Center City is welcoming to GLBT residents and visitors, and even has a marketing campaign called "Get your History Straight and your Nightlife Gay" at www.gophila.com. The GLBT community's center is called "Gayborhood," an area bordered by 9th and Juniper streets and Walnut and South streets, filled with GLBT-friendly restaurants, bookstores, clubs, shops, and social services. You can also check the weekly Philadelphia Gay News (www.epgn.com), which is widely available. The lesbian-oriented Labyrinth is available free at Giovanni's Room, a popular gay bookstore at 345 S. 12th St. (tel. 215/923-2960; www.giovannisroom.com), that also serves as a national resource for publications produced by and for gays and lesbians, as well as for feminist and progressive literature. Outside the city, the village of New Hope is a popular destination for gay and lesbian travelers.
For meetings, gallery exhibitions, and social events, consult the William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. (tel. 215/735-2220; www.waygay.org).
To report anti-gay violence or discrimination, call the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force Hot Line (tel. 215/772-2000; www.op.net/plgtf).
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; it 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. Newly added to the gay publishing scene is the mini glossy HX Philadelphia, available around town, especially in Washington West restaurants, bars, and shops.
The following travel guides are available at many bookstores, or you can order them from any online bookseller: Spartacus International Gay Guide (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide), 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.
