| New York

Travel guide to New York gay nightlife

NYC: The City That Never Sleeps

<b>NYC</b>: The City That Never Sleeps

The Big Apple. The city that never sleeps. The financial, musical, shopping and art capital of the world.....New York City must be one of most dynamic cities in the world. It's on 24/7 and you will be unable to see, live and enjoy everything is just a couple of days. Just dive in for a few days and visit all the landmark icons, shop around, go to a theatre and enjoy the NYC nightlife.

Nightlife and gay neighbourhoods

<b>Nightlife</b> and gay neighbourhoods

Gay life is everywhere in New York City. Nightlife is vivid and overwhelming. You can choose from endless variations on gay bars and clubs: from muscle mary clubs to cabaret piano bars, local intimate bars to trendy gay lounges. Most bars are opened from 16h till 4h.

On Manhattan, the most interesting part of NYC for (gay) tourists, the gay scene is concentrated in a couple of neighbourhoods.

In Greenwhich Village lays the origin of gay pride, where the Stonewall riots in Christopher Street awakened gay emancipation. Hence the Christopher Street Days throughout the world. Many gay bars, restaurants and clubs are located here.

A bit more fancy is neighbouring Chelsea in Lower Manhattan west of Park Avenue. Chelsea offers a wide selection of trendy bars, clubs and restaurants which are concentrated around Eighth Avenue.

The East Village is a bit more of the bohemian version of the West Village.

Midtown NYC can be well spend for the bars between the Empire State Building and the MoMa on Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Avenue.

Manhattan what to do and see ?

<b>Manhattan</b> what to do and see ?

New York is full of landmark icons we know from the movies and television. Of course you want to see the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island.

Or go up on the Empire State Building, since 9/11 again the highest building in town. Speaking of, Ground Zero is still an impressive visit.
Wall Street, the financial epicentre of the world, is on walking distance. Or take a stroll through Central Park, the green lung of NYC.

Of course you want to see a show on Broadway. It is so gay to see the biggest stars performing, either in a play or in a typical Broadway musical like Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia or one of the other 45 musicals or 30 plays!

On Broadway.com you can order online tickets for most of the shows. (Please do so, because you support Nighttours too). And after the show, you pop into one of the gay bars in Chelsea, a few blocks west of Broadway and Time Square.

Art

<b>Art</b>

New York City has some of the biggest and best museums in the world. Most famous is the Museum of Modern Art, also know as MoMa. Here you will find one of the most impressive collections of contemporary art in the world.

Also famous, and not only for its design by Frank Lloyd Wright, is the Guggenheim Museum, near Central Park.

Gay map NYC / Manhattan

<b>Gay map</b> NYC / Manhattan

Check out our New York City interactive gay map with all the main gay bars, clubs, saunas and parties.

NYC gay map

Hotel search

City: New York
Checkin date:
Checkout date:
gay bars, cafes and pubs
9th Ave. Bistro - Pacha NYC
618 West 46th Street
Nice cozy bar in the middle of the trendy Hell's Kitch 9th Avenue strip. With live entertainment and a pool room in the back. [...]
mon-sun –
9th. Ave. Saloon - Ashbury Park
Old fashioned local gay bar at 9th Av. / Hells Kitchen. Older clientele. There are weekly Leather events. [...]
mon-sat 11:00–04:00, sun 13:00–04:00
Bamboo 52
344 West 52nd St.
New sushi restaurant and lounge bar. The big back yard and bamboo garden plus daily extended happy hour provide a nice atmosphere for theatre-goers and after workers.
mon-sun 12:00–04:00
Barracuda
275 West 22nd Street
Barracuda attracts a neighborhood mix in Chelsea. The lounge in the back is excellent for sipping your cocktail. [...]
mon-sun 22:00–04:00
Barrage
401 West 47th street
Local bar and a great place to go if you actually want to meet people. A mixed crowd of neighborhood residents, actors and dancers from the nearby theaters, and often glamorous Chelsea boys. [...]
mon-thu 17:00–02:00, fri-sat 17:00–04:00, sun 17:00–02:00
Boiler Room
86 East 4th Street
Big gay bar with a mixed crowd. Many college boys in the weekends. Boiler Room has a jukebox, a pool table and a pinball machine, Daily happy hours. [...]
mon-sun 04:00–16:00
Boots & Saddles - Boots & Saddle
76 Christopher Street
A kitschy bar for wannabe coybows, complete with swinging wooden saloon doors. Like most places on Christopher Street, the audience is a little older. [...]
mon-sun 12:00–04:00
Boxers NYC
37 West 20th Street
NYC's Gay Sports Bar. With two levels, pool tables, brick oven pizza, beer on tap, full bar, and plasma screens, after work or after the game, it’s the place for sports leagues and fans to meet. [...]
mon-fri 16:00–02:00, sat-sun 13:00–02:00
Candle Bar
309 Amsterdam Avenue
Candle Bar is one of the few gay bars in this area but a popular place. Casual and without attitude, it attracts an eclectic crowd which ranges from blue and white collar to artistic. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
Cosmo
359 West 54th Street
Small local bar with intimate mood despite the club music. Has been refered to as a gay version of "Cheers'. [...]
mon-sun 18:00–03:00
Cubbyhole
281 W 12th Street
Charming little hole, mostly a cozy hang-out for gay girls and their gay guy pals, is lined from floor to ceiling with colorful mobiles in the shape of birds, dolphins, helicopters, and just about anything else you can think of.
mon-fri 16:00–04:00, sat-sun 14:00–04:00
Don't Tell Mama
343 West 46th Street
Piano and show bar with 2 rooms. No reservations are possible and you have a 2 drink minimum. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
Fairytail Lounge
500 West 48th Street
Upscale Bar/Lounge Happy Hour 5pm-10pm, 7 days a week! $3 drink specials
mon-wed 17:00–02:00, thu-sun 17:00–03:00
g Lounge
225 West 19th Street
Founded in 1997, this was Chelseas first cocktail bar. Spacy with a large bar in middle, and some comfortable relax areas behind the bar. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
Gym Sportsbar
167 8th Avenue
The first and only gay sports bar in New York City, right at the gay avenue on 8th in Chelsea. [...]
mon-thu 16:00–02:00, fri 16:00–04:00, sat 13:00–04:00, sun 13:00–02:00
HK Lounge
405 W 39th ST
Bar / club belonging to Hell's Kitchen restaurant at 9th Av. With roof terrace, and big boys behind the bar, this is a popular hang out for Midtown boys. [...]
mon-sun –
Industry
355 West 52nd Street
Welcome to Hell’s Kitchen’s first super bar, courtesy of gay nightlife veterans Bob Pontarelli and Stephen Heighton, owners of Chelsea institutions like Barracuda and Elmo. [...]
mon-thu 16:00–04:00, sun 16:00–04:00
Marie's Crisis
59 Grove Street
Small and cheap neighborhood bar, with Broadway tunes and a gay / straight mixed crowd. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
No Parking
4168 Broadway
21 and over bar with hot go go boys and different theme nights.
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
Nowhere Bar
322 East 14th Street
Huge bar in 19th century inspired interior. Mixed crowd of gays and lesbians. Daily happy hours.
mon-sun 15:00–04:00
O.W. Bar
221 East 58th Street
A contemporary bar, lounge and garden patio where gorgeous and sexy men run around. [...]
mon-sat 16:00–04:00, sun 14:00–04:00
Phoenix
447 East 14th Street
Local, non prestigious neighborhood bar to hang around with a beer and play so pool. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
Pieces Bar
8 Christopher Street
Pieces Bar features special events, Karaoke sing-a-longs, costume contests, pool tournaments, body contests, fund raising events, the almost world famous annual event "the 12 Drags of Christmas" and many more. [...]
mon 14:00–02:00, tue-sat 14:00–04:00, sun 14:00–02:00
Posh
405 West 51 Street
All types of gays mingle at Posh. So does the loud music, which ranges from Acid House to ABBA. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
Secret Lounge
525 West 29th Street
Lounge with mixed crowd which is chatting and dancing on the beats.
tue-sat 18:00–04:00
Shag
11 Abingdon Square
Small trendy bar and restaurant with shag carpeting on the walls and 70's style furniture. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
The Cock
29 Second Avenue
Located in a new venue, this well known gay pick-up joint still attracts a mostly male clientele for its raunchy atmosphere. [...]
mon-sun 23:00–04:00
The Duplex
61 Christopher Street
Show bar with Broadway tunes. It boasts a piano bar with open mic every night of the week, an upstairs bar and an intimate off-Broadway cabaret theatre.
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
The Hangar
115 Christopher Street
A must do in the Village. Pool tabel, Go-go boys, happy hours. Very popular.
mon-thu 15:00–03:00, fri-sat 15:00–04:00, sun 15:00–03:00
The Ritz Bar & Lounge
369 W 46th St.
Bar and small dance club in Hell's Kitchen, with sailor decored theme downstairs with a rather young and mixd crowd dancing on tunes from house to hip hop, and a more relaxed atmosphere at the bar on the second floor. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
The Stonewall Inn
53 Christopher Street
Legendary gay venue in the Village. It was the location of the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969, in which hundreds of gays, lesbians and transgender people and their supporters for the first time finally fought back against the unwarranted and often violent police raids. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
The Townhouse Bar
206 East 58TH Street
New York's premier gay gentleman's club and a landmark bar in the NYC scene. Beyond the main bar is a club room featuring a piano player banging out the show tunes, as well as a quieter downstairs lounge. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
The Urge Lounge - The Urge
33 2nd Avenue
Local hangout with nice decor, and of course muscled go-go boys, videos and drag queens. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
Therapy
348 West 52nd Street
Very stylish and trendy bar in Hell's Kitchen, with classy wooden interior on two floors. [...]
mon-sat 17:00–04:00, sun 12:00–04:00
Ty's Bar
114 Christopher Street
Ty's Bar is a centrally located in the heart of the West Village. This gay bar attracts an eclectic crowd and offers a variety of drink specials. [...]
mon-fri 14:00–04:00, sat-sun 13:00–04:00
Uncle Charlie's
139 East 45th Street
Piano and cocktail lounge near the famous Chrysler Building in Midtown East. With cabaret, piano and karaoke. [...]
mon-sat 16:00–04:00, sun 16:00–03:00
Vlada Lounge
331 West 51st Street
New stylish gay lounge on two floors. The owners hope to evoke "the European artistic aura of Odeon in the 70s, where artists, actors, fashionistas, models and freaks alike could all gather and be comfortable just being themselves. [...]
tue-sun 16:00–04:00
XES Lounge
157 West 24th Street
XES Lounge is a friendly, cruisy gay bar with great music, great entertainment and generous drinks. [...]
mon-tue 16:00–02:00, wed-sun 16:00–04:00
XL Nightclub
512 West 42nd Street
New York City's Newest and Largest Gay Dance Club, Bar, and Lounge.
mon-sun –
gay friendly bars, cafes and pubs
Hardware Bar
697 Tenth Ave New York
Gay bar at 10th Av with weekly different theme nights, drag shows and karaoke nights. [...]
mon-sun –
Gay clubs
CLUB20
20 W 20 ST
Male strip club featureing hot male dancers lap dance area ,
sun 17:00–00:45
Escuelita
301 West 39th St.
18+ dance club with a latin spirit. Frequently (drag) shows.
tue 22:00–05:00, thu-sun 22:00–05:00
HK Lounge
405 W 39th ST
Bar / club belonging to Hell's Kitchen restaurant at 9th Av. With roof terrace, and big boys behind the bar, this is a popular hang out for Midtown boys. [...]
mon-sun –
Rush
579 Sixth Avenue
Formerly home to Heaven, Rush is a new nightclub for a younger crowd of gay college kids, their friends, their admirers. [...]
thu-sat 23:00– late
Splash Bar
50 West 17th Street
One of NYC most famous clubs. Very popular with tourists. The biggest names in DJ land play here frequently. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–05:00
The Monster
80 Grove Street
Dance club and piano bar. Upstairs offers the intimacy of a piano bar, downstairs, you'll find Drag Shows starring such notables as Laritza DuMont and Jesse Volt plus the beats of House DJ Warren Gluck, Tony Cruz and special guest DJ's.
mon-fri 16:00–04:00, sat-sun 14:00–04:00
The Pyramid Club
101 Avenue A
The Pyramid Club has a theme night for every individual's taste. Fridays are gay with 1984, an 80ies dance party. [...]
fri 22:00–04:00
The Ritz Bar & Lounge
369 W 46th St.
Bar and small dance club in Hell's Kitchen, with sailor decored theme downstairs with a rather young and mixd crowd dancing on tunes from house to hip hop, and a more relaxed atmosphere at the bar on the second floor. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
XL Nightclub
512 West 42nd Street
New York City's Newest and Largest Gay Dance Club, Bar, and Lounge.
mon-sun –
Gay parties, circuit parties, after parties, etc
Alegria - Various locations
One of the most famous circuit parties in NYC. According to visitors the crowd is still amazing but Alegria has been losing his full glory. [...]
, ,
Blowoff - Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th Street
Monthly gay party on various locations (check their website). Blowoff draws a furrier slightly older muscle crowd.
Fight Club - Boxers NYC
37 West 20th Street
Chris Ryan presents Fight Club: every Thursday sexy gay studs battle it out!
thu 22:00– late
Krash - Rebel
251 W 30th St.
Weekly Friday night dance party at 4 leveled Chelsea club Rebel. The party - originally hosted in Queens - offers something for everyone: from urban to house, rom NY drags to gogo-dancers. [...]
fri 22:00– late
Matinee NYC Pride - Governors Beach Club
10 South Street
Large gay party for New York gay pride
15:00– late
Pacha NYE - Pacha NYC
618 West 46th Street
Pacha's New Years Eve event
Rewind - The Ritz Bar & Lounge
369 W 46th St.
Weekly Wednesdays return to the 80ies. At The Ritz.
wed –
Rock It - XL Nightclub
521 West 42nd Street
Weekly gay party at new venue XL. Get started early with a full open bar until 11PM.
fri 22:00–04:00
Sand Blast Weekend - Various locations
Annual gay circuit beach festival at Asbury Park, New Jersey (40 miles south of New York). [...]
-
Sea Tea - Pier 40
West Side Highway / Houston Street
New Yorks only sailing Sunday tea dance. The Queen Of Hearts sails from New York's historic Pier #40 in the West Village every Sunday during the Summer. [...]
Skin Tight USA - The Ritz Bar & Lounge
369 W 46th St.
Skin Tight USA has moved to our NEW home at The Ritz Bar and Lounge in Hells Kitchen (369 west 46th Street, NYC)! We have New dates for the 2012 season! Sweat it out and sex it up, with guys in leather, singlets, speedos, or a superhero suits at NYC's favorite sexy party while being served the best drinks by the hottest bartenders in NYC. [...]
The Black Party - Roseland Ballroom
239 West 52nd Street
The Saint at Large presents RITES: The Black Party Recognized internationally as "The Ultimate Fetish, Fag Blowout", THE BLACK PARTY has built its legendary reputation on the intense sexual energy of its "strange live acts," state-of-the-art lighting and production design and cutting-edge musical artistry. [...]
Gay cruise bars and clubs
The Eagle
554 West 28th Street
Two floors full of leather and jeans guys, cruising (some action in the bathrooms on the 2nd floor), drinking or playing pool. [...]
tue-sun 22:00–04:00
The Tool Box - Tool Box
1742 Second Avenue
Cruise and video bar with sexy videos, sports and music video screens. Discover the space for cruising (named the Tea Room), or just drink at the bar and chill out at the lounge within which to chill out. [...]
mon-sun 16:00–04:00
Gay play, fetish and cruise party
Grab Ass - Paddles
250 West 26th Street
Grab Ass- private sex parties. Ages 25 to 55 and all body types, extremely friendly group with a bit of something for everyone every week. [...]
wed 20:00–03:00
Gay cruisingareas
Central Park
The area around the Boathouse is called The Ramble. Enter the park from the east side at the entrance at 72nd Street. [...]
mon-sun 24h
Fire Island
Fire Island is a thin 32 mile long sand bar south of Long Island (separating the Great South Bay from the Atlantic Ocean) and only one hour or 50 miles east of New York City with pristine ocean shores. [...]
mon-sun 00:00–00:00
Lesbian and mixed gay/lesbian bars and cafes
Cubbyhole
281 W 12th Street
Charming little hole, mostly a cozy hang-out for gay girls and their gay guy pals, is lined from floor to ceiling with colorful mobiles in the shape of birds, dolphins, helicopters, and just about anything else you can think of.
mon-fri 16:00–04:00, sat-sun 14:00–04:00
Nowhere Bar
322 East 14th Street
Huge bar in 19th century inspired interior. Mixed crowd of gays and lesbians. Daily happy hours.
mon-sun 15:00–04:00
Gay and regular restaurants
Bamboo 52
344 West 52nd St.
New sushi restaurant and lounge bar. The big back yard and bamboo garden plus daily extended happy hour provide a nice atmosphere for theatre-goers and after workers.
mon-sun 12:00–04:00
HK Lounge
405 W 39th ST
Bar / club belonging to Hell's Kitchen restaurant at 9th Av. With roof terrace, and big boys behind the bar, this is a popular hang out for Midtown boys. [...]
mon-sun –

If you know more gay (minded) places, add here