Your guide to the best Barcelona gay bars, LGBT venues and events

Barcelona is the beating heart of Catalonia, where the sun kisses the Mediterranean, Spanish beauty abounds, and every street corner tells a story of art, cuisine, and diversity. This cosmopolitan gem is a haven for LGBTQ+ travelers, offering a rainbow spectrum of experiences that cater to almost every taste and inclination.

LGBTQ+ Gayborhoods

The L’Eixample District, (pronounced as “luh-SHAM-pluh” in Catalan) affectionately dubbed ‘Gayxample’ by the locals, is Barcelona’s famous pink zone where gays, lesbians, trans folxs, bisexuals, and even straight allies unite. Summer is the busiest time of the year, when the streets of Eixample explode with energy, as crowds spill out of chic cafés and buzzing bars, turning every corner into a celebration of queer joy. Whether you're here to shop, sip, or sashay, this district is where Barcelona’s LGBTQ+ scene truly comes alive!

Eixample Area

• The main gayborhood and bustling LGBTQ+ nightlife area in Barcelona.
• Located in between the streets of Balmes and Calàbria, Gran Via, and Provenca.
• You will find the majority of Barcelona’s best gay bars, queer events, tasty restaurants, and other LGBTQ+ happenings.
• Eixample showcases some of Barcelona’s most stunning examples of modernist and gothic architecture, defining the city's iconic aesthetic.

Other areas in Barcelona where you may find LGBTQ+ events or popular spaces are Parallel, Raval, or the Poble Sec neighborhoods and Poble Espanyol. 

Safety for LGBTQ+ Folx

Eixample area is very safe during the day and night, where you can feel completely free to kiss in public or be affectionate with your friend (or friends)! Other areas outside of the gayborhood are also very safe, just be very conscious of pickpockets. 

Spain was the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2005, with tons of laws to protect the LGBTQ+ community against discrimination and violence, and has some of the highest rates of gay travel in the world. 

Priscilla Café (cafe) - Based on Priscilla Queen of the Desert, come for a cozy atmosphere, great coffee, and cocktails. 

La Chapelle (bar) - Unique queer bar with irreverent religious decorations and has a mixed crowd of all ages. 

Moeem (bar + club) - Smaller pre-drinking gay bar that has great cocktails and exotic shows on the weekend.

Gingin (bar) - LGBTQ+ bar featuring the best gin cocktails, with over 20 different types, and has a friendly staff. 

Believe (club) - Features fantastic drag shows and then turns into a gay dance spot after the performances. 

Safari Disco (club) - Great dance club with pop and electronic music, a popular club for all ages. 

Dmen’s (bar + club) - Small bar but always has good vibes. You can have some drinks and dance a little.

Candy Darling (bar + restaurant) - Queer and lesbian bar with great drinks, weekly events, and a relaxed vibe. Everyone should be able to feel comfortable here and great for groups.

La Sastrería (bar + club) - Trendy gay café-bar that hosts drag events, bingo, Wednesday nights buy one get one free drinks and more.

Fever (bar + club) - Cozy and intimate bar where you’ll be greeted by a drag queen and be served by the super friendly staff. Good drink selection and outdoor seating. 

Pink Corner (bar) - Smaller bar with tasty drinks, we highly recommend the frozen margaritas! They have a couple of tables outside that face the afternoon sun so you can enjoy a drink and get some vitamin D. 

Ocaña (bar + restaurant + club) - Located in the popular Plaza Reial, downstairs hosts various drag and burlesque shows, and sometimes events with local DJs.

La Federica (bar + club) - Wednesday-Saturday they have events including drag shows, LGBTQ+ open mic, “Queer Quiz” night, good drink, and always a lively crowd. Their events sell out, so reservations are highly recommended.

Arena Xperience (club) - Open daily at midnight, LGBTQ+ club hosts drag events, and every night there are DJs. This club is very popular with the Trans community. 

Punto BCN (club + bar) - Opens earlier than most places and good place to start out or have pre-drinks. You can also get a ticket to enter Arena Xperience for free if you buy a drink here.

Amazing Queer Restaurants in BCN

There are tons and tons of restaurants to choose from around the Eixample area, but here are some of our favorite queer and LGBTQ+-friendly restaurants to fill those bellies up.

Nikkei 103 - $$$ (Spanish-only website) - Delicious restaurant in gay hotel Axel that perfectly fuses Peruvian-Japanese cuisines into some of the best tastes your mouth will ever experience. Metro: Universitat

Casa Jaime - $$ - Very popular LGBTQ+ restaurant in the Eixample quarter, with Mediterranean, Catalan, and Spanish cuisines. Reservation is highly recommended for weekends. Metro: Universitat, Urgell

El Bierzo a Tope - $- (Spanish-only website) - Traditional Catalan and Spanish cuisine that won’t break the bank with two interior floors and a small street terrace. Great lunch specials here! Metro: Urgell

Restaurante D'Divine - $$ - Fun-filled gay cabaret and restaurant serving Catalan-French cuisine with a side of high heels and wigs in the gayborhood of Eixample. Metro: Universitat

LAS CAÑAS - $$ - Cozy tapas restaurant with ambient music, an outside terrace, friendly staff, with great cocktail menu, and fantastic food. Metro: Urgell

Saunas are a big part of gay life in Barcelona. They are men only and a very common place to go to after an event or in between events, especially busy on the weekends. They all have heated pools, dry saunas, and steam rooms, usually with bar service and snacks. 

Sauna Bruc is a bit on the smaller side and more of an upscale sauna where you can relax. Located outside of the gayborhood, near the port in Urquinaona. Usually more mature daddy crowd mid-40s and up. Metro: Passeig de Gràcia, Urquinaona, Catalunya

Sauna Casanova, known as one of the most popular gay bathhouses in town is centrally located in the Eixample district. Mix of tourists and locals. Busy Sunday afternoons and after bars close. 24 hours. Metro: Universitat, Urgell

Sauna Condal, located in the Gothic Quarter of BCN, this sauna is popular with gay men late 30s and up, along with bears, cubs, and admirers. Metro: Catalunya, Urquinaona

Sauna Thermas features modern facilities with a large whirlpool. Popular with rentboys, so make sure to know if paying for fun. Metro: Rocafort

Things Going on Weekly

There are always weekly and monthly parties happening in Barcelona. Most of the events can be found through the DICE app where you can buy tickets also.

Yass! @ Safari Disco Club is an amazing LGBTQ+ dance event that has a younger mixed crowd and fun vibes.

Black Room is a Sunday night gay dance party where you will find the shirtless muscle boys. 

Churros con Chocolate @ Apolo (or just Churros), a fun party that goes from 4 pm - 5 am. The big club upstairs has pop and music and different performances depending on the event. Downstairs is a smaller club with electronic DJs. 

Bombom in Club City Hall is close to Plaza Catalunya. Queer friendly with Reggeton, House and Spanish electronic music and remixes over two floors.

Nitza @ Apolo comes every Friday at Apolo in the downstairs club they have different DJs.

La Troupê celebrates Thursdays at Razzmatazz hosted by different event groups. 4 floors with different music in each space, there’s always something for everyone. 

Seasonal Events

For queer events in Barcelona, something is happening all year long here! Below are some of our favorites. 

January - March - Off-season for the larger parties but the weekly parties below are usually still happening!

March/April - Features the massive Matinée Easter Weekend event by Matinée Group, which throws events throughout the year.

July - Hot with Pride Barcelona, bringing in over 250,000 party-goers to celebrate Pride activities and parties. The parties during Pride are fantastic, but extremely packed.

August - Comes in with a bang! Be prepared for one of the wildest times of your life at the Circuit Festival, which gathers tens of thousands of your most scantily-clad best gay friends to party, play in the sun, and celebrate in this Mediterranean paradise. PERVERT is one of the famous gay dance parties held during this week that you will want to attend.

September - Panteresports event is held, which is the Panteres Grogues annual international LGBTQ+ multi-sports tournament that brings sports lovers and competitors from all over Europe.

November - Brings the rubber-filled extravaganza like no other, as the annual Barcelona Rubber Weekend descends during the last weekend in November. 

LGBTQ+ Hotels

Need a comforting, gay-owned and operated, community-based place to stay while traveling? These hotels do not allow children, sorry kids!

Axel Hotel - $$ - an LGBTQ+-centered hotel that has an amazing rooftop bar that is a great spot to spend sipping cocktails and enjoying the sunsets of Spain. 

Axel TWO Barcelona - $$ - the sister hotel to Axel, has an amazing rooftop bar, spa, and pool area. 

LGBTQ+-Friendly Hotels in Eixample

The hotels below are not strictly gay hotels but are very LGBTQ+-friendly and perfectly situated in the gayborhood.

Hotel Cram - $$$ - A 4-star hotel with a beautiful terrace, a swimming pool, and an outdoor bar with restaurant Angle, featuring a Michelin-starred tasting menu created by chef Jordi Cruz.

Ako Suite Hotel - $$$ - Located in the middle of the Eixample district, is a 4-star boutique hotel, offering spacious modern suites, along with swimming pool, terrace, and solarium on the top floor of the hotel.

Hotel Soho Barcelona - $$ - Features views of Gayxample from its terrace/solarium and open-air swimming pool with a cosmopolitan hotel feel. 

But let's not forget Barcelona's natural wonders! The city's beaches are legendary, offering golden sands and crystal-clear waters just a stroll away from the urban hustle. For a more secluded experience, a short trip to the Costa Brava reveals rugged cliffs and secluded coves, where the Mediterranean's azure embrace offers a tranquil escape. 

Make time for some of that aforementioned beauty—like the half-naked (with fully nude areas) beaches of Mar Bella, which is popular with the gay community (Llacuna station on the Metro) and Sitges (about 40 minutes outside of the city). Sitges also has a popular gay nude beach called Del Muerto. 

Explore Barcelona's exquisite tourist spots, like basking in the whimsical grandeur of Park Güell, where mosaic serpents slither along the pathways, and gingerbread houses seem to sprout from the earth. 

Tibadabo is at the top of a hill where there is a cathedral and amusement park and perfect to see the sunset overlooking the city. 

Visit Catalan Art Nouveau architecture, and the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter), a labyrinth of narrow streets and hidden plazas steeped in the past, with every cobblestone whispering tales of bygone eras. The Temple of Augustus is a hidden spot where there are remnants from an ancient underground Roman Temple. Quite a unique experience!

Make sure to check out the beautiful Gaudi buildings, especially the famous La Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece (still going after 140+ years), a symphony of spires that pierces the skyline like a stone forest. Last but not least, the Picasso Museum offers a deep dive into the artistic genius of Pablo Picasso, with a collection that spans his entire career.

LGBTQ+ Hidden Gems

Imperial (bar + club) - Good DJs, open Wednesday-Saturday. Upstairs is the club with a bar and DJ, and downstairs are private rooms of various sizes that people can use for whatever they please. It’s a private club and you need to register beforehand to get a QR code to enter. Want to add a queer hidden gem around Barcelona? 

Let us know!

Barcelona's commitment to diversity and inclusion is not just seen but felt, making it a beacon for LGBTQ+ travelers seeking a destination where they can truly be themselves. From the passion of Flamenco (an art form of dance based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain) in a hidden tablao to the serene beauty of the Montjuïc and its gardens, this city offers an endless list of experiences that captivate and enchant. In Barcelona, every day is a parade, every night a fiesta, and every visitor a friend yet to be made. It's a city that embraces you with open arms and whispers in your ear, "Be free, be proud, be you." So pack your bags, bring your spirit of adventure, and let Barcelona work its unforgettable magic. And just in case we didn’t say it enough before, get Barcelona, Spain on your bucket list!

Quick tips

Catalan and Spanish are both spoken very interchangeably in the city.

Street signage and transportation directions are in Catalan ("Carrer" - abbreviated "Cr" - is "Street" in Catalan instead of "Calle" as it is in Spanish).

Getting around Barcelona is very easy. You can walk to most places within 20-30 minutes and enjoy seeing the amazing architecture that each neighborhood offers. If you prefer to take public transit, it’s very cheap and the city is well connected between the metro, buses, FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Barcelona), and tram. At any metro stop and tobacco store you can buy a T-Casual ticket (10 rides for €12) or T-Usual (unlimited rides for 30 days for €22). These tickets are good on all methods of public transit.

Barcelona is a very safe city at all hours. The one thing visitors and residents need to be aware of is the pickpockets. It is the most common crime in the city. Don’t put your phone in your back pockets, be aware of your bags at all times, if you’re wearing a backpack on public transit it’s best to move it to your front or side. They are often just looking for cash and will toss a wallet on the street after taking any cash out. At restaurants, mind your stuff as well. Some people will fake asking questions or directions and put a piece of paper over your belongings and steal it without you realizing it.