14 gay-iendly ci that LGBT travellers love - Hostelworld Travel Blog

Contents:

• 9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE
• AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)
• 10 GAYT COUNTRI EUROPE
• 14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE
• GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI / GLBTQ+ FRIENDLY COUNTRI 2023
• A GAY UPLE RAN A RAL RTRANT PEACE. THEN NEW NEIGHBORS ARRIVED.
• ONE INTERRACIAL GAY COUPLE TRI TO TRAVEL FEARLSLY — AND SOMETIM FDS ACCEPTANCE SURPRISG PLAC

9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE

LuxembourgAdolphe Bridge Luxembourg CyNilas Enomou / NurPhoto via Getty Imag fileLuxembourg’s prime mister, Xavier Bettel, is one of only three openly gay heads of ernment the world. Nilas Enomou / NurPhoto via Getty Imag fileA new bridge beg built Belgium’s pal, Bssels, will be named after inic gay rights activist Suzan Daniel, who found the untry’s first LGBTQ associatn, acrdg to The Bssels Tim. 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.

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

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.

10 GAYT COUNTRI 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). On an afternoon Schöneberg, you’ll jo proud gay upl walkg the same historic streets where LGBTQ artists and activists once began the fight for gay rights, as early as the 1890s fact. 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.

As well as s progrsive lols and large gay muny, the cy self is a playground for gay travellers, most notably the Chue neighbourhood where there’s always some kd of event happeng. 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.

14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE

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. Though smaller events like World Aids Day and the EuroGam are celebrated throughout the year, the pnacle event for the gay muny mt be Copenhagen Pri, which actually happens twice a year both June and well as your ual dance clubs, Copenhagen go one better wh a selectn of sophistited gay spots near Cy Hall, while the alternative scene meets nearer Central Statn or Vterbro, the cy’s old Red Light District. Historilly speakg, Paris has always been a ltle queer, known rmally as the ‘Vice of Sodom’ the Middle Ag and havg legalised homosexualy as early as the French Revolutn back 1791.

GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI / GLBTQ+ FRIENDLY COUNTRI 2023

Paris | Photo: Charleen V 25hours Hotel Paris | Photo: The Gay PassportBis hostg the UK’s largt pri para, Manchter also hosts Queer Contact arts ftival, Drag Ft UK and Sparkle Ftival7.

Bis hostg the UK’s largt pri para, Manchter also hosts Queer Contact arts ftival, Drag Ft UK and Sparkle Ftival, wh more drag events and themed nights happeng nightly the Gay Village on Canal Street the cy’s bt gay bars, clubs and LGBTQ venu. Mgle good gay pany on Sat-Jaqu, fdg most of the nightlife actn on Marché Au Charbon, particularly the month of May when the narrow streets and sloped lan behd Grand Place fill wh revellers for an entire week of pri celebratns, culmatg on Saturday for Pri Day Bssels.

A GAY UPLE RAN A RAL RTRANT PEACE. THEN NEW NEIGHBORS ARRIVED.

Loted jt 60 mut by tra om London Cy, Brighton is the go-to weekend spot for gay Londoners lookg to relax bi the sea before gettg lost among like-md gents along the bbled lan of St.

Hostg 250, 000 people each year for s Pri ftival, Brighton remas a meltg-pot for gay culture year round, a trend started the 19th century when men om across the untry me to meet up wh soldiers statned here. Vis durg Febary to attend a number of LGBTQ History Month events held across the cy, otherwise tryg for Trans Pri and Ey Wi Open Ftival, or for regular performanc by the Gay Men’s Chos or edy nights at Bent Double. Each superblock offers a new theme, though the gay muny n ually be found around Eixample the LGBT district, meetg up at the cy’s bt gay bars, rtrants and a balny view or an al tapas spot for a lazy afternoon on the square, or otherwise make mov to the cy’s nearby beach statn of Sg, jt 30 mut away by tra.

Strip off gay pany on any of the three gay beach (clothg-optnal on Platja l’Home Mort and Playa las Balms) or enjoy some other thgs to do Sg, such as cktails and live mic Bassa Rodona town. Though Sg certaly has pri, ’s Barcelona cy centre wh the biggt store of events, cludg the ma pri para June, Bear Pri March, Circu Ftival Augt and the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Film Ftival October. 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.

ONE INTERRACIAL GAY COUPLE TRI TO TRAVEL FEARLSLY — AND SOMETIM FDS ACCEPTANCE SURPRISG PLAC

Germany’s history wh LGBTQ rights n be traced back to the late 1800s when Karl Herich Ulrichs, who was known as one of the first gay activists history, gave a speech advotg for homosexual rights. The biggt bety pageant for transgenr women, Miss Internatnal Queen, is held here every Air, ArgentaArgenta is a regnal trailblazer when to LGBTQ rights and the first untry Lat Ameri to legalize gay marriage 2010. Buenos Air Gay Pri is one of South Ameri’s biggt and livelit pri events, and Network360, a nference for LGBTQ members of the bs and tourism dtri, tak place wh ernment support every year Augt.

Same-sex marriage has been legal sce 2013, and LGBTQ people enjoy full adoptn rights this, TaiwanAsia isn’t known for beg acceptg of the LGBTQ muny or protectg s rights, but a handful of plac this part of the world are gay-iendly, most notably Taipei.

Gay Taiwan pageant and WOOW Pool Party are among other annual events that exemplify this cy’s Aviv, IsraelTel Aviv, Israel, is home to glor beach, memorable cuise, noteworthy archecture and vibrant art, culture and mic scen. 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 were the bt LGBTQ+ statns cid?

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 - remag Nordic untri, already famo for their high happs rankgs, are also high-ranked for their progrsive polics. 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 Pri paras are banned Rsia’s major ci and there are also reports of ‘gay-hunters’ attackg gay men the street. All Pri week activi were banned Istanbul, the untry's largt cy, this 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.

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. There’s also Café Gallery, the kd of warm and welg space that every cy needs, a gallery/fé/bar/club that accepts all typ of people, om gay to straight to trans, and om young to old. 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.