In this guide · 2 sections
Stockholm's gay bars cluster on Sodermalm, the city's queer heart south of the Old Town. The leather and fetish venues sit side by side on Wollmar Yxkullsgatan, and the scene as a whole favours quality over quantity, a handful of characterful places rather than a big commercial strip. Most are a short walk or metro ride apart, so it is easy to move between several over a night.
Where to go
Side Track, on Wollmar Yxkullsgatan, is Stockholm's oldest gay bar, a cosy men's bar open midweek to weekend. A few doors along, SLM (Scandinavian Leather Men) is the city's members' leather and fetish club, running dungeon and play nights on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The Secret Garden near Slussen is the best-known all-round queer bar and club, while Club Backdoor, out by the arenas in Johanneshov, is one of the longest-running queer clubs with several dance floors.
For something more central, Petit Scandale runs Friday and Saturday gay club nights near Kungstradgarden, and the boat-club Patricia on Soder Malarstrand hosts a long-standing Sunday gay night. Bar Replik on Hornsgatan is a queer-owned cocktail bar that works well for a relaxed early-evening drink, and the waterfront Malarpaviljongen is a mixed, gay-friendly beer garden in the summer months.
Practical notes
Swedish licensing lets bars serve until 3am, and at weekends many do; venues fill up after 10pm and peak around midnight. Outside Pride week (late July to early August) the crowd is mostly local and English is spoken everywhere. During Pride the city fills with international visitors and the atmosphere shifts to something more festive.
