With probably the most famous gay village in Britain, Manchester is renowned for its scene - the more mature among us probably first caught a glimpse of it in controversial TV drama Queer as Folk and its reputation as a party destination has grown ever since. With that in mind I decided that it was about time I checked out Manchester, just to see if the tales of 24 hour decadence were true. Here's what I found out...

Friday Night
If a big gay night out in Manchester is what you are looking for then there is really only one place to go - Canal Street. Situated in a picturesque part of town next to the eponymous waterway, this once run-down area of Victorian warehouses is now the city's gay heart. Luckily for me it was only a hop, skip and a jump from my hotel, so getting there was fairly straightforward. The real challenge was knowing where to start - I don't think I have ever seen so many gay bars in one place.

The new smoking laws proved helpful as I could assess the talent inside each bar simply by scanning the smokers loitering on the pavement outside. Eventually I plumped for Via Fossa. With its bizarre gothic decor and split level layout, Via Fossa could best be described as Crinkly Bottom meets Disney in a homo nightmare. What can I say, I love this place.

Packed to the rafters with a wide variety of punters, there was even a small dancefloor downstairs, as well as two balconies perfectly positioned for staring down at the men below. It's impossible to describe Via Fossa in just a few words, let's just say that it is totally unique and I'll leave it up to you to find out the rest for yourself.

My next stop was only a few yards away, but couldn't be more different in terms of atmosphere and clientele. Churchill's is an unapologetically old-fashioned pub, with a more mature crowd to suit its 'Queen Vic' style interior. There is a dancefloor here too, but with a rather more vintage music selection - it's been a while since I've strutted my stuff to Sheena Easton, but it was a retro experience which turned out to be more fun than you might expect.

Manto has to be one of the best known names on Canal Street, so I was surprised to find it so quiet. I didn't even stop here for a drink - there's something a bit depressing about a deserted bar with a lonely DJ looking out over an empty floor. It seems like a nice enough place, but for some reason Manchester's party people didn't seem to agree.

Onwards and upwards then to my final destination of the evening (this was Friday after all, I didn't want to spoil my weekend by overdoing on the first night), a much busier venue simply called Queer. The first thing that caught my eye was a gogo boy in rather fetching stripey pants, but then I'm a sucker for a muscley young man in a cage.

After a quick drink I headed downstairs to the toilets where I also stumbled upon the apparently ubiquitous dancefloor, home to a fun mix of pop and indie music. With a buzzing atmosphere and friendly crowd, Queer was an attractive package (and no, I don't just mean Mr Gogo Boy!), so it was with some regret that I eventually dragged myself away and toddled back to my hotel.

Saturday Night
Saturday day turned out to be a bit of a wash out, with grim Manchester weather putting pay to a day's shopping in the trendy town centre. Luckily things dried up by the evening, so by 9 o'clock I was ready once again to head down to - yes, you've guessed it - Canal Street.

First on my list was another pub, a veritable Canal Street institution - The Rembrandt. You certainly wouldn't come here for the decor, it's the crowd that make this place a bit different. If you like your men rough and tough then this is the bar for you - this is no place for fashionistas sipping on campy cocktails. Tight jeans, boots, bomber jackets and pints are the order of the day. Not really my scene, and not particularly busy either, but nice enough if you like that sort of thing.

Next up was the altogether more chic Spirit. Spread over various floors, Spirit is all incredibly cool, with the hippest crowd I had seen so far. As usual there was a DJ and a dancefloor, but this is more a place to see and be seen, a poseurs paradise where hair extensions and glowing fake tans are the norm - and that's just the boys.

At the very top of Canal Street lies Velvet, an altogether more opulent option. This place is smartly decorated with gilt chairs and glitzy chandeliers. It may be small, but it's none the worse for that. I popped my head down its spiral staircase searching for that all important dancefloor, but found instead a busy and rather smart looking restaurant.

Velvet may have a DJ, but it is definitely a much more laid back affair than many of its neighbours - somewhere to visit if you actually want to have a conversation without having to shout yourself hoarse.

The final bar of the night was AXM. Again no dancefloor here, but it was busy and bustling. I'm at a bit of a loss about what to say about AXM - it's fine as far it goes, but after all these other bars I'm not sure what is has to add to the mix - maybe I had just reached a state of gay bar overload by this point in the evening. Of course the best cure for gay bar overload is going to a gay club, so I decided to head for Manchester's biggest and (hopefully) best, Essential. Located just round the corner on Minshull Street, Essential offers dancing over two levels, with house in the basement and pop on the first floor.

The vision of a rather handsome chap in tight shorts handing out chocolates at the front door was a welcome sight, while inside I was hit by a severe case of deja-vu. Could it be something to do with the muscley man in pants dancing in a cage? Yes, it was the same man that I had spied the night before in Queer, and indeed the same stripey pants. Nice as they were, I do hope he gave them a rinse before their second outing of the weekend...

It's hard not to have fun at Essential. By midnight the place was packed, with revellers making the most of the varied music on offer, or relaxing in the comfortable chill out areas. I had a great time, and by chucking out time I was definitely up for more. So it was that I ended up once again in Queer, which plays host to a Sunday morning after-hours party in its bijou basement.

I would love to tell you more, but to be honest it's all a bit of a blur. I think that may be something to do with tiredness, or perhaps a side effect of the one or two dry sherries that I had enjoyed during the course of the evening. Suffice to say that it was hot, busy and rather sexy, a fitting end to a great weekend.

A week later, and I think I have just about recovered from my two nights in Manchester. This is no place for the faint hearted, but with a great selection of bars and clubs (there were plenty more that I simply didn't have time to visit), this truly is a city with something for everyone.


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