Gay Guide London

London is a city with a population of around 11 million people, divided into boroughs, operating almost as towns in their own right. The centre is divided into 3 specific cities: the City of London to the east is the financial and business district; Westminster is the seat of the Government with the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace and the West End, with department stores, boutiques, hotels, restaurants, clubs and bars. In the last fifteen years, a busy gay scene has been overlaid onto the once-seedy area of Soho, bordered by Oxford Street, London's main shopping street, and Shaftesbury Avenue, the theatre district. Old Compton Street is where you will find gay bars, restaurants and pubs, also clothes shops and gay stores for magazines and toys. You'll also find flyers for party nights elsewhere in the city. It's an open, confident, young scene, and is safe. Mardi Gras is held each year in July, a huge gay party in a London park, preceded by a Pride march through the centre of the city. Vauxhall is the city's second gay centre as well as the clubbing area for gay London. One of the most popular saunas as well as several very popular bars are also found here. The gay summer event in Vauxhall is a must.