keeping your swim-suit on. In the summertime, it is packed with guys from all over Europe and beyond. You can find younger, older, bears, muscled, etc. Most of the men meet in the late afternoon, mainly in the dunes and the vast bushy area behind the railway track. Spring is also a beautiful time to go for a walk among the yellow mimosa trees as the sea start to warm up.
Location: 38.582377, -9.202159
Documentary: Beach 19
Queer Events
Arraial Lisboa Pride
The Arraial Lisbon Pride is held since 1997, and the biggest LGBTQ+ event in Portugal, with more than 60,000 visitors in the 2017 edition. It aims to bring visibility to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people. A proud celebration of equality taking place in the main square of Lisbon – Terreiro do Paco. DJs, concerts, entertainment and all the colours of the rainbow are part of this outdoor party which posits Lisbon as a city that values and cares about diversity.
Website: www.ilga-portugal.pt/lisboapride/
Queer Lisboa
Queer Lisboa – International Queer Film Festival is the first Portuguese Film Festival dedicated to screening gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual themed films, a genre known as Queer Cinema. The goal of Queer Lisboa is to compensate that the access to LGBTQ+ cinema is restricted from the mainstream audience. The programmed films are organised in the Competitions for Best Feature Film, Documentary, Short Film, School Film (short format) and Queer Art, this last one dedicated to more experimental forms of expression.
Website: www.queerlisboa.pt/
LGBTQ+ Organisations
ILGA Portugal
Founded in 1995, ILGA Portugal is the largest and oldest NGO in Portugal striving for equality and against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Their mission is the social inclusion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population in Portugal through the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and through the promotion of full citizenship, Human Rights and gender equality. ILGA has a strong diversity policy and very active groups devoted to working on Lesbian or Trans issues, as well as a group devoted to Rainbow Families.
Website: www.ilga-portugal.pt/
Checkpoint XL
CheckpointLX is a community-based center for men who have sex with men, for rapid, anonymous, confidential and free screenings of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, sexual counseling and referral to health care. The entire team consists of qualified members who give support and peer education, allowing easy access to prevention and sexual health.
Website: www.checkpointlx.com/
Centro LGBT
The LGBT Center is a cultural and community space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people. In addition to offering a regular program of cultural, recreational and political activities, the LGBT Center offers essential and free services to the LGBT community, such as counseling, a Documentation Center, Psychological Support Service, LGBT Support, Information Line, and Support Service to LGBT Victims.
Website: www.ilga-portugal.pt/