Spaghetto

Milan

Best movie theater in Milano. They screen really cool and diverse movies at literally every time of the day. Movies are not dubbed! You don’t have to hear your fav actors speaking with a weird Italian voice! Yes!! Another awesome thing about this place is that the lovely lesbian couple who run it got it from the local church. I have no idea how they manage to screen stuff like a death metal documentary there but I swear they do!

Illustration and comic book art museum. They have great exhibitions and workshops. The place where the museum is located is very nice. There is a cool funny statue, a little park with a tiny skatepark and a bar called Boom where you can enjoy happy hour sitting outside or on the rooftop.

The place is def not fancy and they only make pizza, but it's super delicious and it gives you an idea of what the Isola district used to be before hipsters and gentrification arrived.

It's a public swimming pool, but also a theater and venue that hosts various events. It's really a unique place, where beautiful 1930s Italian architecture meets contemporary art and happenings.

Triennale is home to the Italian design Museum and hosts some of the best exhibitions in Milano. They also have concerts and sometimes music events that start super late at night and in the morning. Outside in the garden there's a bar, amazing sculptures and a fountain by Giorgio De Chirico.

Probably the best gelato in Milano. Fucking amazing! Try salty pistachio!

It is the first fetish boutique in Italy opening back in 1998. Arianna and Martina are super nice and they have the best lingerie, toys and latex in Milan. What I love is that they also carry pin-up dresses and 50s inspired clothing.

Super fun and friendly place in the heart of Lambrate. They brew their own unpasteurised/unfiltered beer and have won many awards for it. They sell their craft beer to a lot of pubs in Milan, Italy, and abroad, but this is the original spot where it all started in the mid 90s.

I like Rob de Matt because food is good but it’s also a very cool concept/project. The association who runs it provides work and help to marginalised people. They have a big garden/outside area that is fantastic in the summer where you can have brunch outside in the weekends and they hosts lots of happenings.

If you love to be surrounded by books like I do, this is the place for you! It’s a wine bar/bistrot/second hand bookshop all together. You can go for lunch, aperitif, dinner or just drinks. They host poetry readings, stand up comedy nights, little concerts and you can take your drinks outside in the nice little square.

Spaghetto's Guide to Milan

COBRAH

Stockholm 

In here you can find all you need to look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G for your rave night out. On the first floor they have UV light shining clothes, including the classic rave trousers and tank tops. But the second floor (which is my favourite) is a goth girls dream place, the amount of black PVC clothing is crazy and the shoe rack has it all in so many different sizes.

While you’re at it you should definitely visit this hidden gem Chambers of Love which hides behind the shoe racks of C.U.M Clubwear. They have Scandinavia's biggest collection of fetish and BDSM gear including some really cool outfits that you could never find anywhere else.

This is my main spot for studs, I always come here when I’m making a new choker or decorating a new jacket because this is the only place in Stockholm where you can buy them separately at a very good price. Also they have EVERYTHING, jewelry, band t-shirts, lighters, wall decorations you name it! Definitely worth a trip if you’re in the area.

Nothing says crazy shoes as Sko Uno, they have a WIDE collection of platforms and the classic Dr Martens. They opened up before I was born and is Stockholm's most ICONIC place for shoe shopping.


Explore Stockholm's Best Clubwear with COBRAH

Madeline

Chicago

Smartbar has been around since 1982, it's a very important institution for us and has one of the best sound systems in the city. Although the venue itself is not technically a queer space, Queen! on Sundays or any nights hosted and curated by queer residents (Ariel Zetina, Shaun J Wright, Harry Cross, myself) carve out necessary space for queer bookings and dancefloors. Queen! is the iconic weekly house party that celebrates the LGBTQ roots of dance music. 

This is one of the oldest running drag establishments in Chicago. It was founded in 1969 and it's where the international drag pageant Miss Continental happens. It's a very old-Chicago type of space - a stairway down into a basement, classic stage with red velvet curtains, carpeted floors - a specific vibe that's becoming more rare in the city. It’s actually just been bought and is being turned into a leather bar but hopefully the new owners will preserve the energy of this historical space. 

Dorothy is one of the only lesbian bars in Chicago! It's only been around for a few years and filled a necessary gap. A cocktail bar with a lot of charm and character to it - very plush with cushions and vibey with mood lighting, the drinks are lovingly concocted by all- queer, trans, and femme bartenders. They have DJs and live music regularly and host a variety of events and themed nights there:  spoken word, poetry, theater, film screenings.

This is another historic establishment that's been around since 1984. It's effectively a gay dive bar, a relic from a time when the downtown "Tower Town" area was more of a queer epicenter than the contemporary Boystown. Most of the bars in Boystown are a bit more commercial and corporate, but Second Story has more of a classic dive character. Lovably tiny and a bit gritty, the drinks are really cheap and it's cash only. It's the type of place that isn't around much anymore.

This is a museum that celebrates the history of gay leather culture, fetishism, and alternative sexual practices in general. A great place to learn more about queer kink and leather history in Chicago and look at a lot of interesting leather garments, old murals from leather bars, and more. 

The gay beach in Chicago! Where "the grinder grid comes to life" as my friend Ben Trotter once said. Hollywood Beach is sort of a spiritual successor to Belmont Rocks which was one of the few places for gay men to be openly queer/cruise in public in the 70s and 80s. Hollywood is less of a cruising spot and more of a place to socialise outside of nightlife and enjoy the sun in the summer, in addition to being more gender inclusive. You can be comfortable in a thong or topless on the beach compared to most family-dominated beaches. The southern half of the beach is queerer than the northern half - look for the rainbow lighthouse on the end of the pier and follow it. Or just follow your ears because there’s usually gay music being played on like 17 different speakers.

This is one of the only Black and trans-operated spaces in the city that functions as a community resource for trans and gender-nonconforming people. It's effectively a community centre with support groups and mutual aid programs. They collect and redistribute food donations through a pantry program, offer lockers for unhoused individuals, provide free wigs and other gender-affirming beauty supplies, and have a temporary housing program. It's a great resource for folks who need some extra support or want to spend time with community in a judgment-free space.

The gay strip club in Boystown. I have many friends who have worked there over the years. It's a fun first stop on the more commercial Boystown bar circuit - a place to do a fireball shot and give the dancers some dollars before hitting the standard bar/drag institutions in the nearby area (Roscoe's, Sidetrack, Splash, Scarlet, etc - all walkable within a few minutes of each other)

Owned and operated by two Black lesbians in the lesbian-heavy neighbourhood of Andersonville, this is pretty much the only other lesbian cocktail bar besides Dorothy. It has a sleek and modern lounge vibe with trivia nights, singles mixers, music, a private events space, and many loving homages to Black femme icons like Nina Simone, Eartha Kitt, and Summer Walker.

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