| Very Moorish: OutUK's Adrian Gillan gets to grips with gay Granada - Andalusia's historic gem! |
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Granada is a dramatically-landscaped uni town brimming with young cuties
yet with a rich Moorish past, set amidst the Sierra Nevada mountains, a cool
685 metres above sea level - topped by one of the world's great citadels. Also, it's birthplace and home to one of Spain's most famous LGBTs: poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca. |
 The Alhambra Hill |
Lorca was executed by Franco's fascist homophobes in July 1936,
at the start of the Spanish Civil War. Granada now, mercifully, has much to offer
its visiting queers.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!Just 50 metres from the world-famous Alhambra, and a mere ten minute walk from the town centre, Hotel Guadalupe is hard to beat - a plush, atmospheric yet great value Andalusian gem. Fab restaurant too. |
| Spend a day exploring the most stunning Arabic monument in Spain, strewn majestically across the Alhambra hill - including the Alcazaba fortress, Generalife gardens and Nasrid Palaces. Dating back to 1238 in parts, it is an exotic Moorish splendour. Then, meander through the warren of bustling shop-and-café-lined streets in the Albaicín district, on the hill opposite. And, as darkness falls, tour the gay venues, some of which cluster - somewhat aptly, given the currently weakened state of Spain's Catholic Church - just to the side of the Cathedral quarter. |
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You can read more
about Granada at tourist info site TurGranada.es
NIGHTLIFENo one hits bars or clubs here pre midnight! So take your time at the gay-dominated eatery, Gayedra, on Tendillas de Santa Paula, in the heart of the queer quarter - with its friendly waiters and frequent cabaret shows, which make eating here anything but a drag.Then pop a few blocks down, across the Plaza de los Lobos into Tic Tac on Horno de Haza, to soak up its seedy atmosphere and acquaint yourself with its cruisy reputation - notably the notorious darkroom, crammed with men of all ages. Stroll around the corner to XXL on Montalban - a modern, stylish yet bear-dominated bar nearby. If your feet are tapping, then pop back to Tendillas de Santa Paula, and enter 6 Colours - a relatively recent addition to Granada's gay scene, next to Gayedra, with a colorful, young, trendy, dancy pre-club crowd; many of whom eventually move onto Zoo on Moras - the main gay clubbing joint in town cum weekends: large and packed, though empty pre 3am! CRUISINGStill restless? Then hit Geminis on Santa Cruz, not far from the train station - for its videos, cabins, café, dark room, steamer and dry sauna. Open Mon-Sat, 4pm-10pm; and Sun, 12am-10pm.Otherwise, the two top cruising areas in Granada are the railway station, mainly the gents; and nearby Jardines de Triunfo - a sloping park at the intersection of the city's two largest streets, Gran Via and Avenida de la Constitution, fairly busy in its lower stretches cum night. GETTING THERELow fares airline Monarch offers scheduled year-round flights to Granada from London Gatwick, from £38.99 one way (£62.99 return), including taxes. You can book online at our travel partners eBookers.
THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK |