Lyon has found its G spot

Jan. 12 2014

by Renan Benyamina / TETU

For a long time,Lyon was too modest, almost uptight. Today, without having turned into a whore, the capital of the Gauls has clearly liberated itself. So much so that, since 2001, it has become an example of openness, under the impetus of a municipality that has multiplied its initiatives towards gays and lesbians. In March 2009, Têtu named Lyon " France's most gay-friendly city"(see Têtu no. 142).

To see just how far we've come. All you have to do is walk past the famous Part-Dieu "pencil" (the Crédit Lyonnais tower often mocked for its phallus-like shape). At the foot of the building, you'll now find Point G, a brand-new resource center on the subject, hosted by Lyon's municipal library. But you can also go straight to the 1st arrondissement, where homosexuality not only has pride of place, but also plays a part, like many other minority expressions, in the dynamism of urban life.

Take a look at rue Romarin, where rainbow flags are hoisted above a sex shop (Dogklub) and an association (Forum gai et lesbien), just a few meters from the kebabs. See also the terraces on rue de l'Arbre-Sec, where students, families, bobos, drunks and gays mingle without batting an eyelid. Some fifteen gay or gay-friendly bars and clubs are concentrated within a 500-meter radius of the Opéra. And that's not counting the saunas and sex clubs, where the flirting sometimes continues on the public highway.

Photo: Lyon Gay Pride © Calinow / Flickr

Of course, as elsewhere, there has been a crisis in militancy, a crisis in the gay community and a crisis in general. But many synergies have been created between associations on the one hand, and retailers on the other, to get through the difficulties. We sometimes regret that the various gay sub-communities don't cross paths more often: here, the bears; there, the pussycats; elsewhere, the clubbers and a little further on, the lesbians. But this is also the other side of the coin: the more establishments there are, the more segmented the clientele.

on a few occasions, it seems that everyone comes together, like during Lesbian and Gay Pride of course, when several neighborhoods are taken over by gays and lesbians of all persuasions until late after the march (rue des 4-Chapeaux in the 2nd, rue de L'Arbre-Sec, rue Romarin or rue Royale in the 1st). Lyon is proud, Lyon is open-minded, the customs of the gay scene are diverse, but here, in every case, there's no need to hide.

Find all the gay and gay-friendly addresses in Lyon