Weekending in Washington D.C.

Andrew Collins
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Weekending in Washington D.C.

This progressive metropolis has an impressive array of venues for gay travelers

If Washington, D.C., has any drawback for weekend visitors, it’s that it has far too many museums, monuments, and attractions to visit in just two or three days. Furthermore, this progressive metropolis has developed an impressive array of cosmopolitan restaurants, festive gay bars, and hip hotels in recent years. There’s a lot to see and do, but if your time in town is limited, don’t fret – with a little planning and plenty of stamina, you can enjoy a wonderfully engaging and enriching weekend in the national capital.

Your first night in town, consider grabbing a light dinner in Dupont Circle, and then perhaps exploring a few of the neighborhood’s extensive gay-nightlife options. P Street due west of Dupont Circle cultivates an interesting mix of eateries – one of the best is Pizzeria Paradisio, which bakes tantalizingly good wood-fired pies. Or just off busy 17th Street, another stretch of popular if less critically acclaimed restaurants, you can tuck into such down-home fare as Old Bay-seasoned peel ‘n’ eat shrimp and tangy barbecued oysters at Hank’s Oyster Bar, one of the culinary stars of the city.

A few of the many notable spots for Friday bar-hopping including J.R.’s, a classic stand-and-model video bar on 17th Street, and its multi-level down-the-street neighbor, Cobalt. Over near P Street, Omega is the grandpa of Dupont Circle gay clubs – a racially diverse disco and lounge that packs in crowds into the wee hours.

On Saturday morning, preface a day of sightseeing by enjoying a light breakfast at the Dupont Circle branch of the local Firehook Bakery and Coffeehouse chain. Or for a more substantial brunch, try the cafe at the long-running indie bookstore, Kramerbooks & Afterwards – the Maine lobster omelet topped with lemon hollandaise sauce is a real crowd-pleaser.

Related: Washington D.C. On a Budget or a Bankroll

When it comes to cultural attractions, Washington is an embarrassment of riches – there may be no other city in the nation with a greater number of daytime diversions. Among the possibilities along the city’s National Mall, try to check out a few of the Smithsonian Institution museums. Highlights include the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History, and the National Portrait Gallery. Also set aside time to see the moving U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which distributes a pamphlet, “Homosexuals,” that details the persecution of gays and lesbians in Nazi-occupied Europe; there are also gay video testimonies in the museum’s library.

If you’re an art lover, don’t miss the city’s largest non-federal museum, the Beaux-Arts-style Corcoran Gallery of Art, which contains more than 11,000 works of art. Its emphasis is on late-19th- and early 20th-century European painting, American painting and portraiture, and photography. The Corcoran has an excellent little cafe, perfect for grabbing a light lunch to break up your explorations. Several blocks north of the Mall, in Old Downtown, is the outstanding National Museum of Women in the Arts. The permanent collection includes works by the likes of Georgia O’Keeffe, Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, and Berenice Abbott, and quite a few excellent rotating installations keep this facility fresh and exciting.

In the evening, head to the city’s exciting and constantly evolving U Street corridor, a 10-minute walk northeast of Dupont Circle. A number of hip restaurants have opened in this neighborhood in recent years. Start off at Cork Wine Bar, a spacious haunt drawing a trendy crowd for mostly Italian, Spanish, and French wines by the glass and bottle, and light tapas (a full selection of entrees are available, in case you’d rather just dine here for the evening). For nibbles, consider the avocado served with pistachios, toasted-pistachio oil, sea salt, and grilled bread.

Next, stroll a few blocks north to Marvin, an elegant but relaxed Belgian bistro with an innovative Low Country Carolina spin. Don’t miss such memorable starters as Southern-inspired shrimp-and-grits, or Belgian-style moules frites with shallots, fennel, and white wine. Country-fried chicken with waffles, and braised pork shank with French green lentils rank among the top main courses.

From here you’re within walking distance of some of the city’s hottest gay bars, among them Be Bar, a dark and urbane spot with a small but packed dance floor and a mixed-gender following; Halo, a cool and colorful bi-level lounge that’s especially popular earlier in the night; and Nellie’s Sports Bar, a modern and stylish take on a classic sports bar that pulls in a mix of women and men. Serious revelers should finish the night at Town, a late-night gay disco that’s slightly off the beaten path (you might want to cab it here) – this bustling warehouse club is open till 4 a.m.

Having spent Saturday touring museums, set aside Sunday for a more relaxing, outdoorsy exploration of some of the city’s charming neighborhoods, where lively shops and “family”-friendly cafes proliferate. Begin in the morning by walking north from Dupont Circle up to the artsy and international Adams-Morgan neighborhood, which is home to a mix of West African, Asian, and Latino restaurants and residential enclaves. Have brunch at gay-popular Perry’s, an Asian-influenced modern American restaurant with a commendable sushi bar – the acclaimed Sunday drag brunch is a delightful experience if you don’t mind a towering drag queen plopping down on your lap and scrambling your eggs to the disco remix of “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina.”

Head back to Dupont Circle for a leisurely tour of the neighborhood, which has been one of the nation’s most gay-identified enclaves for more than four decades, although it’s becoming increasingly more eclectic each year. The area possesses a wealth of open spaces, parks, statuary, and grand 19th-century architecture. You’ll find quirky and engaging shops and eateries on virtually all of the major streets fanning out from the Dupont traffic circle.

In case you still have the energy to tour one more museum, consider stopping by the neighborhood’s top cultural attraction, the stunning Phillips Collection. The first permanent museum of modern art in the nation, the Phillips contains many works by Georges Braque, Mark Rothko, Paul Klee, and Henri Matisse, as well as creations by such gay artists as David Hockney, Thomas Eakins, and Marsden Hartley.

To the west of Dupont Circle, across Rock Creek, is the upscale neighborhood of Georgetown, an excellent place to spend a few hours shopping on a Sunday afternoon. Head to the intersection of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue to find Georgetown’s retail pulse.

On Sunday evening, head to another of the city’s engaging and gay-popular neighborhoods, Capitol Hill, which has a handful of excellent options for dinner. At the upscale restaurant Sonoma, you can dine on superbly crafted contemporary American fare and with pairings from a dazzling wine list. A sure bet for both excellent food (of the Latin American variety) and lively cabaret is the Banana Cafe, a colorfully decorated spot with a crowd completely diverse in age, gender, and style.

The Capitol Hill pub Mr. Henry’s, with one of the best (antique) jukeboxes in town, is a great place to meet or make friends, and nosh on casual American fare. Upstairs is a smoke-free cabaret where talented vocalist Roberta Flack got her start. Nearby, fans of country-western dancing flock to the gay bar Remingtons, and the popular lesbian bar Phase One has been the cornerstone of D.C.’s women’s scene since 1970 – there’s live music here many evenings.

In terms of where to stay during your D.C. weekend, Dupont Circle is a great lodging base, as it’s rife with hip and gay-friendly hotels, and it’s close to just about all of the noteworthy sections of the city. With a great location in the heart of the neighborhood, the stylish Renaissance Dupont Circle Hotel has sleek, modern rooms with a high-tech amenities and super-cushy linens. This is a great choice for art lovers, as the hotel regularly teams up with the Corcoran Gallery of Art to offer special deals that include admission to the museum’s latest exhibit, a walking map of the city, an artful in-room goodie bag, breakfast for two in the hotel’s M Bar, and preferred room rates.

Part of the gay-friendly Kimpton Group, the Hotel Palomar occupies a striking mid-rise along P Street’s restaurant row. The 335 units are among the largest guest accommodations in the city, and tall windows let in plenty of sunshine – Frette linens, upholstered headboards, marble bathrooms, and faux-alabaster nightstands lend a sophisticated, stylish vibe. A complimentary wine reception each evening, an outdoor lap pool, and an outstanding Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, Urbana, round out the many fine amenities.

Kimpton has several other great hotels in Washington (as well as a few cool properties just across the border in the northern Virginia cities of Alexandria and Arlington). Another highlight not far from Dupont Circle is the dashing Hotel Rouge, which sits just off classy Embassy Row, an easy walk from gay nightlife on R Street. It contains 137 spacious rooms bathed in reds and yellows and a swanky lounge serving such memorable cocktails as the Madonna (Cuervo, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, and fresh orange and lime juices). It’s a fine spot to kick off an evening of exploring either the bars of Dupont Circle, or the growing scene a few blocks away in the U Street Corridor.

Denver

Andrew Collins
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Denver

The Denver gay community is very visible, both socially and professionally

Denver has long been one of the country’s great centers of lesbian and gay culture. The GLBT community here is highly visible – socially, professionally, and politically – and gay-friendly restaurants, bars, hotels, and other businesses are easy to find in a number of prominent neighborhoods. With several new or expanded high-profile museums, easy access to skiing and hiking, a sunny climate, and relative affordability compared with other big urban centers, the Mile High City makes for a highly appealing vacation destination, whether for a couple of days or a full week of exploration.

The city’s bustling, modern downtown skyline is dominated by soaring skyscrapers. Here you can wander along 16th Street, a popular pedestrian mall filled with mostly upscale chain shops. Or explore artsy Larimar Square, a restored Victorian block of hip boutiques and cafes – be sure to check out the Market at Larimer Square, a coffeehouse-bakery-deli where a cool crowd enjoys mocha lattes, hearty breakfast burritos, and hefty pastrami sandwiches.

Larimar Square marks the edge of dapper LoDo, which began as the city’s shipping and retail center in the late 19th century. As recently as the 1980s, however, the neighborhood had been reduced to slums and abandoned brick warehouses. LoDo’s comeback began when artists started converting these classic redbrick buildings into galleries and studios. A flood of restaurants, coffeehouses, and shops followed, as did stately Coors Field, home to baseball’s Colorado Rockies. You can easily spend a few hours exploring this attractive district, perhaps dropping by the Tattered Cover, one of the country’s most beloved independent bookstores, which has an outstanding LGBT section. Another retail must is Rockmount Ranch Wear, a circa-1940s outlet for authentic Western shirts, belts, hats, and bolo ties – this is the very shop that provided those down-home sexy shirts worn by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain.

South of downtown you’ll find Capitol Hill, which is anchored on one end by the gilt-domed State Capitol building. It overlooks a grassy mall surrounded by the Colorado History Museum and the spectacular Denver Art Museum, which underwent a dramatic expansion and redesign in 2005. The Capitol Hill neighborhood, which extends east from the Capitol building, is where many of the city’s LGBT residents live. On sunny days, check out lovely Cheesman Park and the nearby the Denver Botanic Garden.

If you’re keen on shopping, head a few miles southeast of downtown to the Cherry Creek area, where you’ll find numerous opportunities for browsing and bargain-hunting at upscale Cherry Creek Shopping Center and Cherry Creek North. These two premier shopping destinations contain a mix of top chain and independent stores. In the evening, try out one of the neighborhood’s fine restaurants, such as trendy Ocean, a haute seafood eatery, or North, which serves exceptional modern Italian fare.

Dining is one area where Denver has truly come into its own in recent years. If you’re a serious foodie, sample one of the restaurants run by Denver’s acclaimed expert on innovative Mexican cuisine, Richard Sandoval. Best bets include Tamayo, near lively Larimer Square, and trendy Zengo, a boldly decorated space just north of LoDo, where Sandoval fuses the best of Asian and Latin cuisine, serving everything from sushi to ceviche.

A good bet for dining in LoDo is Vesta, which operates on a quirky premise: you choose three sauces (perhaps pistachio-mint or grilled onion jam) for dipping with whatever entree you choose, from grilled venison to harissa-roasted half chicken. You’ll find simpler fare at Dixon’s Downtown Grill, a nice choice for fish-and-chips and blue-cheese burgers, and the festive Wynkoop Brewing Company, which serves the best green chile stew in town, plus a wide range of handcrafted beers. Near Larimer Square, chic Rioja serves creative, world-beat cuisine, such as Dungeness crab-and-shiso spring rolls, and grilled maple-cured pork chops with Calvados sauce.

Favorite restaurants on Capitol Hill include Il Vicino, which turns out creative pizzas and salads along with microbrewed ales, and Sparrow, a convivial neighborhood spot serving such inventive regional American fare as pumpkin-chicken served with pancetta risotto, sage, and cider. The local java chain Diedrich’s Coffee has a particularly gay-popular branch in Capitol Hill, too.

The city has some great places for breakfast fare, including the gay fave Racine’s, which is open late and serves three meals daily. For amazingly tasty pancakes, head to Snooze, an offbeat storefront space near Coors Field where you might start the morning off with pineapple-upside-down pancakes or vanilla-almond oatmeal brulee. On weekend mornings, don’t miss the legendary drag brunch, called Petticoat Bruncheon, held at Bump & Grind, a colorful bakery and cafe.

One of city’s great strengths is its cultural scene, with many of the top events held at the esteemed, high-tech Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA), the second-largest such space in the nation (trailing only New York City’s Lincoln Center). It comprises several performance venues and hosts everything from nationally touring musicals to acclaimed opera. Before a performance, plan to have dinner at DCPA’s top restaurant, Kevin Taylor’s. In this elegant basement space, sample such creative fare as Black Angus carpaccio with white-truffle oil, or charbroiled Colorado lamb chops with braised lentils and black olive jus.

Denver has a friendly, eclectic gay nightlife, with a pleasing mix of hip cocktail lounges, pulsing dance clubs, and friendly neighborhood bars. One of the most popular hangouts is J.R.’s, an upscale, bi-level video bar in Capitol Hill that hosts such entertaining events as gong show karaoke and Broadway musical sing-alongs. Nearby Charlie’s is a famously fun country-western club with line-dancing and two-stepping, plus a restaurant serving decent American fare.

The Denver Detour is a mostly lesbian-oriented hangout that’s popular early in the evening for happy hour cocktails – it’s right by the State Capitol. Other good women’s options include tHERe Denver, a lesbian-owned coffeehouse and lounge, and Ms. C’s, a long-running lesbian dance club a 20-minute drive east of downtown.

Just south of Capitol Hill, the South Broadway area has several notable locals joints, including BJ’s Carousel, which has its own volleyball court and a casual restaurant. You’ll find a somewhat cruisy bunch at the Compound, a low-attitude dance club that’s popular with everyone from collegiate hipsters to middle-aged bears. The Triangle, for the serious leather crowd, has a big after-hours following and a notoriously frisky basement. And Boyztown is one of the better places in town to watch strippers strut their stuff.

Weekends are the best time to check out Denver’s most happening gay nightclub, the always-packed Tracks Denver, a massive warehouse disco with two pulsing dance floors, one spinning the latest club music, the other featuring classic tunes from the ’70s and ’80s.

Denver has a number of memorable gay-friendly hotels. The swanky, pet-friendly Hotel Monaco is a top choice for its hip, Parisian-inspired aesthetic and remarkably friendly and helpful service. Vibrant, stylish decor and quirky in-room touches, such as animal-print robes and pet goldfish, make this downtown boutique property a fan favorite. The on-site restaurant, Panzano, serves first-rate contemporary Italian fare.

Having earned praise for its stylish look as well as its location across from the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The Curtis looks like just another high-rise from the exterior. But inside you’ll discover a whimsical, retro-fabulous hotel that looks like something out of an Austin Powers movie. Each floor of guestrooms is themed differently – rooms on the eighth level have a sci-fi look, while those on the 12th are done with a get-your-groove-on dance-floor theme. Moderate rates, VW Bug-shaped alarm clocks, and a cool eatery called the Corner Office Restaurant and Martini Bar are among the Curtis’ many charms.

Related: Great National Park Vacations

If you want to be close to the fabulous shopping of Cherry Creek, consider booking a room at the posh JW Marriott Denver, a contemporary 11-story hotel whose cushy accommodations have 32-inch flat-screen TVs, DVD/CD players, marble-and-granite bathrooms, and plush bedding with custom duvets and linens. The sterling service is another plus.

One of the most romantic options is the gay-owned Capitol Hill Mansion B&B, a stately Queen Anne Victorian on an attractive residential street. Owners Jay Hadley and Carl Schmidt serve a lavish full breakfast each morning as well as refreshments and snacks in the afternoon; guests enjoy such pleasing amenities as free Wi-Fi and fresh flowers in every room, and gas fireplaces, whirlpool tubs, and private balconies in the top units. In the same neighborhood, the gay-friendly Castle Marne B&B offers similarly cushy, antiques-filled rooms. The imposing 1889 building is one of Denver’s most distinctive houses, with its elaborate turrets and stonework.

Probably no Denver hotel is more famous than the prestigious Brown Palace Hotel & Spa, which has hosted such dignitaries as Teddy Roosevelt and Sun Yat-sen during its 115-year tenure. Even if you don’t have a chance to stay in one of the hotel’s lavish rooms, consider dropping by for the daily afternoon high tea or evening cocktails in the famed Atrium Lobby, or for the decadent Dom Perignon brunch held in Ellyngton’s Restaurant on Sunday mornings.

Explore Milwaukee

Andrew Collins
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Explore Milwaukee

This rather low-key city has a surprisingly vibrant gay scene

Milwaukee’s tourist board likes to welcome potential visitors by touting the city’s “traditional, small-town values.” Interestingly, this same tourist board actively promotes gay tourism, and Milwaukee has a distinctly gay-friendly vibe.

People often assume that Madison, the progressive and intellectual hub of Wisconsin, has the state’s only real draw for lesbians and gays. But, arguably, Milwaukee has just as vibrant a gay scene. Small-town values do prevail here, but only in the sense that most folks in this industrial metropolis of nearly 600,000 respect each other’s differences without necessarily making a big fuss about them. Sexual orientation just isn’t a big whoop.

This low-keyed city lies two hours north of Chicago by car, situated dramatically overlooking Lake Michigan. Outsiders are quick to associate Milwaukee with bowling, Laverne & Shirley, and kitschy German restaurants with dirndl-clad waitresses and bucket-size beer steins. There’s nothing really wrong with these stereotypes, but Milwaukee has far more to recommend it. For instance, the city has quietly emerged as one of the Midwest’s leading centers of the visual and performing arts – with a highly acclaimed ballet and symphony, two opera companies, countless theaters, and a world-class art museum. Milwaukee also has dozens of lesbian and gay social and political groups, and the June PrideFest celebration consistently draws more than 17,000 visitors.

Begin your explorations with a stroll through Milwaukee’s dynamic downtown along colorful Old World 3rd Street, which is lined with dignified 19th-century cast-iron buildings. Head west a few blocks to reach the Milwaukee Public Museum, which surveys natural history and contains an alluring butterfly garden as well as the Humphrey Imax Dome Theater. State Street leads east from the river to the Theater District, whose two anchors are the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts and, just south, the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Promenades run along the nearby Riverwalk, passing beside waterfront terraces of trendy restaurants and bars. River tour boats depart regularly from Pere Marquette Park, where concerts and events are staged.

South of downtown, across the Menomonee River, is the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, under whose 85-foot glass domes thrive tropical, desert, and other flora. Entertaining tours are given daily of the nearby Miller Brewery – the company is a major contributor to gay causes in Milwaukee and around the nation.

The city’s most celebrated attraction, however, is east of downtown along the lakefront. Here you can visit the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee Art Museum, which is impossible to miss with its striking Quadracci Pavilion. Strengths of the permanent collection are German Expressionism, American Modernism, and folk art.

North along Prospect Avenue are some of Milwaukee’s most gay-popular residential districts, including the Brady Street area, which buzzes with yuppies, skate punks, and elderly Italians who settled here decades ago. Nearby is a fine example of Edwardian architecture and decor, the Charles Allis Art Museum – especially notable here are the collections of Barbizon and Hudson River School paintings. The museum also operates Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, a 1920s mansion built in the style of a 16th-century Italian Renaissance palazzo and containing a priceless collection of paintings, wrought- iron decorative arts, and antiques. The gardens alone justify a visit.

Related: Three Great New York Neighborhoods

Head south to reach the Historic Third Ward, a patch of renovated warehouses that contain restaurants, art galleries, and antiques shops. Billed as Milwaukee’s “Off Broadway,” the district is also home to experimental theaters.

Milwaukee has several excellent, gay-friendly lodging options. A sophisticated all-suite hotel in a converted 1930s downtown building, Hotel Metro has touches of Art Deco in the large, open rooms outfitted with down comforters and spacious, slate-floor bathrooms. County Clare is a distinctive boutique property with reasonable rates. The beautifully appointed rooms have four-poster beds, data ports and fax lines, and double whirlpool tubs. Quaff a pint of Guinness in the Irish pub on the ground floor.

Milwaukee’s dining scene is up-and-coming, but one restaurant, Sanford, has been a culinary wonder for years – a highlight is the sauteed soft-shell crab on scalded spinach and lemon spaetzle with a caper vinaigrette. The same owners also run a more casual bistro, Coquette Cafe, in a converted loft in the Historic Third Ward. Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, apart from offering great water views, presents a well-executed menu of classic French cuisine. And owned by a woman who treks back to Italy in search of new recipes, Mimma’s trattoria has been a catalyst for the Brady Street renaissance. The Hi Hat Lounge is another offbeat hangout in this neighborhood; it’s known for its terrific Sunday brunch, happy-hour martini specials, cozy sofas, and live jazz.

Nearly opposite the Eisner Museum, trendy Sauce is a high-ceilinged haunt of artists and fashion plates with a curvy bar and sexy food – try the pan-seared lamb sirloin with risotto, sauteed broccoli rabe, and a bourbon-mint sauce. Blueberry cobbler is a knock-out dessert. In a vintage brick building nearby, gay-popular Bella is a warm and inviting coffeehouse that’s perfect for hanging out with a good book or munching on decadent desserts. Steps from several gay bars, La Perla is a lively late-night Mexican restaurant with commendably spicy food. In warm weather, dine on the deck out back. After the bars close, plenty of queer revelers head to Big Mama’s Diner, which stays open till 4 in the morning.

It should come as no surprise that the city that organized the nation’s first gay softball teams and bowling league has some intense queer sports bars. The guys at the Ballgame definitely know the score and don’t hesitate to express their allegiances during televised games. Milwaukee also has a saucy leather scene, and Boot Camp is a main player. It’s dark in here (duh) and packed on weekends. For a breath of air, or to get a better look at your suitor, head for the patio. Similarly popular with the leather crowd is the Harbor Room. A place to go when you gotta dance, Dish is a hip and homey lesbian-owned club that’s women-only some nights, mixed on others. Also dyke-owned, Walker’s Pint is a cool, super-friendly tavern with an attractive interior and a wide selection of brews – a big plus is the beer garden.

Another great place to strike a pose, Orbit pulls in a youthful and pretty crowd; still, this is Milwaukee, and nobody puts on airs in here. Musical theme nights – reggae Tuesdays, blues & jazz Thursdays – keep the mix interesting. One of the friendlier bars in town, Fluid is a mirrored cocktail lounge with a lively bar in front and lounge seating in back. You’re sure to see Milwaukee’s die-hard clubbers at brightly lit LaCage, which has also has a lively video bar. Stylish sorts head to the M&M Club, an old-fashioned tavern in the Historic Third Ward. The space is beautiful – gilt frame mirrors, pressed-tin ceilings, and a tree-shaded deck. There’s live piano and cabaret some nights. Here you’ll also find Milwaukee’s premier gay restaurant, Glass Menagerie, which serves traditional American and Continental fare.

Around the corner from Cathedral Square, This Is It is Milwaukee’s only downtown gay bar, with a retro-hip interior that resembles a 1960s airport cocktail lounge. The crowd is eclectic and at times eccentric, the drinks cheap and stiff. A relatively popular cruise and video bar in Walker’s Point, the Triangle is a homey tavern with a plant-filled patio. And last but not least, Club Boom is a super-cruisy place that often throws underwear parties; the guys here usually show up with one thing on their mind, making it a likely spot to end a night of bar-crawling.

Related: Madison

The Best of Gay Sacramento

Andrew Collins
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The Best of Gay Sacramento

This friendly metropolis makes a perfect short-term getaway

Sacramento is not a flashy place, and relatively few gay and lesbian travelers seem to give this city of 370,000 much thought. But it’s got a lively and attractive Midtown neighborhood, which is home to enough gay-owned businesses and households to have earned it the popular nickname Lavender Heights. In fact, this friendly metropolis that rarely goes more than a day without sunshine makes a perfect short-term getaway.

In Sacramento you’ll find several noteworthy museums, an engaging historic riverfront district, a fabulous restaurant scene, and just enough of a selection of lesbian and gay bars to keep club-goers happy for a few days. Best of all, queer folks here tend to be far more approachable, and also interested in newcomers, than those jaded divas in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

With that in mind, here’s a detailed rundown of how to experience the best of what Sacramento has to offer gay and lesbian visitors in one action-packed weekend. First, a word about getting around: while a car is handy for exploring the greater area, you can easily explore the city’s main attractions and most interesting neighborhoods on foot.

If you’re here for a short time, try to choose an accommodation that’s close to downtown (otherwise you’ll need a car to get to and from your hotel). Well-run and close to most attractions, the K Street pedestrian mall, and several gay bars, the Hyatt Regency scores high marks for its spacious, bright, and airy rooms. This modern high-rise towers above Capitol Park. The rates are high on weekdays but often drop precipitously on weekends and holidays. There’s a very nice health club too.

If you’re seeking a more intimate experience, stay at the Hartley House, which is one of the top gay-operated small inns on the West Coast (the clientele is mixed gay/straight). Randy Hartley runs this marvelously restored turn-of-the-century bed-and-breakfast with fine woodworking, stained-glass windows, and rooms with first-class amenities like high-speed Internet, hair dryers, and voice mail. The highly professional staff prepares a delicious full breakfast and can provide a memorable gourmet dinner with an hour’s notice.

If you arrive on Friday evening in time for dinner, it makes sense to seek out a restaurant where you won’t have to dress up or wait a long time for your food. Try gay-popular Paesanos, a cool but casual spot for creative brick-oven pizzas, pastas, salads, and sandwiches. The prosciutto-pesto pie is a winner. This is usually a good night to check out some of the city’s smaller neighborhood bars. Stand-and-model types tend toward the Depot, a small but popular video bar that gets pretty chatty into the evening, or the Bolt, a butch Levi’s-and-flannel type hangout that gets pretty cruisy into the evening. And a lot of folks hang out at Hamburger Mary’s, which is also a restaurant, before moving on to the late-night bars.

Saturday morning is a good time to take in downtown’s Crocker Art Museum, which occupies a magnificent Victorian mansion and contains more than 2,000 European paintings and drawings. Highlights include works by early California painters Albert Bierstadt and Samuel Marsden Brookes, as well as photography by Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, and paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe.

From the museum it’s a short walk to the city’s earliest commercial settlement, Old Sacramento. This neighborhood fringing the Sacramento River boomed in the mid-1800s during the California Gold Rush. Its fortunes waxed and waned over time, but preservationists and entrepreneurs eventually recognized Old Sacramento’s potential, and today it’s a bona fide – if rather touristy – attraction. With horse-drawn carriages, frontier-style buildings with wooden balconies and period details, and riverboats tied up along the boardwalk fronting the Sacramento River, this festive district genuinely recalls an outpost on the Mighty Mississippi.

Definitely drop by the Old Sacramento Public Market, whose bakeries, ethnic-food outlets, and meat and produce stalls draw a steady stream of foodies and restaurant staffers (it’s not a bad place to ogle cute cooks in their black-and-white chefs’ slacks). For a full sit-down meal, grab a table at Old Town’s Rio City Cafe, a sophisticated and gay-friendly eatery that’s right on the river. Lunchtime favorites include the open-face Dungeness crab sandwich with cheddar and avocado. Afterwards, while poking around and filling up on fudge and ice cream, be sure to step inside the California State Railroad Museum, which contains 21 rail cars and details the city’s fascinating Victorian rail history – it’s a remarkable collection. More kids-oriented is the Sacramento Museum of History, Science, and Technology, which is housed in the original 1854 city hall.

Have dinner at Moxie, a trendy spot in the heart of Lavender Heights where the eclectic – and reasonably priced – offerings range from rock-shrimp quesadillas to crab pot stickers to medallions of pork with scallions, ginger, and sesame-seed butter. From here, it’s a short walk to what has been for many years the city’s most popular lesbian and gay club, Faces. There’s a cocktail lounge up front, a cruisy video bar with a show stage, an industrial dance floor with I-beams and strobe lights, and a sprawling covered patio.

Sunday, especially if the weather is pleasant, is an ideal time to take in the city’s splendid outdoor scenery. Midtown, which is due east of and the exact size of downtown, is an ideal neighborhood for shopping and for admiring numerous examples of Victorian, Craftsman, Arts and Crafts, Spanish Revival, and Colonial Revival architecture. While strolling along the neighborhood’s tree-shaded lanes, pop inside the Open Book, an excellent lesbian-gay bookstore with a cafe; it frequently stages author readings and other community events. You’ll also find some funky gift and home-furnishings shops along J Street and the blocks immediately off of it.

Stroll west a few blocks to see the city’s most famous structure, the California State Capitol. Tours are given daily (9 to 4) of this gracious domed Renaissance Revival building, which anchors a dashing park filled with colorful and lush flora and a truly diverse mix of visitors, from skateboard kids to same-sex couples strolling arm-in-arm to the occasional ranting lunatic or elected official (and yes, sometimes these categories overlap). You can break up the afternoon with a snack at New Helvetia Roasters and Bakers, one of the queerest coffeehouses around. This converted redbrick firehouse has a great patio and serves excellent desserts and light snacks all day.

If you’re feeling truly ambitious and energetic, consider taking a stroll or bike ride along the banks of the American River, which runs east from the Sacramento River along the northern edge of downtown. Aside from being popular with queers at certain points (notably at the end of North 10th Street, and also at La Riviera Drive), the scenic American River Bike Trail runs for 23 miles out to Folsom Lake. You can pick up the trail at Old Sacramento or from several spots just north of Lavender Heights.

Saving what many consider the best dining experience for last, plan for dinner at the staggeringly popular Waterboy restaurant, where scoping out the pretty patrons is as much fun as the meal itself. This vivacious neighborhood eatery in the heart of Lavender Heights turns out sublime Cal-French-Italian fare like grilled Muscovy duck breast with butternut-squash polenta, baby turnips, shoestring potatoes, and a shallot-black pepper glaze.

Nightlife crawlers might want to end things at one of the bars mentioned earlier, but there’s nothing like wrapping up a busy weekend of sightseeing and eating with a quiet night in bed with your honey. Best of all, if you’re staying at the Hartley House, you can watch movies on your in-room DVD/VCR player – they even provide the popcorn and soft drinks!

Related: 72 Hours in San Francisco

Washington D.C. On a Budget or a Bankroll

Andrew Collins
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Washington D.C. On a Budget or a Bankroll

Some of the best places in Washington to eat, sightsee, stay, and socialize

The nation’s capital brims with fancy restaurants and classy cocktail bars – where else would you expect politicos and dignitaries to broker secret alliances and schmooze into the wee hours? But Washington is not solely the domain of high-end hangouts. The city teems with students, interns, and low-level government employees with barely enough cash to buy a Big Mac – you’ll find budget-oriented eateries throughout the District. And Washington’s two most gay-popular neighborhoods, Capitol Hill and Dupont Circle, have inviting hotels occupying both ends of the expense spectrum.

Here are some of the best places in Washington to eat, sightsee, stay, and socialize, whether you’re traveling on a tight budget or you’ve got money to burn.

On a Budget
A surprising number of visitors don’t realize it until they arrive, but the dozen or so first-rate Washington venues that make up the world’s largest museum complex, the Smithsonian, charge no admission. You could spend days exploring every floor of these repositories of art and artifacts and never have to shell out a dime. See the actual kitchen of Julia Child, transported here from her former home in Cambridge, Mass., at the National Museum of American History. Or drop by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden to view works by Georgia O’Keeffe and Andy Warhol.

When it’s an affordable meal you’re seeking, look no further than Hamburger Mary’s, the queer-as-a-three-dollar-bill West Coast restaurant chain that opened its first East Coast branch in D.C. a couple of years ago. This kicky burger joint a few blocks from Dupont Circle is popular both for cocktails and inexpensive pub grub. Among the many gay eateries along nearby 17th Street, the 24-hour Annie’s Paramount Steak House serves up some of the tastiest American chow in town. Weekend breakfast here is a long-standing post-clubbing tradition. Soho Tea and Coffee is a queer cyber cafe and java house on the ground floor of a bland apartment complex near the P Street bar action; it has art exhibits, live music, and a sexy crowd.

Although it’s not cheap as pizza parlors go, Dupont Circle’s Pizzeria Paradiso still offers an excellent value – and the pies here are simply to die for. It can take forever to get a seat, but for serious pizza lovers, the wait is no big deal. Just north in the funky Adams Morgan neighborhood, you can count on delicious Middle Eastern fare at Mama Ayesha’s and hearty, authentic Ethiopian cooking at the long-running Fasika’s, where meals center around a spicy stew called watt.

Popular for its upstairs piano bar, Banana Cafe and Piano Bar is one of the most festive gay haunts on Capitol Hill. Reasonably priced steaks, lime-garlic chicken, and plantain soup are among the Latin American specialties – save rooms for one of the exotic flans (maybe passion fruit or coconut). Mr. Henry’s, a Capitol Hill pub with one of the best (antique) jukeboxes in town, has long been a friend to Washington’s lesbian and gay community. The place is famous for its hefty burgers. Upstairs is a smoke-free cabaret with a mix of piano, jazz, and folk acts – it’s where Roberta Flack got her start.

One of the best budget lodging options in D.C., the William Lewis House comprises a pair of neighboring Victorian town houses in an up-and-coming historic neighborhood not far from Dupont Circle. There are gracious common rooms, off-street parking, and a pleasant yard with a deck, hot tub, and fruit trees – it’s a wonderful value. Also reasonably priced and even nearer to Dupont Circle, the art deco Kimpton Carlyle Hotel Dupont Circle is one of the District’s long-time gay faves. Rooms have a slightly dated appearance but contain fully equipped kitchens and sitting areas, and there’s a popular lounge and restaurant on the ground floor.

Occupying three adjacent Victorian town houses, the eccentric Tabard Inn, just south of Dupont Circle, has been around since the 1920s. Rooms suggest the setting of a Gothic mystery novel, complete with one-of-a-kind antiques, dark-wood paneling, charming bathroom fixtures, tile fireplaces, and other quirky pieces. The equally old-fashioned and very romantic restaurant serves inventive Continental cuisine.

On Capitol Hill, an 1893 mansion was converted into the European-style Capitol Hill B&B in the late ’80s. The location is charming and convenient, a short walk from Union Station, Capitol Hill’s many attractions, and a handful of gay bars. Rooms are simple but exude character; each contains at least one furnishing from the house’s days as a residence of congressional pages – if only these walls could talk.

On a Bankroll
Of course, you’ll find plenty of deluxe hotels in Washington, where it’s easy to spend a princely sum. Traditionalists often opt for one of the capital’s famous grandes dames, such as the 1925 Mayflower Hotel, which has hosted a steady stream of presidents and foreign dignitaries. Or, just off Dupont Circle, occupying the former apartment building in which Al Gore spent his childhood, the 1927 Fairfax at Embassy Row could not be more inviting, with its lavish guest rooms decked in brocade draperies and French country reproduction antiques.

Just a short walk from the gay-bar action, the gay-friendly, San Francisco-based hotel chain Kimpton owns the super-trendy Topaz Hotel, a sleek boutique property with cushy, whimsically furnished rooms. New Age-y types love the “yoga rooms,” outfitted with meditation mats and yoga-conducive CDs and videotapes. Just try to adopt a Zen attitude when you’re presented with the bill. This is one several Kimpton properties in Washington, including the glam Hotel Rouge, the hipster-infested Hotel Madera, and the surreal Mason & Rook Hotel, all of which are near Dupont Circle.

Of the many high-ticket gay-friendly eateries around Dupont Circle, Obelisk, owned by the same folks who run Pizzeria Paradiso, may just be the best. The setting is sleek and austere, the beautifully prepared northern Italian fare mouthwatering. Also stellar is Vidalia, a contemporary take on down-home Southern cooking, where you might sample such delicacies as shrimp-and-grits with caramelized onions and fresh thyme. Not too far north, Palena is helmed by head chef Frank Ruta and pastry wizard Ann Amernick, two of the most heralded kitchen names in metro Washington. Book well ahead for a chance to sample Atlantic halibut pan-roasted with baby fennel-and-tomato confit, and save room for the chocolate-toffee torte with chocolate ganache.

Bill Clinton and the senior George Bush have one thing in common: they’ve both dined amid the barbed wire and lizards in the extravagantly decorated faux adobe restaurant Red Sage, the Capitol Hill home of Santa Fe chef Mark Miller. Grilled elk loin topped with dried fruit and served over a fricassee of mushrooms, turnips, and zucchini is a favorite dish here. Two Quail, occupying three romantic town houses in Capitol Hill, has long been one of the city’s better-regarded gay-friendly eateries, owing to its eclectic Continental and American cuisine – try the filet mignon stuffed with Maytag blue cheese and applewood-smoked bacon. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric place to celebrate that very special occasion.

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