Milan - Any suggestions for any good must see gay bars / shows etc on a Wed / Thurs / Friday night ?

Sorry for the copying and pasting to save a lot of retyping but it's basically the same message as Berlin except but for a different trip the week before except it's re Milan this time...so...

So, BF and I nipping over to Milan for a quick 3 day holiday break next week, so just to save me searching the whole city and wasting my time whilst probably still missing out on where I SHOULD have gone in the first place just wondering has anyone any quick tips for the typical "must see" type gay bars or clubs whilst there ? We're booked into the new Ibis hotel which I believe is in the ( a?) gay area so I'm hoping that there should be (quite ?) a few good bars close by anyway...... but just in advance of that so I can plan my time a bit and not perhaps walk straight a hidden gem if anyone has any "oh be sure to call into "x?" bar when you're there" just to save me missing somewhere interesting I'm always grateful and thanks in anticipation if so.

So, as no replies to the above ( which is fine, always worth a shot) - so just for the record and not a trip report as such but more just something left on the thread for future readers in case it's of any help to others .......


So, Milan I found to be lovely and I had an enjoyable short break there. There's plenty of great / the usual tourist stuff there to keep one entertained and busy during the day and in the evenings too, although being there around Christmas time was an added bonus I"m guessing as all stores were in full twinkly lighty upy mode ( that's a technical description) and there was a general lovely feel to the place.

The Duomo is ( I'm guessing) fairly the centre of the City and we certainly used it as such, the Cathedral itself was of course impressive / stunning if you're into that sort of thing - although "apparently" my RC BF has now instructed me that no matter HOW cold and freezing my hands are that it's just not acceptable to move all the lit candles around on the candle holder prayer stand thingy to get them arranged into one small fully lit square of candles with which to then warm your hands over - personally I thought that was just me using the initiative that their good lord gave me, but NO "apparently it's "rude" - god some people are SO touchy it seems ! :)

So, in terms of gay bars ( as lets face it aside from the multitude of designer shops everywhere what else holds our interest for long) Bangkok it is NOT. The several early evening bars we visited, whilst being friendly and welcoming and pleasing to drink in, where more it seems for people to meet up, have a few and move on or just go home perhaps.

The cocktail strengths were fairly lethal and actually are worth the watching out for as if to many are consumed they could well turn a good night into a little bit of (too) drunken night very quickly ( as they nearly did for us !). So the "normal" bars were all ok ( nothing to write home about though and certainly not worth the trip there especially to see them IMHO).

The Italian guys whilst handsome where in my opinion way TOO handsome and too well groomed and just loved themselves just too much and I got the distinct impression that no one was ACTUALLY fucking there as it was beneath them and might wreck their perfect hair and clothes ! But I'm sure ( I HOPE) at the clubs later in the evenings that all changed ?

We did go to one of the three obvious smut bars which were located just behind and quite close to Central railway station, just for research purposes you understand ( oh the things I do for this board !) and man did they appear to be low end places, certainly the one bar we stayed in for a beer ( Club 23 I think it was called) was small and dirty - and not in a good way.

My BF who hasn't experienced much of that side of my life had asked / insisted I take him to such a place ( after he'd had a few drinks) just so he could see the "go go bars" things he hears me talking about, so I did and within seconds of walking in the door he was scared shitless and wanted to leave again - and a gogo bar ( as we know them ) it was not anyway !

To be fair nothing bad happened aside from being asked to buy beer for a MB who got a bit shitty when I politely and then unpolitely declined as he wouldn't take no, NINE or fuck off now for an answer, but there were some real low life fuckers sitting about in the shadows, with guys wiped out and lying heads down across table and some rent boys trying their best to ply their trade with us, but in general they certainly weren't cute and could have done with a good wash before being touched never mind fucked ( Latin get your ticket booked !!!) and nor would I have felt safe taking one back to my hotel or worse still going into a cubicle with one ( and I'm usually a guy who wouldn't shy away from such things and can usually look after himself).

We did try to gain access to the other two bars next door to that one, but on both occasions they insisted on us having and producing the local government Age ( gay ?) ID card and wouldn't budge about that, even when some money was offered and us saying we were only there for one drink, apparently no, the police are strict and they won't risk it. The last bar did claim to have a hardcore show about to start and for some reason I believed them as I did get that sort of vibe from the place, so perhaps I just picked the shittiest of the three clubs to try first.

Just for further info we did attempt to go into another cruise bar / MB pick up bar ( named illusions or something like that ?) later on that night ( busy night for us eh :-) but again the ID rule stopped us in our tracks there too. But I did laugh at the owner who after my doing my damnedest to get in, whilst standing talking to him in the lobby of the club, which had gay porn EVERYWHERE over the walls, he took great lengths to point out to me / us that this was in fact a gay bar - which considering he was talking to a 40 something white guy with his arm around a 20 something slim cute asian guy I wonder what he THOUGHT we thought it was we were doing trying to get in anyway ......the mind boggles ....

So, Milan, would I go back.....yes absolutely and as we were there only until Friday night I'd love to go and hit the clubs at a weekend to see the ( if there was) much of an overall difference, but Milan as a short cheap(ish!?) trip was good and I would recommend it for a quick short break certainly if that's your thing.

All of the above a bit pointless perhaps as lets face it who ever reads this section anyway, but hey ho, hope the above maybe helps someone anyway sometime and of course feel free to PM me if you feel there's any more practical help or info I can share as always happy to give just as much as to receive. :-)

I love Milano.

I noticed you didn't mention the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci...a must see for visits to Milano. They bring you in to the air tight room, through glass walls that acclimatize visitors first, for the short visit before the hustle you back out.

There are lots of designer shops in and around the Duomo and Galleria Vittorio, but there are also some good shops just off the main shopping streets selling progressive, smaller brand name items at decent prices that you'll probably never see anywhere else. Even the designer shops are much cheaper in Milano, than back home...so a good place to stock up on Italian made jeans and things :) There's an Abercrombie in the area that quite often has some shirtless dream boys posing outside at the door. They have these boys at other stores around the world, but they are extra delicious in Milano.

I'm not one so much for rent boys when In travel and so I found a pretty decent bathhouse over by the railway station that proved out to be pretty good.

Surfcrest