The Great, Wondrous Festival of Edinburgh is Nigh

SONY DSCThe larger-than-life,one-of-a-kind, international theater festival of Edinburgh begins tomorrow, and gays (and a few straight people…) will descend upon the city for one of the world’s truly special festivals. For three weeks, the best of the best from the theater world will put of free shows around the medieval city, celebrating art and culture — groups from New York, London, Paris, Sydney, and Los Angeles, travel to put on both historic and unpublished shows. It is a remarkable event. The shows run through August 31.

We recently covered Edinburgh in all its glory in our June 2014 issue and you can read all of our insider tips by subscribing here!

OUT Adventures Wants to Send You to Thailand!

outthailandOUT Adventures is giving away the trip of lifetime over on their website and Facebook page!

Contestants can win a Grand Prize 10-Day luxury trip for two (including airfare!), or a 2nd place 7-day luxury hotel package. Enter now by clicking hereand learning more about the contest. (All entries will receive a $100 travel voucher.) Winners will be announced August 16.

If you’re thinking of traveling to Thailand, check out our in-depth, insider coverage of the Land of Smiles — including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and the southern islands with their postcard-perfect beaches — in our current issue. Click here to subscribe!

Where We Meet: Blackbird (San Francisco)

blackbird-bar_originalJust before Market crosses with Church at the entrance of the Castro district, you’ll find a small, dark lounge with old newspaper on the walls, pool tables, and a bar crowded with cute gay boys (and some straight ones, too!) This isBlackbird, the best bar in San Francisco, straight-owned but the gay patronage is strong. It’s not technically a gay bar but it’s where you’ll find the city’s cutest gay boys, cute bartenders, and a great cocktail list. If you’re dining out at Frances or Starbelly and you have 30 minutes to kill, stroll down Market and waste your time here.

We covered San Francisco in great detail in Nov. 2012. Click here to subscribe to read all of our insider tips about the great City by the Bay.

Our Summer Issue is Live!!


Just in time for the sweltering August heat comes our super hot summertime guide! This special issue focuses on Thailand and is loaded with insider information about the urban insanity of Bangkok, the gorgeous beeches of Phuket and Krabi, the islands of Koh Phi Phi and Koh Samui, as well as the northern areas around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. We also tackle six decadent hotels and resorts to make your idyllic Thailand honeymoon dreams come true.

And as always, the issue looks ahead to get you thinking about fall, which is right around the corner. Check out some of our favorite autumn events — from bucolic wine country retreats to bizarre Irish matchmaking.

Not a subscriber? You can change that in a few easy clicks here to get all our newest issue and all of our back issue full of insider tips from the world’s gay travel experts.

Divers/Cité Montreal: Never A Drag. Well, Sometimes in a Good Way

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In the run-up to Divers/Cité in Montreal, we visited Mado Cabaret, one of the best drag performance reviews in North America. Here’s a portrait of the fascinating, talented Mado herself.

 

#TBT The Middle East One Year Ago

petraAmidst all the violence and blame in the middle east right now, this essay by Peter Schwartz in response to Brian Eno captures our sadness at the intractability and inhumanity of the situation. Just last year, ManAboutWorld founder Billy Kolber traveled throughout Petra (above) while associate editor Kenny Porpora made his way through Israel (below.) We pray for peace and freedom.

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Dispatches: Zack & Jason Check-In From Istanbul

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Our correspondents Jason Slattery & Zachary Gregus checked in with us from Istanbul with a fascinating report from one of the great cities of the world. It’s gayer than you think!

After having a full day to explore this fascinating city, we’ve come to the conclusion that it is truly a great place to visit. We started out our day by hiking up endless sets of stairs (including the famous “rainbow stairs”!) which eventually brought us to the well-known area of Taksim Square. Although this is the exact location of quite violent protests as recently as last year, there is none of that activity to be found now. We were quite surprised to find that this area of the city seems to be incredibly gay friendly.Continue reading “Dispatches: Zack & Jason Check-In From Istanbul”

Where We Eat: A Small, Warm Italian Eatery in East London

bottega-prelibatoOn a warm corner of Rivington Street in Shoreditch exists this quaint little Italian eatery called Prelibato Bottega. It’s a small brick interior of just a handful of tables, handmade pastas, and great wine; it is one of London’s best surprises and one we’ve unearthed after many years of traveling across the pond. We covered London in-depth in our July/August 2013 issue that you can read by subscribing here to get more of our insider tips.

 

We’ll Celebrate Gay Arts & Culture at Divers/Cité, Montreal. You?

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We’re heading to Montreal next week for Divers/Cité, one of the two major gay celebrations that take place every summer. The other, Pride Montreal, takes place August 11-17. It’s a tad confusing for those of us in cities with one big Pride-oriented celebration but the net result is you get to spend twice as much time celebrating your queerness, dancing up a storm and soaking in a lot of amazing culture. Photo: david-romero

Divers/Cité (a clever play on words in two languages and described as a festival of music and arts) promises a jam-packed line up of parties as well as a highly curated selection of dance and music events. French-Canadians really know how to throw a fete. We’ll be there. Will you? Look for our posts on Instagram @ManAboutWorld, Twitter @MAWTravel and Facebook at ManAboutWorld.

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Photo: aydin-matlabi

 

Where We Play: Europe’s Hottest Sex-Fueled Nightclub

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Berghain is the best nightclub in Europe (and maybe the world,) a Berlin institution, known for parties that carry on well into the next day. Avoid the notoriously difficult door by going to Lab.oratory first, and getting a hand stamp that will allow you to skip the line. Popular Saturday night through Sunday and into Sunday night – the locals don’t show up until Sunday afternoon! It’s particularly popular for the fetish Snax Club party on the Saturday of Easter weekend. Be sure to dress the part, Berlin takes its dress codes very seriously.

We covered Berlin in our January 2013 guide! Don’t have a subscription? Click here and get access to all of our past (and present) insider coverage!