For other nightlife options see our bars and clubs sections. Remember that everything starts very late and often doesn't end until the sun rises.

AGUA NO BICO
Rua De São Marçal, 170, Principe Real
As with most other bars in this quiet residential area, you must ring a bell to get in. Once inside you'll find gays of all ages and reasonably priced drinks.

BALIZA
Rua da Bica Duarte Belo, 51A, Bica/Santa Catarina
This laid-back café-bar by the Bica Elevator attracts a mixed crowd and serves light meals and some good fruit caipirinhas.

BAR 106
Rua De São Marçal, 106, Principe Real
Friendly, small bar with a light décor and a good place to start the evening before hitting the clubs. It is a popular meeting place for young gays who chat on seats against the wall or by the busy bar area. It's one of the few bars with some life on Sunday nights, when it's the weekly "Message Night."

BRIC-A-BAR
Rua Cecilio De Sousa, 82-84, Principe Real
This cruisy bar-disco has a resident DJ, a "darkroom", and several bars. Gay videos play at a bar upstairs while the techno, house, and dance-pop music is danced to on the lower level.

CHUECA
Rua da Atalaia, 97, Bairro Alto
Named after Madrid's famous gay quarter, this small, stylish bar is especially popular among lesbians, although you'll find an equal number of gay men mixed with a straight crowd. The attractive tricolor interior design (orange, white, and black) also includes black and white photos on the walls, forcing you to stop and stay indoors, unlike at other bars in Bairro Alto where almost everyone prefers to stand and people-watch outside. For all of that, gay or straight, this is one of the coolest hangouts in Bairro Alto.

FAVELA CHIC
Rua do Diario de Noticias, 66, Bairro Alto
Owned by the same team as the well-established "Portas Largas" (see below), this relatively new bar also targets a gay crowd.

FINALMENTE
Rua Da Palmeira, 38, Principe Real
This is a very small, yet very popular gay club. It can get quite crowded at the end of the night (meaning early hours of the day in Lisbon), but you can squeeze into the tiny dance floor and dance to some classic gay anthems or watch the regular drag shows.

GoLisbon RECOMMENDS... Lisbon's trendiest gay bar:

FRAGIL Rua Da Atalaia, 126, Bairro Alto This is the gayest of the "straight" clubs. Or better yet, this is Lisbon's "straight-friendly" gay club. Predominantly gay on weekends, this is one of the oldest and hippest nightspots in the city. The small dance floor gets filled quickly after 2AM on Friday and Saturday nights with young gays who dance to the cutting-edge music.

LABYRINTO
(www.labyrinto.com)
A space for the really uninhibited. This exclusively gay sex club offers thematic nights every day of the week, ranging from "underwear party" to "leather" to "bears." This is the place to fulfill your fantasies and fetiches in Lisbon, where you can socialize with other men, participating in whatever you feel like.

LES MAUVAIS GARÇONS
Rua da Rosa, 35, Bairro Alto
This very Parisian café is a popular gay hangout during the day, serving some nice salads and sandwiches. It's a very charismatic place, with classic furniture and black and white photos on the walls. The space is small but that makes it one of the coziest in the city.

MAR ADENTRO
Rua do Alecrim, 35, Chiado
Look down carefully at the window by the entrance to this café-lounge and you'll see the rainbow flag, but this "gay place" is open to everybody, serving light meals and a variety of drinks. It is a recommended meeting place, located so close to the Chiado district and all the nighttime action in Bairro Alto. With your own laptop you can connect to the internet for free, and if you'd like information about local gay life, feel free to ask one of the three friendly partners behind this welcoming café.

MARIA LISBOA
Rua das Fontainhas, 86
What started as a lesbian club is now one of Lisbon's top gay hotspots where you'll meet as many guys as gals. The drag shows have become a popular attraction, with Fridays having a soundtrack of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and Saturdays becoming packed for the lively ambience and music by the resident DJs.

MAX
Rua São Marçal, 15, Principe Real
This very small bar attracts older gay males. There are weekly strip shows and a "Message Night" - leave a message for the one who caught your eye and hope for a response.

MR. GAY
Quinta Da Silveira - Via Rapida Costa da Caparica
This huge club housed in a former warehouse lies outside Lisbon, on the other side of 25 de Abril Bridge on the road to the Costa da Caparica beaches. It has a large dance floor and is known for its eccentric drag shows.

PORTAS LARGAS
Rua Da Atalaia, 105, Bairro Alto
For local gay guys, this is one of the first stops after dinner. It is a spacious old tavern with a casual, down-to-earth atmosphere, although most prefer to grab a drink and stand outside and watch the world go by. A Lisbon classic.

PRIMAS
Rua Da Atalaia,154/156, Bairro Alto
This old, unpretentious pub is a popular lesbian hangout. It offers cheap drinks, pinball machines and pool tables, and a jukebox with eclectic tunes.

PTIT DJs & DRINKS
Rua Da Atalaia, 172, Bairro Alto (Facebook page)
This small club in Bairro Alto hosts DJs mixing the latest sounds of house and jazz in a loungy interior. The atmosphere is relaxed and serves cocktails to gay and straight crowds.

PUREX
Rua das Salgadeiras 28, Bairro Alto
A mixed (largely lesbian) crowd heads to this trendy bar behind orange doors, especially on weekends when a DJ spins some electronic sounds.

S&S
Calçada da Patriarcal, 38, Principe Real
This gay bar opens only on weekends and is known for its late-night drag shows.

7o - SETIMO CEU
Travessa Da Espera, 54, Bairro Alto
This very pleasant bar is an obligatory stop in Bairro Alto for most gays. It is one of the most relaxed gay bars in the city and an ideal place to mingle with local young gays and sit back and enjoy a drink (try the excellent caipirinhas, the popular Brazilian cocktail).

SIDE
Rua da Barroca, 33, Bairro Alto
The owners of the popular "Setimo Ceu" next door opened this mixed café-bar that in early 2009 was also turned into a wine bar for late-afternoon drinking. The space is small, so if you can't get a table, join the crowds by the door outside.

GoLisbon RECOMMENDS... Portugal's largest gay club:

TRUMPS Rua Da Imprensa Nacional, 104B, Principe Real (www.trumps.pt) This is the largest gay club in Portugal consisting of several bars and two dance floors that get packed on weekends. Lesbians make up about a quarter of the crowd, but most are gay males and a few of their straight friends who join in the upbeat atmosphere. The music is pop hits on the smaller dance floor, and dance and house on the main, larger floor.

Looking for GAY HOTELS? See Lisbon's gay and gay-friendly accommodation!