Gay Dtatns Europe: Where to Celebrate Summer - misterb&b

Contents:

• GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI
• GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS
• 9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE
• GAY HOLIDAYS EUROPE
• AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)
• ALL GAY CISE CALENDAR:

GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI

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. 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.

The cy’s olst gay bar The Waterloo dat back half a century, while another classic spot is the Unrground bar, equally fun for drag or karaoke. 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.

GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS

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.

You might even be able to jo the Helski Homovaas (Helski Gay Invasn), whose purpose is to “shake up the gay scene” by takg over random straight bars. 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.

9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE

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). From glisteng swimmg pools Sat Tropez, to dreamy island rorts Ibiza and Sicily, give yourself the gift of travel and geo LGBTQ+ acmodatn wh a stay at one of the fab gay hotels.

The Axel Hotel cha has bee the poster child for geo gay acmodatn across the world, and wh the fabulo summer-spired ameni at Axel Madrid, this is THE place to be for summer 2022.

GAY HOLIDAYS EUROPE

Wh close proximy to Madrid’s happeng - and gay - Ch district, you n spend your days mglg wh the gay lols one of the area’s many bars, before retreatg for the afternoon on the hotel’s inic rooftop.

The boppg island hosts many gay ftivals over the summer, but if you’re lookg to take thgs a ltle slower and enjoy a slice of luxury while Mykonos, check to the geo Rochari Hotel. This relaxg, gay-male-only rort is loted jt 100 meters om the popular Playa Del Inglés Beach, and offers a munal terrace and swimmg pool - flatable unirn clud, enough said! What uld be better than loungg a summer day away on a dreamy gay beach along the Mederranean, or sippg a cktail wh lol gay guys a cy square well to the night?

While this pt-sized island may be bt known for s picturque archecture, dreamy beach, and idyllic lotn the Med, s evolvg gay scene is also startg to turn heads. That said, Lisbon out to play summer wh the cy practilly turng self upsi down wh gay parti, street life, and one credible Pri Para to boot. While Dubrovnik, and Croatia the ma, may not offer the same LGBTQ scene as that found other European gay statns like Barcelona or Berl, remas liberal enough to still enjoy a relaxg gaytn here.

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

In terms of top gay statns to vis summer, Gran Canaria is a ontnner, and s ma cy, Maspalomas will keep you entertataed om start to fish. Throughout the year, Maspalomas is host to many gay parti and events, and e Augt, you n enjoy Dunas Ftival - a five-day party offerg lavish pool parti, live DJs, and go-go dancers. Greece should be on everyone’s travel gaydar summer, and if you are lookg for an active gay scene upled wh dreamy beach and lively gay parti and ftivals, Mykonos is your solutn.

Even if most gay and lbian life is centered around the cy’s Eixample district, why not stead wele the warm season wh lol gays at one of Barcelona’s gay beach? Wh a long-standg reputatn as one of the world's most liberal ci, Amsterdam is a welg place for LGBT travellers, wh a host of gay-iendly tablishments jt wag to be explored.

ALL GAY CISE CALENDAR:

Wanr along picturque nals and admire the cy's distctive archecture before checkg out the btlg gay bars the Amstel and Kerkstraat areas, and along Regulliersdwarsstraat. Denmark was the first untry the world to legally regnise same-sex partnerships, so s edgy pal Copenhagen naturally ranks high on any list of gay-iendly statns.

Copenhagen is also home to the olst openly gay bar Europe, and has even named the space next to Cy Hall Tower 'Rabow Square' to honour the ongog battle for equal rights. The sun-drenched Greek island of Mykonos has long been a popular statn for LGBT travellers, so much so that the tourism dtry now largely revolv around a gay dience. There's plenty of gay-iendly acmodatn, bars and eatg plac around the island, as well as the famo Super Paradise Beach, a popular hang-out for gay and straight visors alike.

The Gay Village area around Canal Street is home to a great assortment of LGBT-iendly bars, rtrants and fés, and the annual Manchter Pri is one of the biggt celebratns of s kd the UK. If you're lookg for somethg a b more low-key, check out the cy's many gay-iendly fés, which are perfect for a spot of people-watchg, Sndavian-style.

Sunny Madrid is home to Europe's largt LGBT muny and biggt gay pri celebratn, the Madrid Orgullo, which ns for a week each July and draws around 2 ln visors. There's a thrivg gay scene the Schöneberg district, wh plenty of gay-iendly bars and other tablishments lg the streets around Motzstrasse, Fuggerstrasse and Nollendorfenplatz, not to mentn attractns such as the Schwul Mm – one of the world's most important mms dited to LGBT life and culture.

Pl, there are dozens of gay-iendly fés, bistros, bars and even LGBT-specific shops – enough to keep even the most enthiastic visor by for weeks.