Planning a trip to London? Here's a a simplified beginner's guide to the London gay scene and getting around it.
:: WHERE'S THE PARTY?
There are two main gay areas in central London - that's zone 1 on the tube. These are Soho (top of the map) and Vauxhall (bottom right). You can find venues via the calendar or our Map of Gay London.
Soho's busy day and night (bars close around 12/1am) with a wide selection of bars and clubs including Barcode Soho, Comptons, The Admiral Duncan, Shadow Lounge, The Ghetto and more with Heaven a short walk away at Charing Cross.
Vauxhall kicks off from 9pm (less midweek) and is home to many of London's most popular nightclubs including Area, Union, Fire, RVT and The Hoist. Most of London's after hour partys are in Vauxhall but there are far fewer bars than in Soho so think of what you want before leaving: drinks in Soho, clubbing in Vauxhall basically.
Other areas
Kings Cross is home to Central Station (cruising venue with a huge array of nights for every fetish), La Scala, home to Popstarz, Egg and the Playpit (sleazy cruising venue).
Earl's Court, which used to be the main gay area is friendly but all the gay venues apart from Balan's restaurant are shut now :(
East: There is life outside zone 1. Shoreditch (nearly zone 1) with Chariots, Macbeth, Aquariun, Sosho and Cable Street with Dalston Superstore, East Bloc, Joiner's Arms, George & Dragon, White Swan, Stunners, Kaos and the Whipping House. Hard core.
You'll find everything listed in our calendar which also has links to venue websites and maps.
:: BAR & CLUB PRICES
Clubbing's big business in London and the prices reflect that. Roughly speaking you can pay about £3-6 for a drink and anything between £4-20 for club entry depending on the venue and night - grab a flyer!
:: CRUISING
There are lots of cruising venues where you can get off. These are split into three - saunas, cruising venues and clubs that run cruising nights - check out our calendar for a night by night guide.
Cruising in Vauxhall
Cruising nights in clubs are mainly Fitladz at Union on Fridays. There are also two pretty much full-time cruising venues - Eagle 349 which has a range of events and The Hoist which hots a wide variety of fetish/ leather events. There's also Chariots Sauna and a The Locker Room a little further away.
There's no s*x allowed by management in Soho venues as it's in a Conservative borough...
:: GETTING AROUND
Despite everybody always moaning and it being expensive, London has a great public transport system. However, it is prohibitively expensive if you pay as you go - you must get an Oyster Card which gives you cheaper travel on the bus, rail and tube network: any tube station can help.
Tube and buses
Sadly it doesn't run during the night and stops after midnight. However, there is a good network of nightbus services. Both town (Soho) and Vauxhall are well served by night buses.
You can get up to the minute travel info and plan your journey here: www.tfl.gov.uk or by ringing 020 7222 1234.
Taxis
Black Cabs are quick, easy and usually reliable and recommended if you can affort it. Minicabs from outside clubs should be avoided if you can as they're usually over-priced - a company that the venue has operating is better however than hailing one off the street which you must avoid for your own personal safety.
