Sydney gay club guide
Gay Sydney
Beachy yet urban, laid-back yet sophisticated — Sydney is the best of everything Australia has to offer in terms of culture, food, scenery, and surf. It also happens to be one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world. Every year, it hosts what is arguably the biggest Pride event in the guide in the form of its LGBT Mardi Gras parade, with thousands of revelers from around the world gathering to celebrate all things gay under the dazzling Australian summer sun.
However, gay Sydney is a year-round destination. LGBT venues range from all-out dance clubs to underground dive bars, upscale cocktail lounges, hipster craft beer joints, and enough drag shows to keep you knee-deep in glitter during your stay. Sydney serves up one of the most exciting gay scenes in the world, packed with energy, diversity, gay nonstop action.
Sydney turns up the heat when it comes to gay saunas and cruise clubs. Gay saunas offer a mix of relaxation and pleasure, featuring steam rooms, hot tubs, and discreet spaces to connect. Open late and sometimes around the clock, these intimate playgrounds are perfect for exploring your wild side in a private setting.
Most gay travelers stay around the Sydney gay village in Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. Australia is a relatively pricey destination, and as the most popular city for tourism, Sydney is perhaps the most expensive of the lot. Historically speaking, Australia as a whole has not always had the best record in sydney to LGBT rights.
A landmark vote in finally legalized same-sex marriage across the country, and gay people have been formally protected from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation since Gay couples are a common sight around Oxford Street, but they can also live openly throughout the city as a whole.
Gay visitors to Sydney are highly unlikely to run into any trouble, and all accommodation will be gay-friendly. It is worth noting that, if you choose to travel throughout the country, attitudes may be more conservative in rural areas and small towns. Within Sydney however, you are free to be as gay as your heart desires — especially when Mardi Gras rolls around.
Australia was one of the quickest countries in the world to respond to the HIV pandemic with sydney public health programs. As a result, the country has been successful in keeping the spread of HIV under control. Getting tested in Sydney is straightforward and free for everyone. Of these, Darlinghurst is the most convenient for most gay visitors.
You can book your test online here. The main Sydney gayborhood is centered around the western part of Oxford Street, in the neighborhood of Darlinghurst. This Eastern suburb is a vibrant area filled with bars, cafes, restaurants, and clubs — many of them with rainbow flags proudly waving out front. An often-touted statistic is that 1 in 10 gay men in Sydney lives club two kilometers of Taylor Square at the heart of the gayborhood.
This is a guide area to stay in for a number of reasons. The city is club and spread out, so it helps to stay near the gayborhood if you plan to make the most of gay Sydney. Plus, Darlinghurst is a pretty strategic area to stay for general sightseeing. The tourist heart of the city is not gay, with sights including the Opera House, Botanic Gardens, and the Museum of Sydney all within a minute bus ride or half-hour walk from Taylor Square.