Northern quarter manchester gay bars

Our Manchester gay guide summarizes the best of the city's exciting gay scene on Canal Street, gay friendly hotels to stay in, things to do, and more. My coming out story started in the late s when the British Queer as Folk version first aired on our screens. Back then, a confused and extremely repressed young teenage Stefan watched in awe as 3 gay blokes, Stuart, Vince, and Nathan, went about their daily lives in Manchester's Canal Street Gay Village.

It was also the first time I had ever seen gay urban life dramatised in such a way that it felt so real!

Gay Manchester: guide to the best gay bars, clubs, hotels and more

What a relief! I wasn't ill or abnormal. As that young teenage Stefan continued to watch Queer As Folkhe also dreamed: maybe, just maybe, I could grow up and be just like Stuart, Vince and Nathan living so freely in the gay streets of Manchester…. Fast forward a few decades and I'm galavanting down those same historic gay streets, with Seby to hand, together exploring one of the coolest and most progressive places in Europe.

As well as having a special place in my big gay heart, it has an exciting gay scene, one of the best gay Pride events in the UK and is one of the few places in the world where I feel comfortable walking the streets holding hands with my Seby. It's also bar close to London just 2 hours by trainwhich makes it ideal for a weekend trip.

Heads up: We just wanted to let you know that this post contains affiliate links. That means if you book something through one of those links, we'll get a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It helps us keep our blog going — so thank you in advance for your support! The Canal Street gay scene has quite a large number of places to check out that it can be a bit overwhelming for first-timers.

For this reason, we recommend doing the Gaily night tour because it's a quick way to navigate the gay bars with a cute! Find out more. For starters, Manchester has a young, friendly, and open-minded vibe due to its gay student population. With overquarters spread over its 5 universities, they make up around one-fifth of the city's entire population.

In addition, Manchester has historically maintained a very strong left-wing anti-aristocratic sentiment. This is where Emmeline Pankhurst started the movement for UK women's right to vote in the s and where famous gay WW2 national hero Alan Turing is from. LGBTQ rights manchester the UK are one of the most advanced and progressive in the world, easily making the UK one of the most gay friendly countries in the world.

For example, gay marriage laws civil and religious were introduced inthere is a very comprehensive set of anti-discrimination laws, LGBTQ people are northern allowed to serve in the military and the right to change legal gender is fully recognized. Perhaps what speaks volumes about how gay friendly England is, from Septembera new law was introduced that made it compulsory for all schools to teach pupils that different families and identities exist.

And nowhere is this feeling of acceptance, tolerance, and open-mindedness better expressed than in Manchester! Canal Street is the heart of Manchester's gay village. This pedestrianized street runs along the Rochdale Canal, minutes walking distance from the city's main train station: Manchester Piccadilly. Queer of Folk fans like me!

Most of the gay bars and clubs of Manchester are based along Canal Street and also in the few streets surrounding it. Friday and Saturday nights are the best nights to go out partying here.