Where to stay in London if you're LGBTQ+: near the bars, or a Tube ride off?

For most LGBTQ+ visitors to London, a city that is broadly relaxed about who you are and who you're with, choosing a neighbourhood comes down to how close you want the nightlife. Covent Garden puts Soho a few minutes' walk from your door, while Chelsea, Kensington and Marylebone are calmer, with the scene a short Tube ride away.

Soho, Covent Garden and Bloomsbury

Soho is still the centre of gay London, and Covent Garden is next door. The Duke of Wellington at 77 Wardour Street is a busy, friendly gay pub whose crowd spills onto the pavement on summer evenings, and Heaven, under the arches at Charing Cross, has been one of London's best-known gay clubs since 1979. Stay in Covent Garden and you walk home instead of hunting for a cab at 2am. Apartments there start from about £210 a night, and the streets around them are packed with places to eat, so a late dinner is never a problem.

Soho isn't only a night-time place. Old Compton Street, its traditional LGBTQ+ high street, is lined with cafés and bars that are busy from lunchtime, and Dean Street, Frith Street and Greek Street are some of the best in London for an unplanned lunch or an early dinner before the theatre. From a Covent Garden apartment it's a five-minute walk across Charing Cross Road.

A quarter of an hour's walk north of Covent Garden, Gay's the Word at 66 Marchmont Street has been selling LGBTQ+ books since 1979. It's the UK's oldest LGBT+ bookshop, and the noticeboard and the staff are a good way to find out what's on that week. Bloomsbury makes a calm, leafy base in its own right, with Russell Square and the garden squares around it, and the Piccadilly line from Russell Square runs straight to Covent Garden and Heathrow.

Vauxhall, and getting home late

South of the river, Vauxhall has London's other big cluster of LGBTQ+ venues. The Royal Vauxhall Tavern on Kennington Lane is a Victorian pub that has hosted drag and cabaret for decades, with something on most nights, though it's worth checking the programme before you go. From the West End it's a short hop on the Victoria line from Oxford Circus or Green Park.

On Friday and Saturday nights the Night Tube runs on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. That covers the trip back from Soho or Vauxhall to most of the areas here, and the Victoria line links Vauxhall with Green Park and Oxford Circus all night at weekends. Other nights, night buses fill the gaps, and in Chelsea, where there's no Tube on the King's Road, a cab or ride-hail for the last stretch is usually easiest.

Pride in London happens every summer, usually late June or early July, with the parade running through the West End. Central apartments get snapped up that weekend and road closures make taxis crawl, so book early and plan on walking.

Chelsea, Kensington and Marylebone for longer stays

On a longer visit, a lot of people want a residential street and some distance from the late crowds. Chelsea's residences are mostly one and two bedrooms, which suits couples, and Kensington has more room for friends travelling together. Marylebone is the best value, from about £165 a night, and has more Tube lines within walking distance than you'd guess, so Soho is ten minutes away when you want it.

If you're staying several weeks, a kitchen and a washing machine matter more than being a minute from the bars. Marylebone and Kensington suit that best, with supermarkets, parks and residential streets, and Soho a short ride away. Very few of the residences we list insist on a minimum of a month, so most will quote for whatever length you need, and you can ask about a monthly rate. Couples who want one big bed rather than twins should say so when they send their dates, because the request goes straight to the reservations team who make up the apartment.