Features > The Pleasure Activist
by Doug McClelland
(posted May, 2007)
Madrid
Madrid is not high on the travel list for many people, often being overshadowed by the flashier Barcelona when one thinks of Spain. But friends of mine in Paris had been telling me for some time that Madrid was a hot place to visit and had everything Paris had. I went to check it out at the beginning of April and can recommend it to you highly.
Madrid is the third largest city in Europe with over 5.5 million residents and the capital of Spain. Its residents are called Madrileños. There are many layers of history here. Settlement began in the 2nd century B.C., when the Roman Empire established an outpost on the banks of the Manzanares River. In the 5th century A.D. the Roman Empire could not defend its territories on the Iberian Peninsula and the area was overrun by the Visigoths. In the 7th century the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula took place. In 1085 the area was conquered by Christians and in 1561 Madrid became the capital of Spain. From 1939 to 1975 Spain was ruled by a right wing dictatorship, which had won a vicious civil war in 1939. Spain is now a constitutional monarchy with a King named Juan Carlos II and has become one of the most liberal countries in Europe.
I’ll give you three recommendations of tourist attractions to visit. If you are into art, the Prado Museum is one of the great art museums of the world with art and sculpture stretching from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Madrid hosts the largest Plaza de Toros (bullring) in Spain, called Las Ventas, established in 1931. Las Ventas is considered by many to be the world center of bullfighting and has a seating capacity of almost 25,000. Madrid's bullfighting season begins in March and ends in October. Something I found interesting was that the Matadors wear pink silk stockings, and absolutely skintight pants that show everything off to full advantage. My personal favorite site in Madrid is the two thousand two hundred year old Egyptian Temple of Debod, which was moved here when the Nile was flooded by the Aswan dam. It constitutes one of the few works of ancient Egyptian architecture which can be seen outside Egypt and is beautifully presented. Madrid has a fantastic subway system that they call the Metro, which allows you to go everywhere you need to without ever using a car. (PDF Metro map here.)
Spain is very accepting of homosexuality and in 2005 Spain introduced full gay marriage providing at least one partner is a Spanish citizen. Madrid’s gay life is concentrated in Chueca (chew-e-ca), a historic downtown neighbourhood of narrow streets and lanes. Chueca is a large area full of dozens of gay bars, baths, restaurants, and apartments. The locals claim it’s the best gay neighbourhood in the world, and to be honest, I can’t think of a better one. There is even a gay square called Plaza de Chueca, full of outdoor restaurants. Madrid will be the host city for this year’s Europride festivities June 22nd to July 1st, the biggest annual party in Europe, www.europride2007.com. People come from all over Europe to party big time and I’m going back for it.
I stayed in two different guesthouses while in Madrid. Both are small hotels within larger buildings. The first was the Atrium, which is three or four blocks from the area where most of the bars are and occupies the third floor of an apartment building. The place is gay owned and operated and the price was 60 Euros per night for a double. I like it because it includes 24 hour coffee and breakfast. You have self-serve access to a kitchen that has coffee, tea, juice, cereal, and pastries. I really like to have my coffee first thing on getting up, so having it just down the hall was great. Plus if I sleep in till the afternoon because of the all night partying, it is still available. Not to mention, breakfast is highly unusual in Madrid. The second place I stayed was Hostal Sonsoles, about two blocks from the bars, for 50 Euros per night, which occupies the second floor of an apartment building. It has really nice big rooms and advertises as gay-friendly. As well there are six or seven more small hotels advertising as gay or gay friendly, a number of them situated right in the heart of the Chueca zone, mostly in the same price range.
Cruising in Madrid is great and there are sexual opportunities everywhere. Many bars have back rooms; there are lots of saunas, sexclubs, sex bars, and a very friendly attitude. Some of the bars are a really sexy combination of bar and sexclub. There are leather clubs and fetish clubs with much more sexual activity than I ever see in North America anymore. If you see a place described as having cabins, this is their word for the small cubicles in the backrooms. Most bars don’t get busy till after midnight and discos not till after 2 am. Many places are then busy till 6 am. I saw an ad for one disco offering free admission till 1:30 am and half price till 3 am, which exemplifies the time shift you must make here. Quite a number of bars feature two- for-one drink specials till midnight, a big help with the budget. There is such an incredible number of gay establishments in this neighborhood you won’t have time to visit them all.
In Madrid, everyone smokes everywhere and they smoke very strong cigarettes. Small, poorly ventilated bars are thick with blue clouds of smoke. People even smoke in restaurants between courses. On the other hand, if you are a smoker, you should enjoy the freedom to smoke anywhere (except the subway).
When my friend and I were on the subway coming in from the airport I had an interesting experience. A raunchy looking young guy got on the train and grabbed the post that put him in front of me. I thought he was hot and when you are on the subway there is not much to do so I was looking him over. As I watched he slid his hand into his front pocket and began to play with his dick. All the time looking like just a bored subway rider. Then he began adjusting his jeans so that it was possible to see his flat belly, and lean hips. All this could have been happening in that anonymous space we feel in crowds and his face still showed no acknowledgement. Finally I clued in that this was a performance just for me and slid my hand into my front pocket to play with my cock just as he was. This elicited fleeting eye contact from him. Next he turned completely towards me, so that no one else could see, and unbuttoned the top of his jeans. In a move that gave the appearance of adjusting his jeans he pulled the front out enough for me to peer down his pants and see the base of his cock. At this point I was totally hot and thinking with my cock not my head. Then suddenly my friend tapped me on the shoulder and said, “this is our stop.” We had to grab our luggage and get out immediately. I left with a hardon and that euphoric rush I get in an intense cruising situation. My more worldly companion said the kid was a hustler. Personally, I enjoy hustlers and the situation was so sexy and unexpected that I loved it.
A good night out in Madrid for me, staying within Chueca, would go something like this. I’d start out at O’Clock, a bar for butch guys that features two-for-one drinks till midnight. They have a basement backroom that has a series of cabins with gloryholes, so you can either take someone in with you or play at the gloryholes. Then I’d walk a couple of blocks over to Hot, which is a small bar for bears that gets busy early and also features two-for-one drinks till midnight and is very sociable. Hot has a basement with a second bar, porn videos, and cabins. Then I’d head just around the corner to Pasco where the video DJ keeps the big screen full of entertainment. They have a backroom with cabins and the bathroom has a lot of sex happening too. After that I’d head to the Eagle, again, just three blocks walk. The Madrid Eagle is hot and they take their leather seriously so don’t show up on a Saturday night in khakis and a polo shirt if you want to get in. The Eagle is two small barrooms that are overlooked by a mezzanine sex area. The hot thing is that the sex area has no walls, only prison bars. Just overlooking the bar there is a sling mounted so patrons can watch the action. Leaning on the bar watching some hot number get fisted just above definitely brings out the voyeur in me. And I imagine performing for the crowd must be a real turn on for those playing too. All these places are within blocks and there are dozens of other bars in the same area. Finally, to top off my evening I’d do one of two things; if I wanted to dance a bit and cruise a lot, I’d head to Strong Center Disco which claims its maze of backrooms is the biggest backroom in Europe. Men of all types and ages come here to dance and cruise. If I were inclined for something a little more debauched, I’d go to Copper, a naked club that has a different speciality party every night. Both of these places are about one subway stop or a dozen blocks away.
For a wild night of serious raunch with the lights on, you could try the Hell Sex Club. Their motto: “We like doing, being done, and letting you all see what’s going on. We don’t like dark rooms.” It’s members only but you can email them through their website for a guest invitation.
If you are looking for escorts, Arrow Men seems to have the biggest selection.
If you are looking for bathhouses (they call them saunas here) there are such a number it is hard to choose. Many specialize in a particular niche of clients. Center is the biggest sauna in Madrid. It’s open 24 hours and is busiest after the discos close around 6 am. Men is also 24 hours and attracts guys under thirty-five years old looking for other guys the same age. Cristal is a small but popular sauna in the center of the gay area. Plaza specializes in older guys and hustlers. Principe attracts primarily older men and their admirers rather than hustlers. Paraiso is a beautiful sauna that many say it is the best sauna in Madrid. The space in an old building is great and their website gives a good tour. They close at midnight during the week but are open all night on the weekends. Saunas in Madrid usually have full bars and sometimes restaurants.
If you like to cruise in sex shops and video arcades two good ones are Play Sex Store and California, both with private cabins.
Because Chueca is such a large, intense gay area you can cruise as you stroll the neighborhood too.
As I said earlier, I’m heading back for Europride at the end of June. A week was not enough time to enjoy the pleasures Madrid has to offer.
Recommended in this article (also see the Sex Listings):
Adan, 38 San Bernado. Bathhouse with full facilities.
The Angle, 11 C. de Campoamor. Cruise bar with dark room. Butch guys, bears and admirers.
Bears Bar, 4 Pelaya. Cruise bar with dark room.
Caldas, C. de Valverde 32. Bathhouse with full facilities.
California, 20 Valverde. Sex shop. The gay section has booths with gloryholes and a movie room.
Center, 1 Cuesta de Santo Domingo. Bathhouse with full facilities. The biggest sauna in Madrid. It’s busy after the discos close around 6 am and it’s open 24 hours.
Comendadoras, 9 Plaza Comendadoras. Bathhouse with full facilities.
Copper, 34 San Vicente Ferrer. http://www.copperbar.net/. Cruise bar with dark room. Naked/underwear/fetish bar with different parties each night and a backroom.
Cristal, 17 Augusto Figueroa. Bathhouse with full facilities. Small but popular, it’s located in the center of the gay area.
Cruising, 5 Benito Perez Galdos. Cruise bar with dark room. Sex bar with porn videos and a dark room.
Eagle Madrid, 30 Pelayo. http://www.eaglespain.com/. Cruise bar with dark room. Play area in the bar.
Hell Sex Club, 14 C. Buenavista. http://www.hellsexclub.com/. Sexclub. Their motto: “We like doing, being done, and letting you all see what’s going on. We don’t like dark rooms.” Menbers only but you can email them through their website for a guest invitation.
Hot, 9 Infantas. Cruise bar with dark room. Bears and their admirers, dark room, videos in the basement
LL Bar, 11 Pelayo. Cruise bar with dark room. Strip shows, porn lounge, dark room.
Men, 25 Pelayo. Bathhouse with full facilities. Guys under thirty-five years old looking for other guys the same age.
O’Clock, 11 San Marcos. Cabins with gloryholes
Octopus, 10 Churruca. Bathhouse with full facilities.
Odarko, 7 C. de Loreto y Chicote. http://www.odarko.com/. Sexclub. Fetish club: leather, rubber, military, uniforms, skinhead-outfit, sportswear. Dresscode required at Friday and Saturday nights.
Paraiso, 15 Norte. Bathhouse with full facilities. Many say it is the best sauna in Madrid
Pasco, Plaza de Vazquez de Mella. Cruise bar with dark room.
The Paw, 29 Calle de Calatrava. Sexclub. Attracts mature men.
Play, 31 Pelayo. Sex shop. Toys, dvds, magazines, plus booths for sex.
Plaza, 6 Barco. http://www.saunaplaza.es/. Bathhouse with full facilities. Mostly older guys and hustlers.
Principe, 3 Travesia de Beatas. Bathhouse with full facilities. Primarily for older men and their admirers
Puerta De Toledo, 6 Cuesta de las Descargas. http://www.saunapuertadetoledo.es/. Bathhouse with full facilities.
Querelle, 12 C. de Lavapiés. Cruise bar with dark room. A small bar and backroom. Saturday and Sundays are underwear/naked days.
Strong Center Disco, 7 Trujillos. http://www.strongcenter-disco.com/. Men of all ages. It’s called a disco but really more like a bar with dancing. It advertises the biggest backroom in Europe, a series of dark rooms in the basement.
Uevas Termas Moratalaz, 5 Jose del Prado. Bathhouse with full facilities.
Comments, suggestions, compliments, criticism? You can write to Doug, The Pleasure Activist, at doug@cruisingforsex.com.
Doug McClelland originally entered the adult entertainment business as a centerfold for BEAR magazine, but he soon moved from the front of the camera to behind it. In 1995 he founded chisel.com, one of the original gay porn sites, which in 1996 was the first gay site to netcast live video. He has produced, directed, and occasionally appeared in adult videos. His association with Cruising for Sex began when Chisel became the second sponsor of our site. For the last few years he wrote our advice column called the Guidance Counselor. In the Pleasure Activist column he is our travel reporter, sharing tips and stories from his personal travels.
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