Eastern Europe was once a world lear on gay rights. Then ran out of spegoats | CNN

Contents:

• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS EASTERN EUROPE
• AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)
• 9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE
• EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS
• THE 10 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI FOR GAY AND LGBT NOMADS

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS EASTERN EUROPE

When travelg the Rsian Feratn, ’s bt to keep md that sce 2013, there has been a law place that basilly mak illegal to engage the “promotn of homosexualy to mors, ” which they term “gay propaganda. The spac mentned above embody one of the secrets of LGBTQ life not-so-iendly plac — the muni are ually que bond and highly supportive of one another, makg Geia, at least safe bubbl, one of the most gay iendly plac Eastern Europe. In 2021, he enacted further legislatn that censors LGBT posive ntent om movi, books, or public advertisements, and severely rtricts sex tn school, forbiddg any rmatn thought to “enurage genr change or homosexualy.

AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)

Romania’s urban centers feel very safe, but neverthels, is advised that public displays of affectn should be avoid bee many people — police officers particular — still garner some homophobia. It’s one of only five untri to make queer rights equal at a nstutnal level and holds first place on ILGA-Europe’s Rabow Europe Inx, which ranks untri on LGBTQ+ my last vis, a gay gui showed me round the wdg medieval streets of Valletta and Rabat, potg out sential bars and rtrants om Michel-starred Noni to the Monaliza Lounge drag bar, as well as the nightclub Michelangelo lively Paceville.

9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE

This spir filters down to Dubl’s many LGBTQ-iendly tablishments: two personal favour are iendly bnch spot Social Fabric Café Stoneybatter, one of the cy’s most tertg neighbourhoods, and Street 66 bar, a eful cktail spot before a night at inic LGBTQ+ stutn The southsi is gay-owned Gutter Bookshop (named after the famo Osr Wil quote), and the weekly “big gay dis” Sunday Social at Farrier & Draper; or cross the river for the Outhoe LGBTQ+ muny rource fe on Capel Street and PantiBar, owned by drag queen, activist and performer Panti Bliss. Enjoy bnch at Osr bar and fe, before a beer at one of Europe’s olst gay bars, Centralhjor, which hosts drag and Sunday jazz ssns venu clu Bøssehet Christiania, home to theatre, performanc, exhibns and parti – a well-suated boutique hotel is SP34 (doubl om £133) the Lat Quarter.

EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS

Nearby Delmoni’s (known lolly as “Del’s”), has been Merchant Cy’s “gay triangle” sce stay nearby, try the good-value Bnswick hotel (doubl om £50), on a street wh venu marked by rabow flags. Photograph: Nick Maslen/AlamyOn my last vis to Birmgham the rabow flag seemed to be everywhere, and the historic Gay Village, wh s bars, shops and f, is hugely visible, centred largely on Hurst Street.

Start wh bibimbap at the thoroughfare’s Korean rtrant Topokki before drks at Missg, Siwalk or lbian bar The Fox and dancg at the legendary Nightgale Club, the olst gay club the cy, datg back to summer’s hot LGBTQ+ event is Fierce’s Healg Garns of Bab (27 June - 17 July): part of Birmgham 2022 Ftival, ’s an artistic rponse to this summer’s Commonwealth Gam, celebratg “what the Brish Empire tried (and failed) to stamp out”. Mykonos’s rep as queer heaven dat back to the 1970s, when Jackie Onassis beme a regular visor (she first vised 1961), before blossomed as gay rort the 1980s, wh acmodatn sprgg up for the largely male 2022, you n hang out at tablished hotspots Jackie O, bar Porta or Kastro’s, and stay at the Super Paradise (doubl om £249), handy for the island’s ma LGBTQ+ beach. Photograph: Subodh Agnihotri/AlamyFor many gay men of a certa age, Fland is extribly associated wh leather-clad inic hero Tom of Fland, whose books pict a ggedly sexualised masculy durg a time pre-1971 when homosexualy was still illegal.

Now you n take a tour of where thor Too Laaksonen lived his whole adult life, passg the Kansalaistori (People’s Square) ont of parliament, once a clanste meetg pot for gay karaoke fans should check out Mann’s Street, a boozy stutn; other fun spots are Street Pri the Kamppi district, and Kvääristö, a jot for queer women, transgenr, and non-bary people. 5ln people each year, cludg 300, 000 overseas self is one of the most LGBTQ-iendly untri the world: same-sex sexual activy was ma legal 1979, and was the third untry to legalise gay marriage, 2005. First stop has to be Chue, Madrid’s “gaybourhood” wh bars and venu dotted around Plaza Chue (also don’t miss the recently refurbished Merdo San Antón for tasty food stalls and a rooftop terrace).

THE 10 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI FOR GAY AND LGBT NOMADS

In the Catholic untri of Eastern Europe (Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) where relig beliefs repudiate homosexualy, gay and lbian travelers won't fd many tablishments that lay out the wele mat for them. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626;) is the tra associatn for the gay and lbian travel dtry, and offers an onle directory of gay- and lbian-iendly travel bs; go to the webse and click on "Members.

The followg travel guis are available at many bookstor, or you n orr them om any onle bookseller: Frommer's Gay & Lbian Europe (), an excellent travel rource to the top European ci and rorts; Spartac Internatnal Gay Gui (Bno Gmünr Verlag;) and Odysss: The Internatnal Gay Travel Planner (Odysss Enterpris, Ltd. While attracts visors om all mographics their mass durg peak season, the island has plenty to offer the LGBT muny, om s host of gay bars and nudist beach to s annual ternatnal gay ftival, XLSIOR. If you fancy a break whout the bedlam, you n vis late sprg or early tumn to soak of the sun on Super Paradise Beach, which is 1 km away om Paradise Beach and maly attracts LGBT tourists who want to tch an all-over tan (’s also nudist-iendly).MapBrighton is nsired to be the UK’s gay pal.

There are lots of villas and hotels that ter specifilly to LGBT travellers.MapVienna may not be a party-centric statn, but s unique history has been shaped by gay generals, posers, and even emperors. The island Mederranean natn is known for s iendly lols, betiful beach and vibrant gay scene after a ncerted effort to shift attus a untry domated by Roman Catholic views.How were the bt LGBTQ+ statns cid?The annual report by ILGA-Europe rat European untri by their mments to LGBTQ+ rights. Luxembourg meanwhile has the hight public approval for LGBTQ+ equal rights Europe at 87 per cent.Thankfully, popular holiday statns like France, Portugal and Spa all ma the top 10 along wh the hight-rankg Balkan natn, Montenegro.Earlier this year France passed a law banng so-lled gay nversn therapy, and is wily regard as progrsive on LGBTQ+ rights.

However, public attus lag behd legislatn wh 84 per cent of the public tellg the World Valu Survey they didn’t thk homosexualy was jtifiable between 2017 - 2020.The remag Nordic untri, already famo for their high happs rankgs, are also high-ranked for their progrsive polics.Fland, Iceland and Swen all ma the top 12, wh other northern European untri the Netherlands, UK and Germany all g 13th, 14th and 15th rpectively.What are the worst plac for LGBTQ+ travellers?Hungary, whose lg Fisz ernment has been warned prevly by the EU over anti-LGBTQ+ legislatn, me 30th.Poland, whose lol admistratns prevly tablished so-lled ‘LGBT ee zon’ unsurprisgly sr lowly at 44th. However, the Rsian ernment has already drawn ternatnal ire for s ‘Gay Propaganda law’ which, siarly to now-repealed Sectn 28 the UK, bans discsg homosexualy schools.Gay Pri paras are banned Rsia’s major ci and there are also reports of ‘gay-hunters’ attackg gay men the street.Meanwhile Turkey, Print Erdogan’s lg Jtice and Development party have been acced of g a nstutnal clse on g offence to stifle ee speech on LGBTQ+ issu. All Pri week activi were banned Istanbul, the untry's largt cy, this year.It has also been claimed that the Turkish ernment told Netflix to remove a gay character om one of their scripts or risk losg their license for filmg the untry.

Mt-vis LGBTIQ+ neighborhood: Gay Street, the queer neighborhood of Rome wh view of the Colossm, is a highly social 300-meter long pestrian street wh shoppg, bars and lodgg popular wh queer folx but primarily gay men who enjoy the opportuny to meet person rather than on hook-up aps.

Mt-vis LGBTIQ+ neighborhood: Soho is the largt and bt known LGBTIQ+ neighborhood London wh a huge ncentratn of bars and clubs though you’ll fd queer venu spanng the entire cy om the clubs Vxhall to east London’s gay bars. You’ll fd a number of monuments around the cy memoratg the many LGBTQ victims of WWII, wh the Schwul Mm documentg the art, culture and history of Berl’s homosexual muny, which was long centred , Nollendorfplatz is still the place to be if you’d like to see the cy’s bt fetish clubs and leather bars, wh September brgg wh the Folsom Europe BDSM and subculture ftival. The third natn to legalize gay marriage back 2005, Spa’s pal has sce bee a mol for other untri, wh s equaly acts allowg for same-sex adoptn, marriage and legal safeguards agast discrimatn.

Drawn through wh waterways and nnected by hundreds of photogenic bridg, Amsterdam is the cy of the cyclist, allowg for scenic ris along the Prsengracht nal and the Amstel River which both bee awash wh para boats durg the annual gay nal pri. At all other tim, you n fd Amsterdam’s gay scene centred on Reguliersdwarsstraat, particularly at the cy’s olst gay bar, Cafe t’ Mandje, a popular late-night meetg pot wh kschy dér datg back to the 1920s.

While explorg the cy, be sure to look for the Homomonument, a se promoted as a livg monument to homosexuals opprsed and persecuted around the world, also learng more of the cy’s LGBT history at the Pk Pot rmatn sk close by. This area surroundg Old Compton Street central London remas the go-to place for 21st century gays, nstantly transformatn wh queer-oriented theatr, fés, sex shops and bookstor on every street. Copenhagen, DenmarkWh Denmark beg one of the first European natns to legalize same-sex marriage 2012 (and same-sex unns back 1989), ’s pal of Copenhagen certaly has the crentials to be crowned gay pal of Europe.