The Best Providence Gay Bars and Clubs

Part of an eclectic, thriving, multifaceted arts space in the middle of downtown, the Bar @ AS220 (115 Empire St., 401-861-9190) is a popular gathering spot among the city's creative spirits and open-minded souls. AS220 also contains a performance spaces that feature plays, film, dance, and literary events; a series of galleries showing the works of more than 150 artists, a print shop, free youth-oriented arts programs; and more. As a social venue, AS220 Foo(d) serves creative, reasonably priced lunch and dinner fare, and the Bar @ AS220 is open every night but Monday for beer and spirits sourced from mostly smaller, artisan New England producers as well as wine. There's a nice cocktail list of well-crafted drinks. And profits are used to support AS220's arts and performance programming.

In the center of downtown, a short walk from several of Providence's most prominent hotels, Dark Lady/Alleycat (17 Snow St., 401-831-4297) is one of the top dance clubs in the region among both gay men and lesbians, with the crowds varying a bit depending on the night. Dark Lady used to be in a separate space down the street but moved beside the adjacent Alleycat space in 2011. In the Dark Lady space, there's a women's night on Wednesdays, and the well-regarded, occasional lesbian parties produced by Girl Spot take place here. Other nights, such as Thursday (college night), Friday (retro tunes), and Saturday (top local DJs) draw men and women of all ages. Drag shows and hot go-go dancers are also part of the fun. Alleycat is smaller and more intimate, more a spot for conversation.

As Boston is without any sex clubs or bathhouses, New England's top city for cruising and late-night fun is Providence, Rhode Island - it's home to a pair of gay bathhouses, Mega-Plex (pictured here) and Club Body Center. Providence is just an hour's drive south of Boston, so it tends to lure plenty of guys from there as well as in nearby cities like Hartford, Worcester, and even Cape Cod. Mega-Plex (257 Allens Ave., 401-780-8769) is the largest and most popular of the two, drawing a lively crowd around the clock. The spacious club is a five-minute drive south of downtown in an industrial area of South Providence, near the river and just off I-95. It's along a small strip of sexually charged establishments, most of them straight "gentleman's" clubs, but there's also a gay, all-nude strip bar called Hush Rhode Island in an adjacent building. Mega-Plex lives up to its "mega" billing with some 300 lockers, 75 private rooms, and plenty of fun common areas for strutting, cruising, and mingling. The crowd here is all-ages, ranging from randy college students (Providence and Boston are both major university centers) to more seasoned veterans of bathhouse culture.

A casually elegant French-American bistro in the funky Fox Point neighborhood just south of College Hill and Brown University campus, Rue de L'Espoir (99 Hope St., 401-751-8890) is chiefly a dining venue, serving dinner nightly, lunch and breakfast on weekdays, and extremely popular brunches on weekends. The crowd here is diverse and fun, from academics to neighborhood gays to tourists, and at those weekend brunches you'll often recognize those who were out clubbing the night before. Creative contemporary fare, with an emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients, is emphasized, and there's a great wine list and cheese board - perfect for a date or noshing and sipping with friends. The owners also operate downtown's Rue Bis (95 South St., 401-490-9966) and Baker Street Rue (75 Baker St., 401-490-5025), south of downtown, both of which serve breakfast and lunch on weekdays