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Looking for the perfect place for a romantic candlelight dinner in Old-Montréal with your partner? Want the scoop on gay nightlife in Ottawa’s new gay village? Or maybe you want to find the perfect hotel for a weekend ski getaway… You’ll find everything you’re looking for and more in the new Gay Guide of Québec, available for free starting on February 3 wherever 2B and Être magazines are available.

When CBC commentator and comedian Ricker Mercer visited the Mont Ste-Marie ski hill near Wakefield, Québec, it was like a best-kept secret was being unveiled. Boísin Murphy reports from the Gatineau ski hill that doesn’t cater to 450-819 teenagers!

Musician and flâneur Sami Basbous found himself in the most unlikely of US states basking in unheard-of Asheville, North Carolina. Castles, cafés, jacuzzis, and Southern charm made for a memorable gaycation we just had to share.

Europe is a little gayer than even Toronto’s gayest writers are used to.  “Several times, I gazed at jegging-clad, scarf-wrapped gents coiffed within an inch of their life only to be ignored, or worse, winked at seductively by their ladyfriends,” writes Ryan Kerr in our LGBTravel issue. If you’re planning your holidays ahead of time (as any gay traveller should), think of hitting Stockholm Pride in early August…

We reached Miami Winter Party Chairman Chad Richter to talk about the “Soul of South Beach” and one of the grande dames of the dance music circuit. See you there Feb. 29-March 5, 2012 (with rebate tickets on sale until Jan 14!)

Not to be confused with Montréal’s very own Bal en Blanc (translated “White Party” to non-Quebecers), the White Party in Miami has played host to thousands of party-goers for almost three decades. Now what sets this event apart from the others is it endurance and the fundraising initiative behind it. White Party Week happens November 23 through November 28 in Miami, Florida.

Over in America’s Pacific Northwest among lush greenery lies a town full of fashionable cyclists, throngs of hipsters, a hotbed of a music scene, vegan food carts and a queer mecca. Writer, activist, and queer traveler Lauryn Kronick writes on her party-filled visit for 2Bmag…

Writer, queer academic, and film buff Jordan Coulombe (aka Van Tassel) spent 6 months in the Distrito Federal and learned all of the best haunts in their version of a Village, La Zona Rosa. For the record, Coulombe does NOT recommend you see the film entitled *La Zona Rosa* by Hermanas Producciones (banner photo).

Blogger and ex-Montréaler Julia Alsop reports on her first trip to gay Paris, with a stop at the Père Lachaise Cemetary, a trip to the Opéra, and some lovely Souffleurs… (Banner photo by Heather Lewenza)

In anticipation of 2Bmag’s Sept/Oct Travel issue, Jorge Treviano spoke to gay travel connoisseur Dane Steele Green of Steele Luxury Travel.