Queen Street

Why start here

If the Rainbow Quarter has a high street, it is Queen Street. It is the one road in the quarter that runs straight down to the sea, so it links the bars to the Promenade, North Pier and the Illuminations. It is also the street most visitors walk first, because it is the obvious route between the seafront hotels, the tram stop at North Pier and the bars further inland.

Queen Street is a mixed street, and that is worth knowing before you go. Long-standing LGBTQ+ bars sit side by side with mainstream chain bars, so the crowd shifts as you walk. The seaward end is the most mixed. The inland end, around the Flying Handbag, is the most firmly LGBTQ+. On Friday and Saturday nights the whole street is busy, and it often feels like the hinge where the general Blackpool night out meets the gay one.

How the street runs

Queen Street runs roughly east to west. The seaward (western) end meets the Promenade a short walk north of North Pier, and the house numbers start low there. Walking inland, the numbers rise towards the Flying Handbag at number 44. At the inland end the street meets Dickson Road, where Funny Girls fills the corner building. Talbot Road runs parallel to the south, and Lord Street begins a short way to the north-east.

Walking end to end takes about five minutes without stopping. Realistically, with a drink or two, it fills an evening.

Venue by venue, from the sea inland

Walkabout (1–9 Queen Street). The big sports bar on the corner with the Promenade. It is a mainstream venue rather than an LGBTQ+ one, but it is the landmark that tells you you've found Queen Street. Expect stag and hen groups here at weekends.

Slug & Lettuce (8–14 Queen Street). A chain cocktail bar near the seaward end. Again, a mainstream venue with a mixed crowd. It turns up on quarter maps simply because of where it stands.

Bar 19 (19 Queen Street). A smaller bar in the seaward half of the street that appears on local quarter maps. We have not been able to confirm its current opening pattern, so check before you plan around it.

Sherlock's (23 Queen Street). One of the quarter's stylish evening bars. It opened in late 2021 in a building that was once the Whippet Inn and, later, Roxy's. Expect DJs, visiting performers and a balcony that is one of the best spots on the street for watching the comings and goings. It is a weekend venue, usually open from early evening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and closed Monday to Thursday. During the winter fundraising weekend for Pride it has hosted shows and, in 2025, a vigil for the much-loved drag artist The Vivienne.

Buckinghams (25 Queen Street). A few doors up from Sherlock's. It has taken part in the quarter's Pride fundraising weekend as one of the performance venues, so it is firmly part of the scene, though details of its regular programme are thin.

Cowboy & Co (27 Queen Street) and 31 Queen Street. Two more bars in the middle stretch. 31 Queen Street is known locally for its Sunday roasts and has collected for Pride during fundraising weekends. We haven't been able to confirm the current programme at either, so treat them as bonus stops rather than the plan.

Kaos. A long-running Queen Street gay bar that reopened in July 2026 under new owners after a twelve-week refit, complete with glitterballs and neon rainbow lighting. It runs daytime hours most days and stays open into the small hours at weekends, when it is one of the latest places on the street. Look out for occasional guest appearances from drag stars.

The Flying Handbag (44 Queen Street). The big one. A purpose-built LGBTQ+ bar and club near the inland end, open seven days a week from lunchtime until the early hours. It runs drag hosts, karaoke, quizzes and themed nights through the week, serves food most of the day, does a Sunday lunch, and has a sun terrace and a heated smoking area. It is 18+ with ID checks, and it advertises wheelchair access, which is rarer than it should be in this part of town. If you only go to one bar on Queen Street, most people would point you here.

Central Library and the Grundy Art Gallery. These are on the inland part of Queen Street as well. The library hosts a free monthly lunchtime drop-in for trans and gender-diverse people, and the Grundy has staged LGBTQ+ heritage shows. The Grundy is also due to host one of two exhibitions marking twenty years of Blackpool Pride between February and June 2027.

Landmarks and street features

• The Be You street works. Queen Street is one of the priority streets in the council's plan for the quarter, which has brought new lighting columns, planters and Progress Pride street signs. Look up at the nameplates: several now carry the Progress Pride chevrons.
• Funny Girls on the corner. Standing at the top of Queen Street, you can see the art deco Funny Girls building on the Dickson Road corner. There is a taxi rank outside it, which is useful at the end of the night.
• The sea view. Walk to the seaward end after dark during the Illuminations season and the lights along the Promenade frame the bottom of the street.

Best order to walk it

Early evening: start inland. Have an early drink or food at the Flying Handbag, cross to Funny Girls for the show (doors are usually around 7pm), and come back to Queen Street afterwards when the street has filled up.

Late night: work from the sea inland. Start with a quieter drink near the seaward end, move up through Sherlock's and the middle bars, and finish at the Flying Handbag or Kaos, which keep going latest.

Daytime: Queen Street is the easiest part of the quarter to enjoy in daylight. The Flying Handbag and Kaos both open from lunchtime, so it works well after a walk on the Prom.

Good to know

• Queen Street is where the general weekend crowd and the LGBTQ+ crowd overlap most. That is usually fine and often fun, but if a group gets loud or unpleasant, the LGBTQ+ bars have door staff and are a good place to step into.
• Entry is usually free in the week. The bigger venues may charge a small amount at weekends and on event nights.
• Hours on this street change with the seasons and with ownership changes, which have been frequent in the last couple of years.