Manchester, UK
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Whenever you visit the neighborhood, picking out a fun bar in the Gay Village is as easy as strolling the five blocks along Canal Street - you'll find places for every taste and preference in this compact area. Among the most appealing spots, Velvet is a handsome space with great music and a popular restaurant in the basement. For sheer camp value, it's hard to beat long-running Via Fossa, with its elaborate carved-wood banisters and railings, pillars covered with old movie posters, and numerous nooks and crannies rife with cushy sofas and lounge chairs. It draws an all-ages, mixed male/female crowd and is an especially fun place to begin the evening. New Union is a low-attitude bar that has a small hotel above it (see below) and can get fairly cruisy late in the evening, and Churchill's is an old-fashioned-looking pub drawing a somewhat older, laid-back bunch.

Among the high-energy clubs, Cruz 101 has been going strong for several years now - it's a couple of blocks toward City Centre from Canal Street and has the usual pulsing dance floor with fog-and-light shows. Trendy spots that pull in a young bunch hell-bent on dancing late into the night include AXM Bar, Manto, and Queer. Most of Canal Street's gay hangouts draw a mix of women and men, but there's also a primarily lesbian club, Vanilla, that's very popular.

Manchester has a number of distinctive accommodations. The Radisson Edwardian stands out for its first-class service and a building that's part 19th-century elegant, part high-tech modern. Although it's a member of the mid-range, rather ordinary U.S. chain of the same name, keep in mind that Radisson properties in Europe tends to be of a four- or five-star caliber, and the Edwardian is no exception. A few doors down, The Midland Hotel is a stunning 1903 building that, thanks to a massive renovation in recent years, offers all the comforts you'd expect of a modern luxury hotel. A third high-end option of note is the boutique-y Lowry Hotel, whose sleek glass exterior and stylish and minimalist rooms are a hit with design-minded guests.

More affordable options include the Best Western Princess on Portland Hotel, which occupies a grand old silk warehouse and sits just steps from the bars of the Gay Village. This five-story hotel has clean, moderately priced rooms. If you really want to be in the heart of the action, and you're looking to save money, stay at the New Union Hotel, which sits right atop the New Union gay bar and has 12 modestly furnished but well-kept rooms with private baths. You'll hear plenty of noise on the street on weekend evenings, but on the other hand, you couldn't be closer to Canal Street's heady bar action. And with the high cost of travel in Britain, staying at the New Union for around just $75 per night is a tremendous bargain, freeing you up to spend that extra money on the many great restaurants and bars in Manchester.

Andrew Collins is the author of Fodor's Gay Guide to the USA and as well as numerous other guidebooks.