A lovely country in so many regards, Spain continues to grow in popularity one of Europe's leading gay destinations, earning particular kudos among beach-goers. The world-class city of Barcelona is your best bet for an urban gay beach adventure in Spain, and you can easily combine a visit there with a trip to nearby Sitges, a low-keyed, artsy beach town about 45 minutes away by train. The other quite famous gay Spain beach getaway is the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, well-regarded with sun-lovers and circuit-party-revelers. A relatively more recent player in the gay-tourism game is Torremolinos, an Andalusian fishing village along the Costa del Sol that has lately become a favorite getaway with the GLBT set.

Here's a list of 20 top gay-friendly beach cities, which includes Barcelona, and a second list focused of 20 smaller (under 150,000 residents) gay beach destinations, among them Sitges and Ibiza. For gay travel info on Torremolinos, check out the excellent site Gay Info Torremolinos.