When the city of West Hollywood was incorporated in 1984, it elected a lesbian mayor and a predominantly gay city council. West Hollywood, also known as WeHo, has been waving the rainbow flag ever since. While L.A.'s large gay community is too vast to be contained in this 2-square-mile city, West Hollywood has the largest concentration of gay- and lesbian-oriented businesses and services. Santa Monica, Venice, Silver Lake, and Studio City are other lesbian and gay enclaves.
Guides and Publications -- There are many gay-oriented publications with information and up-to-date listings, including Frontiers, a Southern California-based biweekly; and Nightlife, a local weekly with comprehensive entertainment listings, complete with maps. The periodicals above are available at most newsstands citywide and at A Different Light Bookstore (8853 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood; tel. 310/854-6601; www.adlbooks.com), L.A.'s largest and best gay-oriented bookshop. Its website is also enormously helpful.
The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) (tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626; www.iglta.org) is the trade association for the gay and lesbian travel industry, and offers an online directory of gay- and lesbian-friendly travel businesses and tour operators.
Many agencies offer tours and travel itineraries specifically for gay and lesbian travelers. Above and Beyond Tours (tel. 800/397-2681; www.abovebeyondtours.com) are gay Australia tour specialists. San Francisco-based Now, Voyager (tel. 800/255-6951; www.nowvoyager.com) offers worldwide trips and cruises. Olivia (tel. 800/631-6277; www.olivia.com) offers lesbian cruises and resort vacations.
Gay.com Travel (tel. 800/929-2268 or 415/644-8044; www.gay.com/travel or www.outandabout.com), is an excellent online successor to the popular Out & About print magazine. It provides regularly updated information about gay-owned, gay-oriented, and gay-friendly lodging, dining, sightseeing, nightlife, and shopping establishments in every important destination worldwide. British travelers should click on the "Travel" link at www.uk.gay.com for advice and gay-friendly trip ideas.
The Canadian website GayTraveler (gaytraveler.ca) offers ideas and advice for gay travel all over the world.
The following travel guides are available at many bookstores, or you can order them from any online bookseller: Spartacus International Gay Guide, 35th Edition (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus: The International Gay Travel Planner, 17th Edition (www.odyusa.com); and the Damron guides (www.damron.com), with separate, annual books for gay men and lesbians.
