Gay area of sydney australia

The atmosphere is lively and the decor is a collection of wonderful oddities, including fruit chandeliers and a taxidermied boar playing the trumpet. The broadest and most inclusive of these is Heaps Gay, which is just as likely to be held in a laneway as a mega club.

The best of Mardi Gras 

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival is much more than just a parade: it’s an entire season of celebration that locals affectionally refer to as ‘gay Christmas’.

Here, you’ll find tattoo parlours, design stores and some of Sydney’s best Thai food, along with a diverse crowd of locals — not only queer folk but also students from nearby universities, bohemian families and many of Sydney’s musicians and artists.

Where: 16 Flinders Street, Darlinghurst
How to get there: Arq is also on Flinders Street, just around the corner from Oxford Street, a 15-minute walk from Museum train station.

Explore Oxford Street, which is lined with Sydney’s biggest range of LGBTQIA+ nightlife venues; many other queer-focused businesses, such as The Bookshop Darlinghurst; Qtopia, the largest museum and cultural centre for queer history and culture in the world; and a diverse selection of cafes and restaurants.

It’s about seven minutes from The Bank and just down the street from The Imperial Erskineville, so you’ll never be far from some of the area’s best LGBTQ venues.

Marrickville

Marrickville sits right next door to Newtown, around seven kilometers from Sydney’s CBD. Once a major industrial hub, it’s now a popular foodie hangout with a number of craft breweries and a thriving art and music scene.

It hosts the iconic Laneway party every Mardi Gras and the rest of the year, it’s an excellent restaurant serving wood-fired pizza and homemade pasta. The Kirketon Hotel has a range of rooms that can suit a variety of budgets and is around 15 minutes from Oxford Street.

Potts Point

Potts Point has historically been Darlinghurst’s main competition when it comes to Sydney’s LGBTQ scene and this harborside suburb is known for its brunches, boutique shopping and cutting-edge street fashion.

Kensington Street is the hub of Chippendale’s dining scene and Central Park Mall is a remarkable urban renewal project with hanging vertical gardens.

Newtown/Erskineville

The suburbs of Newtown and Erskineville are popular with the LGBTQ community with the seventh-highest proportion of male same-sex couples and the second-highest proportion of female same-sex couples in Australia, as of 2016.

Guests also have access to the tranquil N’Gurra Lounge, free parking, and high-speed WiFi. Here’s what you can expect at each one:

Universal

When long-running gay venue Midnight Shift closed down, gay hearts across Sydney broke in two. Each stay includes complimentary entry to Taronga, exclusive sanctuary tours, and a buffet breakfast at the panoramic Me-Gal Restaurant.

Redfern is only around three kilometers from Sydney’s CBD and is home to beautiful parks and an excellent cafe and dining scene.

Best bars, clubs and restaurants in Redfern

The Bearded Tit is a fantastic bar and art space that’s the gathering point for many of Redfern’s most colorful characters to sit back and relax with some delicious cocktails.

It’s the quintessential LGBTQIA+ Sydney venue, best known for its starring role in the cult film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Sydney is also well known for its nomadic LGBTQIA+ club nights, which cater to every niche imaginable. The Ultimate package also has a 3-course dinner included. There are four levels, the ground floor bar and bistro is the place to hang out and get some great pub food.

Bar Positano is a popular cafe bar that often runs limited edition cocktails during Mardi Gras to go with their usual offerings of delicious paninis and Aperol Spritzes.

Best bars, clubs and restaurants in Surry Hills

The Beresford Hotel on Bourke Street was once solely an LGBTQ club and today it’s still very popular with LGBTQI+ clientele.

The Imperial Hotel is one of the most popular LGBTQI+ venues in Sydney’s Inner West and one of Sydney’s most iconic locations, once used as the setting for the famous 1995 film Priscilla Queen of the Desert. This densely populated area has long been popular with queer Sydneysiders, and Potts Point in particular offers a range of accommodation, from upmarket chain hotels to boutique lodges.

From here, Oxford Street is an easy walk.

If you’d rather be closer to the beach (this is the city where Speedo’s were invented, after all), notoriously queer-friendly stretches of sand include Lady Bay, Redleaf, Clovelly, Tamarama and Coogee.