Overall, Boston is a gay- and lesbian-friendly destination, with a live-and-let-live attitude that long ago replaced the city's legendary Puritanism.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Helpline (tel. 888/340-4528 or 617/267-9001) offers information Monday through Friday from 6 to 11pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 5 to 10pm. Bay Windows (tel. 617/266-6670; www.baywindows.com) is a weekly newspaper that covers New England and publishes cultural listings. The weekly Boston Phoenix publishes cultural and nightlife listings and has a gay-interest area on its website (www.bostonphoenix.com).

An excellent guide to local gay- and lesbian-owned and gay-friendly businesses is the Pink Pages, 66 Charles Street #283, Boston, MA 02114 (tel. 800/338-6550; www.pinkweb.com). Visit the comprehensive website or order a copy for $11, including postage. You can also contact the Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth (tel. 617/227-4313; www.bagly.org) and the Bisexual Resource Center (tel. 617/424-9595; www.biresource.org).

The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626; www.iglta.org) is the trade association for the gay and lesbian travel industry and offers an online directory of gay- and lesbian-friendly travel businesses; go to the website and click on "Members."

Many agencies offer tours and travel itineraries specifically for gay and lesbian travelers. Above and Beyond Tours (tel. 800/397-2681; www.abovebeyondtours.com) is the exclusive gay and lesbian tour operator for United Airlines. Now, Voyager (tel. 800/255-6951; www.nowvoyager.com) is a well-known San Francisco-based gay-owned and -operated travel service.

The following travel guides are available at most travel bookstores and gay and lesbian bookstores, or you can order them from Giovanni's Room bookstore, 1145 Pine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (tel. 215/923-2960; www.giovannisroom.com): Out and About (tel. 800/929-2268; www.outandabout.com), which offers guidebooks and a newsletter ($20/year; 10 issues) packed with solid information on the global gay and lesbian scene; Spartacus International Gay Guide (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus: The International Gay Travel Planner (Odysseus Enterprises Ltd.), are annual English-language guidebooks focused on gay men; the Damron guides (The Damron Company; www.damron.com), with separate annual books for gay men and lesbians; and Gay Travel A to Z: The World of Gay & Lesbian Travel Options at Your Fingertips, by Marianne Ferrari (Ferrari International; Box 35575, Phoenix, AZ 85069), a very good gay and lesbian guidebook series.