The Gay scene in Bristol is split into two main areas, locally known as 'The Village' & 'The Strip':

THE VILLAGE:

Situated adjacent to the new eight hundred million pound Broadmead development, less than quarter of a mile from the end of the M32, and only a short walk from Templemeads train station, the Village is not hard to find.  Its excellent transport links often make it the preffered choice for people travelling into the area from outside Bristol, as well as a firm favourite with the locals!

The Village is home to Flamingos, the biggest Lesbian & Gay nightclub in the south west of england, and holders of the prestigious Venue magazine award for Best LGBT Venue in the south west of England.

As well as Flamingos, the village is home to a range of different gay and gay friendly pubs, the Terrance Higgins Trust, Bristol's only gay sauna,  and Bristol's only gay run Coffee Shop, Starbooks. 














The individual venues are shown by a red box on the map.  Staring from left to right as follows:

The Stag & Hounds:

One of the oldest pubs in the Old Market area, this historic building was refurbished at considerable cost just over twelve months ago.  Very popular in the day and early evening with the local office crowd, the pub serves excellent food from 12-4pm daily.  By night the pub is popular with the 1000+ local students that live in the two Unite Student buildings at the entrance to the village, just a short walk accross the road.  Weekends are usually fairly busy, particularly on a Friday when the pub holds a weekly Karaoke.  Although not a gay pub, The Stag & Hounds is run by a gay couple Ollie & Ieuan, who have re-established the Stag as a very gay friendly venue, and a great place to start your weekend pub crawl!

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The Old Market Tavern:

The Old Market Tavern or OMT as it is known on the scene, is a traditional venue, that serves food at lunchtimes and opens in the evenings from Wednesday to Saturday, with a late license on Friday & Saturday.  The OMT attracts a more mature, mainly male crowd, and is always very popular as a venue for pre club drinks, particularly on Come To Daddy nights. 

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The Lounge:

Formerley known as Prague, the site was refitted in June 2008, to an extremely high standard and transformed into 'The Lounge', a relaxed and contemporary bar..

The Lounge is small, but very modern and very popular.  It attracts a mixed crowd, but is particularly popular with the younger element of the gay scene. It is the only gay bar in Bristol to hold the prestigious Best Bar None award, and also the only gay bar in Bristol that is open all day every day.

Also a favourite with students, The Lounge offer students ALL drinks for just £2, all day and night seven days a week when they show an NUS card!

With regular theme nights and an extensive range of drinks promotions, The Lounge is definately worth a visit.  Check out their website at www.loungebristol.com for more details. 
 

BBB:

Now open in West Street, BBB which stands for Bristol Bear Bar, is a new, modern, bar for Bears, Cubs, their admireres, and friends, in fact, unlike the name suggests, a bar for just about anyone.  Attiude free, and with great staff and and atmosphere to match, dot miss the chance to pop in next time your in the vilage!

 The Palace:

Another recent addition to the village is The Palace, a celebration of all that is camp and kitch, the palace is fit for any queen! Open until 2am Thursday, Friday and Saturday, The Palace hosts Deal or No Deal every Thursday night with Miss Kitty, and top tunes every Saturday with the queen of the palace DJ Miss Amberdextrous!

The Village cabaret circuit starts at The Palace every Sunday from 5pm with a fantastic live show from resident host Fonda Cox and her weekly guests.

The Underground:

The Undeground, is a basement nightclub for men only.  Located in the former cellars of the Palace Hotel, the club has a unique interior within the vaulted arches, and is open until 4am evvery weekend.  Check out the facebook group at  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=86702073913&ref=ts for more information about whats on.

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The Retreat:

Now open in the heart of the village (directly opposite Flamingos), The Retreat is without doubt, Bristol's busiest gay bar.  Opened in Dec 2008, the bar boasts cutting edge technology and style, with something on every night of the week, and some amazing drinks offers to boot.