Tips for Gay and Lesbian Travelers

The Québec province has come far: Gay life here is generally open, accepted, and marketed to, especially in its two major cities. The official Tourisme Montréal website at www.tourisme-montreal.org has a special "Montréal Gay to Z" mini-site listing gay-friendly accommodations, links, and more; and travelers will find the rainbow flag prominently displayed on many hotel and restaurant doors and websites in all neighborhoods of the city. Since 2004, same-sex couples have been allowed to marry throughout the province.

In Montréal, many gay and lesbian travelers head straight to the Gay Village (or, simply, The Village), a neighborhood located primarily along rue Ste-Catherine est between rue St-Hubert and rue Papineau where there are antiques shops, bars, and clubs, clubs, clubs. The Beaudry Métro station is at the heart of the neighborhood and marked by the rainbow flag.

The Village Tourism Information Centre at 576 rue Ste-Catherine est, Suite 200 (tel. 888/595-8110 or 514-522-1885) is open daily in the summer and weekdays the rest of the year, and provides information on everything from where to find a wine bar to where to find a yoga class. Gay Line (tel. 888/505-1010 or 514/866-5090; www.gayline.qc.ca) answers questions by phone daily from 7 to 11pm and has an events listing page online.

The Fugues website at www.fugues.com is a leisure guide to gay life in Montréal and other Québec province cities; you can find the printed version in bars and hotels in and around the Village.

Try to visit Montréal during one of its several gay festivals. The August Divers/Cité Festival and October Black & Blue Festival are listed in the calendar earlier in this chapter.

In Québec City, the gay community in is smaller and centered in the Upper Town just outside the city walls, near Porte Saint-Jean. At the end of August, there's a 3-day gay fest, Fête Arc-en-Ciel (www.fetearcenciel.qc.ca).

Gay.com Travel (tel. 800/929-2268 or 415/644-8044; www.gay.com/travel) has a special section on Montréal, which it lists as one of its Top 20 destinations.

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) has a 12-day cruise that goes between Montréal and New York City.

These travel guides might be useful: Spartacus International Gay Guide, 35th Edition (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide); Odysseus: The International Gay Travel Planner, 17th Edition (www.odyusa.com); and the Damron guides (www.damron.com), with separate, annual books for men and women. The books are available at many bookstores, or you can order them from any online bookseller.