Gay only guthoe, hotel and rort

Contents:

• GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI
• TOP 10 GAY AND LBIAN VATNS EUROPE
• 6 OF THE TOP GAY-IENDLY RORTS AROUND THE WORLD
• THE WORLD'S BT GAY TRAVEL GUI

GAY EUROPE TRAVEL GUI

Some rpe uld be found trawlg through the listgs Gay Tim for gay-owned hotels and B&Bs. 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.

Two years later, Leo Varadkar was elected taoiseach, beg the world’s fourth openly gay head of ernment. 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.

TOP 10 GAY AND LBIAN VATNS EUROPE

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. The season’s big gay dance ftival is XLSIOR, attend by about 30, 000 people (17-24 Augt)HelskiA Pri gatherg at Helski Cathedral.

6 OF THE TOP GAY-IENDLY RORTS AROUND THE WORLD

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.

THE WORLD'S BT GAY TRAVEL GUI

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). 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.

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. Pri is sponsored part by the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchter – the brand is known for offerg gay-iendly hotels statns across Europe.

The Swedish pal is also known for s laid-back, tolerant culture, so 's hardly surprisg there's a boomg gay scene here. Stockholm Pri attracts lns of spectators each year, and there are plenty of gay-iendly bars, clubs and rtrants the downtown district. 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.