10 of Europe’s bt statns for LGBTQ+ travellers this Pri season | Gay and lbian travel | The Guardian

Contents:

• 40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS
• UNR THE ‘GAYDAR’: 10 BT GAYTN DTATNS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU
• THE WORLD’S 30 BT GAY-FRIENDLY TRAVEL DTATNS 2020
• THE WORLD'S MOST GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH CI AND RORTS
• 14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE
• LGBTQ TRAVEL & GAY HOLIDAYS
• GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS
• GAY HOLIDAYS? HERE ARE 19 AMAZG TOP DTATNS

40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS

For a wild time off the beaten path, Piñata PV Gay Hotel offers stic charm and clothg optnal pool Cy ns a close send, particularly for the electric gay nightlife loted at the heart of the cy Zona Rosa, the area’s official gayborhood (which also has some of the bt shoppg). Durg the day, you n take the sights via an all-gay tour of the pal cy and surroundg areas () — highlights clu Frida Kahlo’s “Blue Hoe, ” Chapultepec Castle, and nearby Teotihuan. See the famed Oxford Street gay district wh a private tour om The Fabulo Wonr Mama (@thefabulowonrmama), a wealth of knowledge and humor who also posss some of the biggt peaks this si of the Grand Beach is perfect for workg on your tan or takg a surfg lson.

UNR THE ‘GAYDAR’: 10 BT GAYTN DTATNS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU

Queer visors should head to Ibiza Town’s gay neighborhood, Calle la Virgen, wh s terraced rtrants and gay bars ial for fun tim, people watchg, and cisg for you’d rather not party like Paris Hilton but prefer to relax luxury and relative solu, leave behd Ibiza Town and head north to the Six Sens Rort. Most of the cy’s excg gay nightlife is Le Marais, cludg the well-known Le Raidd, Everyone lov stoppg by Raidd for sexy “shower shows” where you n tch a ltle risqué performance. Rambunct drag bnch rtrants like Hamburger Mary’s, evengs dancg at The Abbey, and pesg quirky ems at gay shops like Block Party WeHo are all classic experienc for LGBT travelers.

An epic gay rort statn, Torremolos is popular wh Spaniards and other southern Europeans, but gay travelers om other areas of the world typilly often don’t even know about ! While plenty of rorts wele diverse travelers, some really roll out the rabow rpets—whether they’re part of a gay-iendly brand; home to an out-and-proud LGBTQ+ staff; or part of a fabulo statn.

THE WORLD’S 30 BT GAY-FRIENDLY TRAVEL DTATNS 2020

The brand is a Gold Global Partner of the Internatnal Gay & Lbian Travel Associatn (IGLTA), and has been honored for more than a as one of the HRC’s annually ranked Bt Plac to Work for LGBTQ+ Equaly. Along wh Grand Palladium’s tramark ntemporary sign and range of on-se rtrants and entertament, gay and lbian guts n enjoy ameni like the Zentropia Spa & Wellns and s fully equipped gym, several pools and Jacuzzis, sports facili, and direct beach accs.

Photograph by Gianni Cipriano, RxTravelGay travelers n face unique challeng—but the clive statns are worth the ’s a great big world out there, and as gay fai ntue to grow number—about 3 ln children the Uned Stat have an LGBTQ parent—so do the list of plac welg them wh open global statns are even planng specific programs to take advantage of the growg gay fay travel market, says a recent study by the Internatnal LGBTQ+ Travel Associatn (IGLTA). Jt time, sce the vast majory of gay fai say a place’s perceived acceptance is “very important” choosg where to for good reason: More than 70 untri crimalize same-sex relatnships and anti-LGBTQ attus prevail many others. Mt-vis LGBTIQ+ neighborhood: The heart of gay Sydney is the Darlghurst neighborhood, which is nveniently loted near Sydney’s central bs district and is easily accsible by the cy’s mass trans system.

Mt-vis LGBTIQ+ neighborhood: The heart of Berl’s LGBTIQ+ activy is Schöneberg, which has had gay and lbian bars sce the 1920s, makg one of the olst gay boroughs on the pla.

THE WORLD'S MOST GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH CI AND RORTS

’Outsirs may thk of the old Conferate pal as a cy stuck s ways, but ltle do they know that Richmond, Virgia is anythg “g out” 2014, Richmond has emerged as the gay pal of the South. The Milwkee Gay Arts Center offers one-of-a-kd LGBTQ productns, and Walker’s Pot is settg self up to be the next big most renowned “gay statns, ” Santa Fe, New Mexi don’t have a go-to district like L. S., but ’s also home to North Carola’s annual Pri Ftival and the state’s Gay & Lbian Film if that’s not enough for North Carola, head wt to Asheville and fd an LGBTQ bohemian paradise smacked the Smoki.

Lolly known as the San Francis of the regn, the gay cultural landspe is vibrant, and the drag scene is easily among the bt the natn–jt watch “Kgs, Queens, and In-Betweens” cy is also a risg fashn mec, hog the third most fashn signers the untry, along wh retail giants like L Brands, Exprs, Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fch. ” It mt be somethg the over 140 gay-owned bs, rangg om B&Bs to bars to art galleri to cuty ice cream shops, the small neighborg towns of Sgatuck and Douglas are home to the largt gay rort the Midwt–and thanks to lol protectn of genr inty and sexual orientatn, you’ll be hard-prsed to fd anti-LGBTQ attus here.

14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE

The cy created the first gay and lbian muny center the untry, and ’s Albany that was home to one of the earlit transgenr groups datg back to the cy may not have the crazy, never-endg nightlife of NYC, and may not have the sheer numbers of NYC, but, for general “Queer Life, ” Albany ranks seventh the untry–not to shabby for a cy overshadowed by the Big LGBT muny and the Mormon church hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye. The Netherlands has long been known as one of the most progrsive and tolerant untri on Earth, and that mak s pal cy of Amsterdam an excellent choice of gay-iendly travel statn.

Though Amsterdam is not as large of a cy as some of s European neighbors, those hopg to experience all of the gay iendls has to offer won’t be disappoted bookg a hotel neighborhoods like Kerkstraat, Amstel, or Reguliersdwarsstraat. When you’re not loungg on the whe-sand beach or olg off the crystal clear turquoise waters for which Aba is so famo, be sure to grab a drk or two at Jimmy’s Place, one of Oranjtad’s most famo gay bars. Ined, the Curao Tourist Board has published on s webse: “Wh exceptnal gay iendly hotels and attractns, [Curao] enurag gay and lbian travelers to vis the island and experience s ‘live and let live’ atmosphere for themselv.

Elia Beach is pecially popular amongst Mykonos’s gay muny, as is Jackie O’Beach, a by beachsi bar plete wh a pool, hot tubs, daily drag show, and even a private church for weddgs. Travelers terted seeg some breathtakg natural scenery will have their pick of erary optns, and wh nearly 100 gay-owned home stays throughout the North and South islands, their pick of plac to stay, too.

LGBTQ TRAVEL & GAY HOLIDAYS

” That is, of urse, referrg to San Juan, where travelers will fd the Eros club and the Atlantic Beach Hotel and Bar, which is set on a gay beach and hosts a weekly drag show).

R has a lot to offer the LGBTQ traveler, so ’s not surprisg that this vibrant Brazilian cy nsistently ranks as one of the most popular gay-iendly travel statns the world. Although urban statns tend to be most popular wh gay travelers bee of their rich cultural offergs, vibrant nightlife districts, and chic shoppg and dg, a number of the world's most gay-popular ci also enjoy picturque settgs on the water. From megaci wh skyscrapers on the ocean to relatively smaller statns on tranquil bays and lak, here's a ndown of the world's 20 bt gay urban beach statns (populatn 150, 000 or greater).

GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS

Wh outstandg mms, distctive archecture (cludg several treasur by Antoni Gdi) a lively gay nightlife scene centered mostly around the sophistited Eixample district, and an abundance of stylish rtrants and hotels, Barcelona is a terrific statn for urban, yet there's a sweepg and betiful gay beach, Barceloa, jt mut om the cy center. It's jt a short drive south along the ast to vis some of the Southern Hemisphere's most betiful beach, cludg swank Camp Bay, which li the shadows of the Twelve Apostle mountas, and Clifton, which has a scene-y gay beach. And as 's set on the eastern shore of Zealand Island, on Ørund (a stra that divis the North and Baltic seas), Copenhagen is close to a number of priste, wdswept stretch of sand, cludg such gay hangouts as Bellevue and Ishøj beach.

GAY HOLIDAYS? HERE ARE 19 AMAZG TOP DTATNS

For many years known primarily as Florida's "sprg break" pal, Fort Lrdale began an amb transformatn to a more sophistited rort statn startg around the early 1990s, which cid wh efforts to urt gay and lbian travelers.

One of the world's leadg gay and lbian statns, Los Angel is much more than a sgle metropolis - rather, 's an entire llectn of both sprawlg and many s scenic neighborhoods and adjacent ci. Here and funky Venice Beach, to the south, you'll fd que a few rtrants, hotels, and bars wh a mixed gay/straight followg, along wh one of the Wt's classic gay dive bars, Roosterfish.

The regn has been eclipsed by nearby Fort Lrdale recent year's as the state's top gay statn, but you'll still fd plenty of gays and lbians livg and playg the parts - and visg durg the several big gay circu parti held South Beach each year, om Wter Party to Whe Party to Miami Gay Pri. The largt cy on the famoly swank and sophistited French Riviera, Nice (populatn 350, 000) is not que a gay playground on the same plane as such Euro-queer hot spots as Ibiza and Mykonos, but this stylish cy wh an outstandg variety of tony rtrants and shops do have a growg gay prence (this is also te, by the way, of nearby Cann, which is smaller but also is beg creasgly popular wh gay travelers).