Gay Friendly Plac Eastern Europe and How To Travel Safely

Contents:

• 9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE
• AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)
• 14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE
• THE MOST EXCG EUROPEAN CY FOR SGLE GAY TRAVELER - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM
• 40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS
• GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS

9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE

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.

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

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.

14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE

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. 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. As well as drkg outlets, mil theatre remas alive and well on London’s Wt End, wh gay mils and LGBTQ productns on the regular smaller venu and clubs such as Above The Stag.

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. To fd your people, head straight for La Marais, the only official gaybourhood of Paris which hosts the large majory of the cy’s gay bars, clubs, fés and LGBTQ bs.

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.

THE MOST EXCG EUROPEAN CY FOR SGLE GAY TRAVELER - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM

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. Certaly one of the bt gay statns Europe for s longstandg acceptance of same-sex unns (legal sce 1795) and same-sex marriage sce 2003, Bssels ntu to pursue equaly. 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.

40 BT GAY DTATNS WORLDWI, ACRDG TO TRAVELERS

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. 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.

GAY TRAVEL TOURS & TRIPS

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. 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.