Chueca

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The entrance to Chueca metro station in the Plaza de Chueca, during gay pride week

Chueca is a neighborhood in Madrid. It is located just to the north of the downtown core and old city, centered around the Plaza de Chueca and Chueca metro station. It is well known as the main gay village of Madrid.

A decade ago it was a dangerous area where drugs and male prostitution were rampant. However, Madrid's increasingly growing and affluent gay community has made Chueca one of the most fashionable and cosmopolitan areas of Madrid. During the day the majority of activity is concentrated in the numerous shops and boutiques of both international and independent designers, and the chic cafés. At night, the area is known for its innovative restaurants, bars, and clubs. In addition to this, there are other businesses oriented toward a gay clientelle such as travel agencies, lawyers and video stores.

It has become a popular spot for people of all types, not solely gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders. Madrid's gay and lesbian community stages a large pride festival each year, drawing revellers from all across Spain. This celebration has gone far beyond its gay-lesbian roots and is now one of the biggest festivals in the annual calendar, for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders and straight people, with well over a million people on the streets.

Chueca has a variety of welcoming bars, clubs, restaurants and shops. La Fulanita de Tal is one of the main nightclubs in the district which is run by women and attracts a predominantly lesbian crowd. There is a bar named after The Planet, the fictitious neighborhood café in the lesbian series The L Word.