For the gay traveller, Melbourne feels “like a more chilled out and refined experience after the glitz of Sydney,” opines James Norman in The Guardian. He suggests a visit to the Hares & Hyenas queer bookstore in Fitzroy, “and while you’re there grab a coffee at Mario’s cafe around the corner in hip Brunswick Street.” And he suggests the best Melbourne queer parties are “irregular underground events such as Trough and the much more female friendly mixed 80’s disco beats of Grouse and Closet Party,” and recommends staying at the Brooklyn Arts Hotel in Fitzroy – “set in a classic old Victorian terrace and just a short walk to the city and the north side queer hangouts.”
The city is buzzing with gay bars and pubs. Time Out’s Best Gay Bars in Melbourne guide names Sircuit Bar (“a constantly revolving roster of theme nights means everyone has at least one reason to visit, from the leather lads and wannabe cowboys on a bucking bronco to camper drag lovers”), The Laird in Fitzroy (“the traditional home of all things manly, sweaty, furry and leather clad”), The Peel in Abbotsford (“somewhat of a legend on the scene, infamous as the place you end up when things get very, very messy”), DT's Hotel (“it's all a bit exotic out back with palm trees and ponds, though do expect to get up close and personal with your neighbour as it’s a nice and cosy space”), Prince of Wales Hotel in beachfront St Kilda (“somehow the left-hand bar got claimed by the LGBT brigade, while the pool tables and sport-playing TVs next door remain the domain of the straight blokes”).