Spain's most popular coastal town is also its gayest. Barcelona -- amidst all of its sweeping Antoni Gaudi architecture and Mediterranean beach culture - has a gay community so prospering that it claims its own "ghetto" (the bustling "Gaixample" district) as well its own beach resort town (Stiges)...

Spain's most popular coastal town is also its gayest. Barcelona -- amidst all of its sweeping Antoni Gaudi architecture and Mediterranean beach culture - has a gay community so prospering that it claims its own "ghetto" (the bustling "Gaixample" district) as well its own beach resort town (Stiges) a half-hour train-ride away.

There's just something about this city by the sea that the LGBT community is drawn to. Could it be the year-round sunny weather? The tapas? The excellent shopping? The perfectly tanned locals? The nude gay beaches? The fact that Catalonia, the Spanish territory that Barcelona is the capital of, always tries to set itself apart from the rest of Spain like some sort of renegade?

Whatever it is, there's no denying our visibility as a part of it. Walk up the famous La Rambla street that runs straight through the middle of Barcelona, and we're there at the very top in our very own gay ghetto. Tour Gaudi's massive, unfinished Sagrada Familia or his sprawling Parc Güell, and we're there, too, admiring what the architectural genius had to offer. Barcelona has become an LGBT playground, a coastal cosmopolitan where we fit in perfectly as both locals and tourists alike.

And the cherry on top of it all? Spain legalized gay marriage in 2005. Book your tickets now, people!

Cruise Royally into Barcelona
Want a truly unique way to visit Barcelona? Consider getting there via cruise ship. You can visit Royal Caribbean to book a cruise to Barcelona and other European destinations. Just an idea... --Bryan Chin