In Amsterdam, you can get information, or just meet people, by visiting COC, Rozenstraat 14 (tel. 020/626-3087; www.cocamsterdam.nl), the Amsterdam branch of the Dutch lesbian and gay organization. On the premises are a daytime cafe serving coffee and quiche, a meeting space for special-interest groups, weekend discos (mainly men Fri, women Sat), and a special ethnic evening called Strange Fruit on Sunday. The Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (tel. 020/623-6565; www.switchboard.nl), open daily from 10am to 10pm, can provide you with all kinds of information and advice.
You shouldn't have much trouble finding information about gay and lesbian bars and clubs because they're well publicized. The free biweekly listings magazine Shark is a great source of cultural information, in particular for the offbeat and alternative scenes, and comes with a centerfold pullout, titled Queer Fish, which has excellent lesbian and gay listings. Gay News Amsterdam and Gay & Night, competing monthly magazines in both Dutch and English, are available free in gay establishments around the city.
In Belgium, contact the gay and lesbian community centers Tels Quels, rue du Marché-au-Charbon 81 (tel. 02/512-45-87; Métro: Bourse), open Saturday to Thursday from 5pm to 2am, and Friday from 8am to 4am; and Maison Arc-en-Ciel, av. Winston Churchill 175 (tel. 02/347-67-56; tram: 23 or 90). For Flanders, try the Federatie Werkgroepen Homoseksualiteit, Vlaanderenstraat 22 (tel. 09/238-26-26), in Ghent.
In Luxembourg, the gay men's organization is Rosa Letzebuerg, bd. Patton 94, 2316 Luxembourg-Ville (tel. 021-412-812; www.gay.lu).
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; go to their website and click on "Members."
Many agencies offer tours and travel itineraries specifically for gay and lesbian travelers. Among them are Above and Beyond Tours (tel. 800/397-2681; www.abovebeyondtours.com); Now, Voyager (tel. 800/255-6951; www.nowvoyager.com); and Olivia Cruises & Resorts (tel. 800/631-6277; www.olivia.com).
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.
The following travel guides are available at many bookstores, or you can order them from any online bookseller: Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe (www.frommers.com), an excellent travel resource to the top European cities and resorts; Spartacus International Gay Guide (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus: The International Gay Travel Planner (Odysseus Enterprises Ltd.); and the Damron guides (www.damron.com), with separate, annual books for gay men and lesbians.
