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

Contents:

• UNR THE ‘GAYDAR’: 10 BT GAYTN DTATNS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU
• 40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS
• THE WORLD’S 30 BT GAY-FRIENDLY TRAVEL DTATNS 2020
• LGBT TRAVEL IAS: TOP 12 GAY FRIENDLY CI
• THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023
• 14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE
• GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS
• GAY USA

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

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.

40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS

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. 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). 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.

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.

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

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.

LGBT TRAVEL IAS: TOP 12 GAY FRIENDLY CI

Walk the cliffs outsi Bondi Beach and Manley, where at least 80 gay men were killed the latter portn of the last Queensland the Great Barrier Reef may be the most famo tourist statn, but the state is also home to Datree Rart. The Gay Village’s Rue Sate-Cathere, be a walkg promena durg most summer months and the queers have bted out of the neighborhood, spillg to the surroundg historic district wh addnal LGBTQ-owned shops, spas, and the banks of the Great Lak, Toronto is said to hold the tle for the most diverse metropolis the world, where 230 natnali are reprented and the rints speak over 140 languag. Calgary is also known for s wboys, and the cy hosts the world’s largt gay roo associatn, so visors may be surprised at s metropolan neighborhoods and shocked ’s home to the biggt queer Canadian nightclub wt of Montreal, Twisted Element.

The largt Pri celebratn wtern Canada is held Vanuver every Your Se ArticlLGBTQ+ Travel Safety Inx: 150 Countri Ranked Worst to Bt ›The 10 Bt LGBTQ-Inclive Plac to Vis In 2022 ›Europe's 10 Most Romantic Capals Ranked ›What to Do In Alberta, Canada ›Joey Amato’s Gay Gui to South Ai ›. 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.

THE 8 TOP GAY CIS FOR 2023

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. You will fd them all here Puerto are the plac you should not beach at Banras Bay, Sayula the surfer’s Mec, the daily actn at Playa Los Muertos, The Blue Chairs Rort, the Mantamar beach club, Lido Beach club, the gay village of Yelapa wh boats om Los Muertos Pier and even a gay bar-hoppg tour are a mt-vis. This sun-drenched sert metropolis belongs to many cludg Hollywood A-listers, mid-century sign fanatics and gay male sun seekers, but for one week annually the cy turns Sapphic as party promoters Club Skirts turn the town to a nonstop party and mic ft that is bar none the largt gatherg of lbians the Uned Stat and has attracted the lik of Lea DeLaria and Lady Gaga among others.

This sunny cy by the sea is hardly Brazil’s biggt (that distctn belongs to São Plo), but LGBT Carns dance to the beat of their own Samba-fed rhythm day and night pecially at Farme Amoedo, an vg stretch of gay beach Ipanema. One of the most eloquent and provotive queer wrers of all time, Amerin novelist turned expat Jam Baldw left que a footprt on gay Paree and visors to the Cy of Lights who trace his steps n take numero legendary hnts cludg fé L Dx Magots, Café Tournon, Le Select, Brasserie Lipp, Le Montana, and Café Flore among others.

More than twenty-five years later (and still not sanctned by Disney) draws together an timated 150, 000 people for a week-long gatherg that clus pool parti, A Taste of Gay Days, and Miss Gay Days Pageant and is beloved by both a party crowd and same-sex fai. The Dutch pal is servg of s reputatn as a breezy and tolerant mec for people of all kds as evinced by s tolerance for sexual pleasure and dg e, but between cisg the nals and the bars, save a moment for reflectn at the Homomonument, a nal si tr of triangl that memorat people who have been persecuted due to beg LGBTQIA.

14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE

Between gay karaoke and go-go bars, 24 hour snas, sweaty nightclubs, and iendly (wk, wk) massage parlors, rowdy Bangkok is Southeast Asia’s undisputed queer pal and famo among nightlife offergs are ladyboy barets which transgenr women (katoey Thai) perform genr illns to the tun of popular gay divas. As travel on the high seas ntu to bounce back om the COVID-19 panmic, gay and lbian travelers should nsir settg sail on a fun-filled cise vatn as their next planng a cise, vatners should first nsir what their ial sailg looks like. This le gets the stamp of approval om prev LGBTQ cisers, who praise the ships' genr-ntral bathrooms, onboard shows wh rint drag queens and diverse Voyag offers gay-specific sailgs through travel pani like Atlantis Events, but s more mastream erari still offer a welg, clive atmosphere that attracts LGBTQ cisers year-round.

For s all-gay cis, Atlantis charters megaships om popular l like Royal Caribbean Internatnal and Norwegian Cise Le, so cisers will have a fully immersive board, travelers n enjoy all the perks the megaships have to offer (thk: pools, hot tubs, sports urts and plenty of dg choic), pl special events like drag performanc, motivatnal speakers, LGBTQ movi on mand each b and high-energy circu parti across the ship. Private travel pani like VACAYA also charter Celebry ships for all-gay voyag throughout the (Getty Imag)Specifilly marketed toward lbians and LGBTQ women, Olivia has hosted more than 350, 000 travelers by land and sea over almost five s. Outsi of the sailg experience, Royal Caribbean has also publicly mted to support the LGBTQ muny throughout the year, and was the first cise le to earn the tle "Gay Traveler Approved" om GayTravel 2023, nsir a Royal Caribbean voyage that sails to gay-iendly statns.

Prev cisers had high praise for the erari – which exclively vis gay-iendly lotns – as well as the uy cktails, themed nights (stum strongly enuraged), glamouro entertament, and unique events like drag bgo and high heel Demence sails every summer to statns like Rome; Athens and Mykonos, Greece; Kotor, Montenegro; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and more. There are great queer bars such as SilverFuture Nkölln and Faccla Krzberg, both wh their flare and social atmospher that make them great plac for tourists, whilst mega techno clubs and parti (what gui to gay Berl uldn’t clu Bergha?! The right to change legal genr has been place sce 2012 and anti-discrimatn laws are full force Rosar and the big pal cy, Buenos love Buenos Air bee has one of the bt gay scen across Lat Ameri, which is heavily supported by the ernment, particular Augt when has s BADiversa week every Augt.

GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS

From the 1960s, tourism really started to take off, attractg more and more foreigners and therefore even more tolerant love Gran Canaria bee there is a massive gay scene at Maspalomas and Playa l Ingl the southern part of the island. Gran Canaria also has several gay pri ftivals happeng throughout the year such as the Maspalomas Fetish Week October, Maspalomas Wter Pri November, Carnivals Febary (both Maspalomas and Las Palmas), Maspalomas Gay Pri May and fally numero bear parti October and another of our favoure experienc Gran Canaria was takg a boat trip (n by Canarias Gay) wh iends to the remote beach lled Gui Gui. Therefore, public displays of affectn (PDAs) and topics like sex and sexualy are thgs Japane do not talk about, though genr norms are more fluid Japan than elsewhere the LGBT people Japan are jt ‘gay for the weekend’ and often even have a ‘normal’ fay durg the rt of the week.

GAY USA

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.

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”.