Gay Manchester
Nightlife
When night falls, Manchester comes alive. It's one of the great centres of popular music in Britain, producing countless top acts over the years including the very gay-popular Morrissey, formerly of The Smiths. The music scene feeds the club scene, so that Manchester has a nationwide reputation for dynamic nightlife. Including, of course, gay and lesbian nightlife.
More serious music is a Manchester strength too - the purpose built Bridgewater Hall is home to the renowned Halle Orchestra. With 13 major theatres Manchester is Britain's biggest centre for the dramatic arts outside London, with everything from serious and experimental plays to the latest Broadway musicals. Possibly the most stunning venue is the Royal Exchange Theatre - an intimate, space-age capsule of a theatre surrounded by the magnificent spaces of the city's old cotton exchange. Equally renowned is the Library Theatre, where many a great actor learned their craft before going on to fame elsewhere.
The village: Canal Street and around
You think Manchester's gay village has a lively vibe in the afternoon? Just wait until you see it after midnight. This exciting, pulsating, vibrant chunk of gay and lesbian action is, after all, what gave the original Queer as Folk so much of its adrenaline rush. The party spirit is so strong, it rejuvenated an entire district of the city…so just think what it can do for you. For sheer concentration of lesbian and gay partying in one place, there’s probably nowhere else quite like it in Europe. There's something here for everyone - from cruisy corners for macho men to women's bars for night owls, from trendy DJ bars to cheesy disco music, from mellow places to sip ale to clubs for the most out-and-out party animal.
Time, ladies and gentlemen, please!
Many of the village's bars are open until 2am, which is far later than the standard UK pub closing time, so there's no need to rush - that way there's always somewhere new to try tomorrow!
Autobahn
Trendy bar owned by the people behind the Gaydar personal contacts website. 10 Canal Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 236 6005.
Company
Cruisy men's cellar bar. Richmond Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 237 9329.
Cruz 101
A Manchester institution, this dance club is the heartland of HiNRG, and still packs the crowds in for a variety of regular parties including the Monday night Disco Inferno 70s and 80s club. You have to be a member, but membership is issued on the door. 101 Princess Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 237 1554.
Essential
Manchester's gay super-club, with two dance floors, open Fridays until 5am, Saturdays until 6 and Sundays until 3.30. 8 Minshull Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 237 5445.
Hollywood Showbar
Big, popular cabaret bar, with drag, strippers and a piano bar upstairs. 46 Canal Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 236 2667.
HomieSexual
FNUK every Friday, HomieSexual on Saturday, and HomieSexual Classics on Sunday, all at Manto, Canal Street.
Manto Bar
Big, glass fronted bar and diner that revolutionised gay Manchester and more or less brought the Village out of the closet when it opened in the early 1990s. 46 Canal Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 236 2667.
Poptastic
Alternative dance club, with Britpop, indie rock and 80s New Romantic hits every Tuesday and Saturday. At Mutz Nutz, 105-107 Princess Street. Tel +44 (0)976 425 136.
Rembrandt
Corner Sackville Street/Canal Street. Tel: +44 161 236 2435.
This is the Village's traditional macho male cruise bar. Corner Sackville Street/Canal Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 236 2435
Queer
The glitzy new kid on the block, Queer is a large, slick DJ bar and club popular with young gay men. It has been credited with single-handedly giving the village a new shot of life, and it's owned by pop impresario Nigel Martin Smith, the man who created the boyband Take That! 4 Canal Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 228 1360.
Spirit
One of the most plush and modern of the Canal Street bars, with a balcony that in summer offers the best grandstand views of the action. Canal Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 237 9725.
Taurus
The beating heart of gay Manchester: a civilized bar/restaurant with great Belgian beers on tap, excellent food and any number of community groups using it as home base - from gay divers to the lesbian S&M group. If you really want to connect with gay Manchester, this should be one of your first ports of call. 1 Canal Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 236 4593.
Vanilla
Excellent lesbian bar open until 2am all week. Serves food and has regular themed party nights. Richmond Street. Tel: +44 (0)161 228 2727.
Somewhere for the weekend: Blackpool
It must be something in the water, because Blackpool, the most famous beach resort in the north of England, is more than a little Queer up North. Less than an hour north of Manchester, it has lots of reasonably priced gay hotels, a spectacular theme park (the Pleasure Beach) and a fabulous gay scene with a wonderful and typically northern sense of fun. Check out the drag cabaret at Funny Girls, then dance your ass off at Flamingos, the largest gay disco in the north of England.
Blackpool Tourism (www.blackpooltourism.co.uk/)
Blackpool gay hotels
Mardi Gras Hotel
Modern décor, en suite bathrooms and a central location make this newcomer a great choice. 41-43 Lord Street, FY1. Tel: +44 (0)1253 751 087.
Northern Star Hotel (www.northernstarhotel.co.uk/)
Exclusively lesbian and gay hotel close to the bar and club scene. 9-11 Lord Street FY1. Tel: +44 (0)1253 628 073.
Blackpool bars and clubs
Funny Girls
Wildly popular drag cabaret restaurant/bar that's as popular with heterosexuals as it is with the LGBT community. 5 Dickson Road. Tel +44 (0)1253 291 144.
Flying Handbag
Popular gay bar with internal link to the Flamingos club. 170/176 Talbot Road. Tel +44 (0)1253 625 522.
Flamingos
Big dance club with two dance floors, four floors and a crowd drawn from all over the north of England. 170/176 Talbot Road. Tel: +44 (0)1253 625 522.