If you are homosexual, lesbian, transgender, bisexual or straight and want to go to a club or bar where you don’t have to worry about being harassed by the opposite sex, Spain has a very active gay scene. Gay clubs, bars, hotels and associations can be found throughout the country with more of a presence in the larger more cosmopolitan cities like Madrid or Barcelona.
It is currently estimated that there are around four million lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people in Spain with around 62% of Spanish people supporting the move to legalize same-sex marriages. This law now gives Spanish resident same-sex couples the right to marry and the same rights of ownership, inheritance and adoption as married heterosexuals. Because of this growing support for homosexuality, Spain has become a popular tourist and vacation destination for the gay community.
Ever since the early 1960s the Costa del Sol, and Torremolinos in particular, have been a Mecca for gay and gay friendly people. With its laid back lifestyle and visiting or resident artists, singers and writers the Costa del Sol has become the most popular gay centre in Southern Europe.
If you head westwards from Malaga Airport you will discover the gay Costa del Sol starting at the gay beach at Guadalmar, trendy beach bars of Los Alamos to the gay night life of La Nogalera in Torremolinos. If you continue past the naturist beach at Benalmadena to the more restrained gay bars of Fuengirola you will find the famous gay beach at Cabopino before hitting the more subdued scene in the stylish resort of Marbella.
The Costa del Sol is less than a three hour flight from the UK and is an all year round resort area offering real value and something for all gays and lesbians.
Torremolinos has a great gay nightlife, only being surpassed by Madrid and Barcelona.While Sitges and Gran Canaria mainly attract visitors from UK, Holland and Germany, Torremolinos is still a very Spanish town with most of the gay bars filled with local Spanish guys. The age of gay crowd is younger than in Sitges and Gran Canaria with the large nightclubs attracting a very young gay crowd of 18-30 years olds.
There are more than 30 gay and lesbian places in Torremolinos concentrated in a small gay village called Nogalera. Most of the bars are not open before 11:00 pm so be prepared to party until dawn. The most popular gay venues at the moment are El Gate Bar which attracts handsome 30+ guys, the Parthenon Club and Home Disco. The biggest gay sauna of southern Europe will be opening here the end of this year.
There are no real gay hotels in Torremolinos but you will find plenty of gay beach front Bungalows which are in the centre of town just a five minute walk from all the gay bars. Gay bungalows offer a free parking space and total privacy.