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There’s no
shortage of
hot gay bars
and clubs
all over
London.
However, in
the most
general
sense, the
gay watering
holes center
on the SoHo
neighborhood,
radiating
from Old
Compton
Street. The
big, circuit
party style
clubs are
found in the
Vauxhall
neighborhood.
Following
are some
joints not
to miss on
your hot and
steamy gay
pub crawl
through
London:
Barcode,
Circa,
Lo-Profile,
Ku
Bar
Chinatown,
Profile,
Room
Service,
Rupert
Street,
Shadow
Lounge
and
Yard
Soho. |
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Images (l to
r): Shadow
Lounge, The
Yard, G-A-Y
at Heaven |
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Barcode
Vauxhall |
Leather and
Fetish |
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Circa |
The Hoist |
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The Edge
Soho |
The
Backstreet |
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G-A-Y at
Heaven |
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Lo-Profile |
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Ku Bar -
Frith Street |
Show Bars |
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Ku Bar -
Lisle Street |
Molly Mogs |
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Profile |
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Room Service
(Thursdays) |
Lesbian Bars |
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Rupert
Street
(coming
soon) |
Candy Bar |
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Shadow
Lounge |
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The Yard |
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London Gay
Pride |
Clone Zone |
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Expectation |
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RoB |
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London
Hotels |
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Even before
the Olympics
buzz, East
London’s hip
factor was
fast on the
rise. In the
mid-2000s
the Hoxton
Square and
Shoreditch
areas of
East London
received a
makeover,
replacing
government
housing and
dilapidated
buildings
with
eclectic
bars,
restaurants
and lofts.
Think: Meat
Packing
before
commercialization.
If you are
looking for
a swanky
place to
relax,
The
Hoxton,
which lies
equidistant
from the
Olympics,
might be
right up
your alley.
For those
seeking a
highbrow
West End
experience,
the grand
Mandarin
Oriental
Hyde Park
is a
glorious
re-invention
of the
historic,
Edwardian-style
palace that
has hosted
the full
gamut of
British
royalty
since the
turn of the
20th
century. A
few blocks
south of the
Mandarin,
unassumingly
blending
into the
posh
residential
streets of
Belgravia,
the
Georgian-styled
Halkin
masters the
London haute
boutique
experience. |
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Images (l to
r): The Soho
Hotel,
citizenM,
Mandarin
Oriental
Hyde Park |
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The Caesar £££ |
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Chesterfield
Mayfair £££ |
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citizenM ££ |
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easyHotel
Victoria £ |
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The Halkin £££ |
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The Hoxton £££ |
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Mandarin
Oriental
Hyde Park £££££ |
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Sanctum
Hotel Soho |
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The Soho
Hotel £££ |
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W Hotel
Leicester
Square £££££ |
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Long gone
are the days
of
correlating
London with
bad food.
British
cuisine
hasn't
gotten any
better, but
the massive
influx of
immigrants
to London
has
translated
into
fabulous
ethnic
eateries in
every nook
and cranny
of the city.
Nowadays,
the dining
scene in
London
easily
rivals that
of other
cosmopolitan
cities like
New York.
An
immensely
popular
eatery in
London is a
tiny, hole
in the wall
called the
Afghan
Kitchen. Run
by three
Afghan
women,
Afghan
Kitchen
offers a
small,
simple menu
of eight
dishes and
fresh
traditional
Afghan
bread.
Another
fabulous
restaurant
in the
Islington
neighborhood
is
Cafe
Gallipoli,
which is a
fun,
boisterous
(and tiny)
place where
the pots and
pans hang
from the
ceilings and
food (mainly
Turkish)
miracles are
made in
their small
kitchen. For
the best
splurge
options,
head west.
In the posh
Belgravia
neighborhood,
Nahm
is the first
Michelin
starred Thai
restaurant
in the world
and worth a
visit for
those with
deep
pockets. For
something
sophisticated
yet casual,
Chef Daniel
Boulud
imports his
popular
Bar
Boulud
to the
Mandarin
Oriental
Hyde Park
French-born
Boulud
champions a
ménage-a-trois
of tastes
with
French-American
dishes for
the more
discerning
British
palate. The
space next
to Bar
Boulud is a
contemporary
British
Brasserie,
Dinner by
Heston
Blumenthal.
If you are
looking to
go cheap,
check out
Wagamama,
everyone’s
favorite
noodle bar. |
Restaurants |
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Afghan
Kitchen ££ |
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Balans ££ |
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Bar Boulud £££££ |
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Cafe
Gallipoli
££ |
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Dinner by
Heston
Blumenthal £££££ |
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Fernandez
and Wells ££ |
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Hard Rock
Cafe £££ |
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Les Trois
Garcons £££££ |
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Mildreds
(Vegetarian)
££ |
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Nahm £££ |
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Wagamama £ |
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Gourmet Food
Shops |
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Borough
Market |
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Paxton &
Whitfield |
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Twinings Tea
Shop &
Museum |
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Food
Halls |
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Fortnum &
Mason Food
Hall |
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Harrods |
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Those who have already been to London once or twice may have already ticked all the boxes on the obligatory tourist checklist – The Tate Modern; The Tower of London; Big Ben, Westminster Abbey – but there’s always more to see and do in the metropolitan and historical evergreen. Here are a few items for your new London checklist: Monument to the Great Fire of London, Greenwich, British Museum, Hampstead Heath and Borough Market.
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The British Museum |
Monument to the Great Fire |
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Buckingham Palace |
The Tower of London |
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Hyde Park |
Trafalgar Square |
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Kensington Gardens |
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The London Eye |
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Saunas |
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Fitness First |
Chariots |
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Baker Street |
Shoreditch |
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Soho Gyms |
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Camden High Street |
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Earl's Court Road |
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Covent
Garden |
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