9 Most Gay-Friendly Countri In Europe | TravelAwas

Contents:

• GAY SPA - OUR 6 FAVOURE PLAC TO EXPERIENCE LGBT SPA
• GAY ZARAGOZA, SPA | THE ESSENTIAL LGBT TRAVEL GUI!
• THE WORLD'S MOST GAY-FRIENDLY BEACH CI AND RORTS
• 9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE
• GAY BARCELONA: OUR GUI TO THE BT LGBTQ SPOTS THE CY

GAY SPA - OUR 6 FAVOURE PLAC TO EXPERIENCE LGBT SPA

The Catalan pal is home to the origal Axel Hotel, which opened s doors 2003 and proclaimed self the first gay hotel cha not only Barcelona but also Spa and even Europe.

Wh warm weather, betiful beach and an energetic gay nightlife scene that rivals major ci 100 tim s size – Torremolos is the perfect place to party or enjoy a beach vatn. In the summer months, the gays go shg to this seasi town pecially durg their annual events like Torremolos Pri, Mad Bear Beach Weekend, Delice Dream and Wonr Beach Ftival. Also loted at the gay beach is a great rtrant and bar lled Chirgay where you n enjoy an credible va sangria or lunch while takg the geo views of all the guys tanng on the beach.

One of the bt thgs about Madrid Pri isn’t jt s immense size but also how the celebratn brgs everyone together, gay and straight and everyone else on the spectm. As if Madrid’s extravagant pri event isn’t reason enough to vis, there are also plenty of annual gay parti throughout the year cludg the WE Party Ftival, which hosts multiple parti over a week’s perd Madrid durg New Year's and gay pri.

GAY ZARAGOZA, SPA | THE ESSENTIAL LGBT TRAVEL GUI!

Wily looked upon as a mol natn for gay rights Europe ( 2013 the Pew Rearch Center ranked Spa as the most gay-iendly untry the world, ) Spa ntu to ph the envelope for equaly and tolerance, wh laws place to protect same-sex marriage, adoptn, and transgenr rights.

Add to the mix some of the world’s largt, most wildly fun Pri Ftivals and a rich cultural history that liv on the passnate, diverse untry today, and you’ve got all the makgs for an epic gay Spa getaway that will quickly have you returng for more. Gay BarcelonaAh, Barcelona—easily gay Spa’s most veted statn, a cultural playground of archectural masterpiec, world-class Catalan cuise and sweepg whe sand beach. A smopolan cy wh distct, laid-back Mederranean vib, Barcelona promot an atmosphere of tolerance and diversy, of which perhaps the bt example is Catalonia’s landmark Anti-Homophobia Act.

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

A geo gay Barcelona getaway n be had anywhere the cy, but the ever-popular Eixample neighbourhood—also known as Gayxample—is the epicentre of the cy’s most sought-after gay-popular tablishments. Photo: EnBarcelona promot an atmosphere of tolerance and diversy, of which perhaps the bt example is Catalonia’s landmark Anti-Homophobia ActWe wouldn’t blame you for makg a beele straight to Barcelona’s 4.

9 MOST GAY-FRIENDLY COUNTRI IN EUROPE

) Due to their central lotn, the gay Barcelona beach always attract a crowd, but that also means there are plenty of handsome, sun-kissed men around, too. Be sure to stop by Chirguo BeGay while you’re there, a gay Barcelona stutn servg up lic drks and beach a gay party not soon fotten, time your vis to Barcelona over one of s world-renowned ftivals.

Every Augt, some 100, 000 people scend on Barcelona for Europe’s largt gay ftival and ten days of rto good tim punctuated by themed dance parti and epic DJs. Then there’s TWO Hotel and Axel Hotel, both sleek gay acmodatns that promise a warm, welg atmosphere wh plenty of opportuni for mglg wh like-md travellers.

GAY BARCELONA: OUR GUI TO THE BT LGBTQ SPOTS THE CY

It’s all very elegant wh jt the right dose of bchery, showsg why Sg is one of Europe’s most sought-after gay holiday statns; the Spanish Tourism Board is an excellent place to start planng your Sg erary. The heart of Sg gay district is Old Town, specifilly along Calle Montroig, but Sg’ notoriety as gay Spa’s premier retreat means the entire town is hugely to gay beach, Sg don’t disappot. Every summer, Sg hosts a rivetg Pri Ftival, wh other notable gay events cludg Europe’s largt Bear ftival and a gay-popular luxur acmodatn the heart of gay Sg, Hotel Casa Vilella offers stately rooms and sweepg Mederranean views.

Photo: Florian WehMadrid is the beatg heart of gay Spa, arguably one of the world’s most gay-iendly ciStart your exploratn of gay Madrid Chue Square, easily distguishable by the plethora of billowg rabow flags that rate most tablishments. For a full list of our favoure spots Chue, don’t miss our -pth gay Madrid Cy keepg wh Spaniards’ satiable appete for stylish nightlife venu, Madrid offers snazzy gay hnts of all styl and siz.

A refurbished cema turned ntemporary gay club, Marta, riño, promis strong imbibements crafted by equally toxitg staff a unique, always lively atmosphere. That said, like most gay Spa nightlife, ’s bt to arrive after Mary Rebec EllttRoom Mate Osr Hotel might not be an official gay hotel, but s central lotn Chue mak an uber-popular optn wh the LGBT muny. Room Mate Osr Room Mate Osr Room Mate OsrGay Ibiza is what you make of —wildly fun wh a smopolan edge and home to azure waters, swaths of protected terra, and stunng whe sand beach4.

A large variety of mouthwaterg mocktails mak this a particularly unique optn for those cled to absta for an Purple Hotel is Ibiza’s premier gay adults-only hotel, an elegant way to experience the bt of Ibiza’s gay scene whout sacrificg style the procs. Gay ValenciaValencia might not be the first statn to e to md when you thk of gay Spa, but jt a few days the untry’s third-largt cy may very well change that.

Home to a burgeong gay scene full of flourishg gay bars, fashnable gay travellers and, of urse, a distguished Pri Ftival, Valencia has all the buildg blocks of a fascatg gay getaway—not to mentn s strikg futuristic archecture, vibrant Old Town, nt regnal cuise, and dazzlg goln sand Madrid and Barcelona, Valencia don’t have a distct gayborhood. Photo: Willian Jten VasncellosCafe las Horas is a verable stunner, drippg wh glterg chanliers and chic Parisian fluencValencia gay nightlife is synonymo wh The Me, one of the cy’s premier gay bars. We also love Trapezz Gay-Friendly Cafe for s expansive terrace and ultra-iendly Botani Hotel Boutique is an enchantg art hotel ntled the heart of the gay-popular Carmen district.

Caro Hotel Photo: John Fornanr Caro HotelOnce a sleepy fishg village, today Benidorm is a lively gay astal retreat idyllilly suated Spa’s Alinte regn6.

Another famo gay beach is Ra Conill, a sheltered ltle spot that, due to the secln, also attracts Maxiian PazakWh some 50 gay bars and clubs, attemptg to list all Benidorm’s top nightlife spots seems an effort futily. Ci across the globe were ranked on five creria; gay x ratg, equaly x ratg, their reads for gay pri events, if the untry was a member of the Uned Natns LBGTI Core Group, and if the cy had a gay village. 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.

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.

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). This popular LGBT statn is home to dozens of gay bars, rtrants, shops, and clubs suated si-by-si two large mercial centers Playa l Inglés and the town of Maspalomas, the settg of the most well known and photographed beach on the Islands. From Augt 14-19 Gran Canaria celebrat one of s signature events, Dunas Ftival, a gay culture week plete wh theme nights, pool parti, shows, boat cis, exhibns, and excursns.