本指南 · 5 章節
Gay Bars in Canberra: The Honest Version
Canberra has one queer bar. ChiChiz Bar, at 32 Northbourne Avenue in Civic, is queer-owned and opened on 19 December 2025. Two weeks later, after its New Year's Eve party, Cube Nightclub on Petrie Plaza closed for good. Cube had been the city's gay club for about twenty years, and its closure had been announced in May 2025, citing costs, insurance and licensing (Region, Canberra Times).
ChiChiz Bar
ChiChiz is in the Sydney Building, a two-minute walk from the Alinga Street light rail stop. Its own site calls it "a proudly queer-owned Canberra bar built for connection, celebration, and community". The regular week: trivia from 6:30pm and karaoke from 8:30pm on Wednesdays, line dancing on alternate Fridays with karaoke upstairs, and DJs from 10pm on Saturdays. Drag and themed parties are one-off nights, posted on Instagram (@chichizbar.canberra). Google lists it open Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, until about 3:30am on Fridays and Saturdays, and rates it 4.8.
Queer nights at mainstream venues
Smith's Alternative at 76 Alinga Street is a café, bar and performance room with regular drag, cabaret and a bi-monthly Queer Variety Show (Bear World guide; Stun Magazine listed its Club Cornucopia drag night in September 2026). It's a mixed crowd, not a gay bar. Drag Bingo runs at Verity Lane Market, 50 Northbourne Avenue, on the first Wednesday of each month from February to November 2026, about $10 a ticket (HerCanberra). Travel Gay lists a monthly Drag Roulette at 88mph on Hobart Place, but the bar's own site doesn't mention it, so check before you go.
Pride season
During SpringOUT, 23 October to 1 December 2026, the queer calendar fills up: Fair Day in Glebe Park on 31 October, a comedy gala, retro disco and drag nights across the city.
Closed or changed
Cube Nightclub, 33 Petrie Plaza: closed 31 December 2025. Transit Bar, London Circuit, home of Queer Crash: closed February 2025 (liquidation). Shadows, East Row: closed October 2026, never a queer venue. Hippo Co and Blackbird sometimes appear online as gay bars; they're mainstream cocktail bars with no current queer nights we could find. Langtrees in Mitchell is a licensed bordello, not a gay bar. Barcode, 16 West and Hush Lounge closed years ago.
Last verified: October 2026.