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By night head for the Yumbo Centre, the main shopping/commercial centre in Playa del Inglés. Unless you want to get there in time for dinner (you can't miss the gay restaurants because they display the gay flag though in and around the Yumbo literally everywhere is gay friendly) there's little point in arriving much before 10pm.

In the lower level is a huge open-air area with all kinds of stalls and shops to have a look at for the early part of the evening. Also on this level are the two main cabaret bars always pulling in large crowds. Currently "Rickey's Cabaret Bar" has taken over and had done even before the competition burnt down.

Unfortunately the once hugely popular La Belle's Showbar was taken over by a company from Manchester who tamed the whole thing down, camped it all up and tried to entice families to come in but in the process they ruined the whole thing and rode pretty fast down the road to bankruptsy so sold up and left mid 2008. It opened up for a while as a chillout bar (that didn't work) and now being refurbed for its next venture.

Bars fill up from 10pm onwards and the shows at the showbars start around 11pm or midnight. My favourite is Sparkles Showbar on the second floor, click on the cartoon logo on the left for their website.

Different shows each night of the week and karaoke beforehand. From early evening (after dinner) the terrace bars on the lower level fill up, from 11pm onwards a few people are in the rest of the bars but most go to see the shows downstairs or people-watch on the lower terraces. Not long after midnight, the rest of the disco/music bars start to fill up. The top floor bars (4th floor) are all located in a circle and people tend to work their 1 way round, having a drink in each. The last bar you come to on the top level is also a nightclub (Mantrix) and is open from 2am until around 5am or 6am. If you go past that and down the stairs you'll see the sign and entrance to the newest club "Heaven". It's one of the largest clubs on the island and is a huge hit with all the locals, hundreds of which come every weekend to party there so it gets very busy Saturdays (open until around 06:30am) but quiet if opening other nights of the week.

The leather and "dress-code" bars which are the places to cruise are all at the other end of the center (1st and 2nd floor). Also at the other end of the shopping centre you'll find a sex shop, and another nightclub "XL" which is open until around 6:30am though doesn't get going until around 3am.

If you're still in a party mood once the clubs close then there's often an "after-hours" club at week-ends. Currently it's the "Lounge Bar" or "Factory", basement level. The Cita Center is a 15 minute walk from the Yumbo or 3 minutes in a cab. So, another destination by night to head for is the CITA center, basement level. Several establishments have opened and according to the gay magazines, geared towards uniforms, bears and a slightly older crowd. There's a couple of clubs, several bars, shop, sauna .....

Maybe you would like to venture a little further afield, get away from the same-old same-old in the south and do something a little different. Let Nikolaos and Fernando take U to Las Palmas by night. Have a walk round the 500 year-old historic quarter and trendy Triana areas. Then by bus see the best parts of the rest of the city then do a little bar and club hopping, visiting all the busier gay venues with cabaret show in the first. The night finishes around 03:30am.

 

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