For general information on the city, click on Visit Britain

If you are visiting, do it on foot - especially Soho and Carnaby Street, wonderful parks like St James', Clapham Common, Hamstead Heath and Wimbledon Common. Other places to visit include Greenwich (with its wonderful weekend market and museums), Canary Wharf (for its architecture and shops), the markets at Camden, Spitalfields and Borough. The Colombia Road flower market on Sunday is a must too. And make sure you take a ride on the London Eye for a great panoramic view of the city.

Gay Places

London's gay centre is Soho although there are bars and clubs all over the capital. Old Compton Street is the main thoroughfare and there are plenty of bars, shops, cafes and restaurants here serving the gay visitor. More can be found on the streets adjoining it.

Bar selections

Here's a selection of the many bars in town - and there are more. See Boyz (a freebie mag in most bars for the full list):

79CXR, 79 Charing Cross Road, W1. Cruisy, dark and packed late night gay bar/club where the music is loud and the atmosphere rather full-on (especially in the grotty toilets!). Normally open until the early hours. Central.

Admiral Duncan, Old Compton Street, W1. Traditional-style and friendly gay pub with garish pink and purple frontage. This is where the Soho bomb went off killing three people some years back - a memorial to them is a feature inside. Quite small and often very busy but always worth a visit.

Angel, 21 Church Street, Stratford, E15. Popular east London watering hole.

Bar Aquda, Maiden Lane, WC2. Trendy, nicely-designed gay bar in Covent Garden. It's light, airy and doesn't get too packed. One of my favourites.

Bar Code, Archer St, W1. Basic gay bar popular with those who like their men with cropped hair and jeans but less so with the pretty boy queens. Quite cruisy. Open late. Tuesday night sees the popular Comedy Camp - a night of stand-up.

Bar Fusion, 45 Essex Road, N1. Popular Islington bar. Normally open until midnight.

Black Cap, 171 Camden High Street, London NW1. One of the most famous of north London's gay pubs. Cabaret and clubbing. Open late.

Blush, 8 Cazenove Road, London N16. Cafe bar with music and food. Usually closed on Mondays. North.

The Box, 32 Monmouth Street, WC2. Modern, pleasant gay bar that's l more towards Covent Garden. Particularly nice in summer when you can sit outside.

Brewery Tap, 79 Lingham Street, London SW9. Mixed gay local pub.

Bromptons, 294 Old Brompton Road, London SW5. Famous west London bar/club. Nothing special to write home about but quite fun. Open late.

Central Station, 37 Wharfdale Road, Kings Cross N1. Combination of pub and club with some cabaret and theme nights. Can be cruisy. Open late.

Central Station, 80 Brunner Road, London E17. Bar with entertainment near Walthamstow tube.

Champion, 1 Wellington Terrace, Bayswater Road, W2. Basic pub in the Notting Hill area.

City of Quebec, 12 Old Quebec Street, London W1. Traditional style pub. Often cruisy, popular with very young and very old. Spot the rent boy!

Colherne, 261 Old Brompton Road, London SW5. Famous and busy leather and denim bar. West London.

Comptons, Old Compton St, W1. Traditional and famous gay pub, a particular favourite with those who like their men with cropped hair, boots and while t-shirts. Cruisy.

Duke of Wellington, Wardour Street, London W1. New pub near The Village and the Anne Summers sex shop. Two floors, the upper one with sofas. Pleasant and friendly but usually busy.

Duke of Wellington, 119 Balls Pond Road, London N1. Mixed gay pub in the traditional style. North London.

Dukes, Duke of Cambridge, 349 Kennington Lane, London SE11. Bar with theme nights for bears and others. South London.

Edge, Soho Square, W1. Multi-floored and attractive gay bar with a decent clientele and lots of good music. In summer the boys and girls spill out into Soho Square. Open late but doesn't serve pints. Sometimes can be over-run by scene queens. Central.

Ego, 82 Norwood High Street, West Norwood. Late night south London bar with music and cabaret.

Escape, 8 Brewer St, W1. In the heart of London's sex industry, this late bar isn't much to write home about. It gets packed, the music is loud and the crowd can be attitudey. Handy for late drinks though as it is often open until 3am.

First Out, 52 Giles High Street, London WC2. Friendly, central cafe.

Fort, 131 Grange Road, London SE1. Pub with a strong uniform theme - leather, denim etc. Very cruisy.

Friendly Society, Tisbury Court, 79 Wardour St, W1. Trendy basement bar reached through an easy-to-miss doorway between The Village and Ann Summers. Music can get a bit loud later on and it's not as friendly as it was once thanks to the rather sceney crowd. Central.

GAY Bar Old Compton St, W1. Modern bar on several floors from the same people behind the awful club.

Gladstone Arms, 64 Lant Street, London SE1. Bar with theme nights and entertainment.

Halfway to Heaven, Duncannon St, W1. An average, somewhat traditional English gay pub, halfway between Soho and Heaven nightclub, quite cruisey at times - especially downstairs. Central.

Hoist, Railway Arch 47C, South Lambeth Road, SW8. Dress code bar - leather, denim etc. Open Friday and Saturday until the early hours.

Joiners Arms, 116 Hackney Road, E2. Local pub.

Kazbar, 50 Clapham High Street, SW4. From the same group as Kudos and Ku. Modern bar with music videos that opens until midnight.

King Edward VI, 25 Bromfield Street, London N1. Pub with cafe bar upstairs. Friendly atmosphere. North London.

King William IV, 77 Hampstead High Street, London NW3. Popular gay pub with a good welcome and handy for those who want to venture on to the nearby heath for you know what. North London.

King's Arms, 23 Poland Street, London W1. Traditional pub popular with bears. Central.

Ku Bar, 75 Charing Cross Road, W1. From the same team as Kudos. Upstairs is a more private and romantic area with candles on tables. The bar staff and the clientelle can be very young and queeny so be prepared. Central.

Kudos, Adelaide St, WC2. A gay bar with a mixed clientele - young, old, men in suits, tourists and so on. OK, and with a dance floor downstairs. Bit too attitudey for me.

Lamb, 16 Acre Road, Kingston. Pub that's open normal hours in south west London.

Little Apple, 99 Kennington Lane, London SE11. Another traditional south London gay bar.

Queen's Head, 23 Tryon Street, London SW3. Long-standing, west London pub with an older crowd.

Retro Bar, 2 George Court, off The Strand, WC1. Rather hard to find when you've had a few beers but a pleasant and friendly gay pub where the music tends to be 70s and 80s. Good, mixed clientelle.

Richmond Arms, The Square, Princes Street, Richmond. Popular pub in this attractive part of south west London.

Ye Rose and Crown, 1 Crooms Hill, London SE10. Greenwich mixed bar..

Rupert Street, Rupert St, W1. Young, trendy gay bar popular with Soho types and younger gays. Music can be too loud at times. Some of the rudest bar staff in London - which is why I can't stand the place. Heaving.

Sanctuary, 4 Greek Street, W1. Stylish place with several bars and expensive beer.

Shadow Lounge, 5 Brewer Street, London W1. Members only club bar but it's possible to get in especially early in the week. Open late but full of dizzy queens and the occasional celeb. Far too full of attitude for me - in fact, I loathe the place.

Ship, 17 Barnes Street, London E14. East London pub.

Site, 42 St Martin's Lane, WC2. Two floors where Brief Encounter used to be.

Stag, Bressenden Place, London SW1. Gay pub in the heart of Victoria. Pleasant but nothing to write home about.

Substation South, Brighton Terrace, Brixton, SW9. A bar/club which is pretty cruisy and, depending on the night, a bit full on. Themes include Y Fronts, Toolbox, Boot Camp and so on.

Two Brewers, Clapham High Street, SW4. Bills itself as a cabaret bar - drag acts and comedians every night of the week in the main bar. Nextdoor is the club with a smallish dancefloor. Open late.

Vauxhall Tavern, 372 Kennington Lane, London SE11. Famous gay club that offers a variety of different theme nights including the legendary Duckie on Saturdays. Open late.

Village, 81 Wardour Street, W1. Average bar with some show-off staff and a varied clientele. Open until 1am six days a week (not Sunday). Dancefloor in the basement.

West 5, Popes Lane, South Ealing, W5. Big, friendly pub with cabaret, pool table and a dancefloor. Open late.

White Swan, 556 Commercial Road, London E14. Popular east end cabaret bar and club. Open late every night.

Yard, Rupert St, W1. Very pleasant and friendly gay bar set back from the street and with a large courtyard. Now with a renovated upstairs bar too. One of my real favourites - especially in the summer.

Some clubs

DTPM, Fabric, 77a Charterhouse Street, EC1. Sunday night wouldn't be Sunday night without DTPM at the smart, trendy Fabric. Expect tuff house, latino, progressive, R&B etc and the like in several rooms.

Fiction, The Cross, Kings Cross Freight Depot, Goodsway, N1. Fabulous but small venue in railway arches and with a nice outdoor area. Funky music and from the same crowd as DTPM.

Duckie, Vauxhall Tavern, 373 Kennington Lane, SE11. Fab Saturday night out hosted by Amy Lame with a bizarre but infectious music policy and regular cabaret.

G.A.Y, The Astoria and Mean Fiddler, Charing Cross Road, W1. Saturdays in the Astoria's main arena is crammed with 1,500 boys and girls dancing to trashy commercial stuff along with PAs by some of the biggest names in music.

Ghetto, Falconberg Court, W1. Smallish club off of Charing Cross Road with various nights. Not the best place in the world and can be quiet early in the week. Saturday's Wig Out is popular with plenty of trashy sounds.

Heaven, The Arches, Villiers Street, W1. Heaven is perhaps the best-known gay club in the UK Saturday offers up a harder and cruisier night mainly for men. On several floors with dancefloors offering different types of music.

LA3, 333 Old Street, EC1. Hard house for a cruisey crowd in a trendy venue on Sunday nights.

Popstarz, The Scala, 213 Pentonville Road, Kings Cross. Britpop and indie instead of the usual handbag. There are several rooms, playing a variety of different music including the above and plenty of disco. Great fun - every Friday from 10pm to 5am.

XXL, London Bridge Arches, 53 Southwark Street, SE1. Club and bar for hairy, large bears and their admirers.

Sex

Until recently, clubs that allowed sex on the premises were liable to police raids and, although it could still happen, it is extremely rare. Thus the boom in the number of saunas and spas around the capital. Nightclubs themselves generally do not have dark (or back) rooms like they do in, for example, Amsterdam, but that doesn't mean sex doesn't go on! The age of consent for gays and str8s is 16.

Perhaps the most famous sauna in London is Chariots, 201 Shoreditch High Street, EC1.