Updated: 11/24/20 | November 24th, 2020

I’ve added an LGBTQ column to the web site to make it a lot more inclusive and talk about issues that affect some members of our community. In this column, we hear from voices in the LGBTQ community about their experiences on the road, safety tips, events, and overall recommendations for other LGBTQ travelers. Returning this month is our column leader, Adam from travelsofadam.com. 

The terrific thing about travel today is that a lot more of the world is easily accessible and open — no matter your sexuality or gender identity. While there have been ups and downs in the political movement for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) equality, major cities still supply the safest and friendliest spots for members of these communities.

I’ve been traveling around the world considering that 2009 and have checked out some of the world’s a lot of popular LGBTQ-friendly destinations along the way. I’ve marched and danced in Gay pride parades from Sydney to Stockholm and been to a lot more queer music festivals than I ever even thought of existed. and as the Orlando Pulse shooting reminded us, clubs are still crucial places to find culture and community.

Many cities really strut their LGBTQ history and queer identity. using some of my favorite LGBTQ travel resources, I’ve compiled this list of 12 terrific gay-friendly destinations. There are, of course, lots of a lot more such hot spots around the world, but these are my favorites because of their history of activism, the number of diverse LGBTQ events they host, and the fact that they’re just really amazing cities.

If you’re a gay, lesbian, bi, trans, or queer traveler trying to find a city that has it all, check out one of these:

1. new York City

New York City is one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the world — and there’s no denying it’s a special place for queer people. It’s the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement, which began in 1969 when the Stonewall Inn was (again) raided by police, and the crowd inside and out rebelled and rioted. located in the West village (part of Greenwich Village), the Stonewall still operates as a bar and club today and was recognized as a national historic landmark, with a plaque and statue honoring its history.

Greenwich village is home to many other LGBTQ venues. While it’s easy and satisfying enough to wander the area on your own, there are several guided excursions that mingle the history and present, including the long-running and popular Oscar Wilde Tours.

Besides the Stonewall, other village gay clubs and hangouts are Julius’ Bar (serving low-cost but tasty bar food), the site of Mattachine society events in the past and present; and Pieces, known for its legendary drag performances.

There are also LGBTQ scenes scattered around the city, with lots of bars located in Hell’s kitchen (near Broadway), Chelsea, and the east Village, as well as other boroughs, including in Astoria (Queens) and Williamsburg (Brooklyn).

Organizations that frequently host LGBTQ special events include the gender-neutral clothing store and event space The Phluid Project, the Leslie Lohman museum of Art, and the city’s LGBTQ community Center. look for LGBTQ events, news, and special things to see and do in the city’s gay newspaper, Metrosource.

When to visit: June is national pride Month in the United States, and nyc hosts the nation’s largest pride event, always during the last weekend of June. Millions of visitors flock to the city for a parade that weaves through Manhattan (always passing by the famous Stonewall Inn) and ends with an outdoor music festival on one of the city piers. Halloween is also an equally queer-friendly time to check out new York City, because there’s a enormous Halloween parade that marches through Greenwich Village. For motion picture lovers, the NewFest queer film festival takes place in October.

2. Berlin

Germany’s capital has a special place in gay history. In the 1920s Weimar era, it was one of Europe’s a lot of liberal cities — home to gaudy cabaret and the site of one of the first gay villages. Today, Berlin’s free-spirited attitude has propelled it to the top of lots of “best of” lists thanks to 24-hour nightlife, a burgeoning art and food scene, and a diverse, international population.

Historically, the gay center of Berlin was around Nollendorfplatz in Schöneberg, an area still popular for its fetish clubs and leather bars, not to mention the legendary Folsom Europe street party each September and a gay history museum. but in today’s Berlin, the new hot spots are found throughout the Kreuzberg and Neukölln neighborhoods, in indie bars and clubs such as SchwuZ, SilverFuture, or Tristeza — all popular spots for drag shows.

Berlin’s legendary nightlife shines through queer parties that are increasingly not just for LGBTQ people — everything from the techno-fueled weekends at Berghain to KitKat Club’s open and accepting fetish atmosphere.

When to visit: check out Berlin during the summer, when the city comes alive with many festivals, open-air parties, and queer events. The annual Christopher street Day parade (Gay Pride) is celebrated by hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists each July.

3. Manchester

While London still holds an crucial place in the UK’s LGBTQ scene, Manchester plays host to a number of the greatest and best queer events in the country. once the home to famous gay hero Alan Turing, Manchester became internationally popular thanks to the 1990s TV series Queer as folk set in and around the city’s gay neighborhood, Canal Street.

Today, Canal street is still filled with bars, clubs, and other gay-owned services — from the pretty and glitzy Richmond Tea rooms to popular nightclubs like G-A-Y and by means of Manchester. The city’s northern Quarter, with its trendy bars, underground rock clubs, and small indie art galleries, has also become a queer-friendly hot spot a little additionally removed from the twinky, tank top–filled Canal Street.

When to visit: Manchester pride each September is the UK’s largest, but other queer events happen year-round, such as the trans-focused sparkle festival in July and the Queer contact arts and theater festival each February.

4. Dallas

Maybe it’s not the first LGBTQ-friendly place you think of in the United States, but Dallas, Texas, has become a hot spot in the past decade. The Oak lawn neighborhood is the epicenter of queer culture there, with lots of gay bars and LGBTQ-owned services on Cedar Springs Road, as well as in the nearby Bishop Arts District.

Legendary nightlife venues like station 4 and the Round-Up Saloon attract big crowds each weekend with their drag shows, square dancing, and other special events. and for those trying to find slightly a lot more offbeat travel adventures, the nearby Wildcatter Ranch is a gay-friendly cowboy resort.

The city of Fort worth (just a 35-minute drive from Dallas if you get really lucky with traffic) is also home to a handful of LGBTQ bars and venues, though without the distinct “gayborhood” you’ll find in Dallas.

When to visit: Dallas pride takes place each September, but the Oak lawn neighborhood also comes alive, full of color and costumes, each Halloween for the annual Oak lawn Halloween block Party.

5. Los Angeles

With its seemingly limitless warm weather, sunshine, and thoroughly manicured population, Los Angeles has been one of the United States’ a lot of gay-friendly cities for a long time. So much so that considering that 1969 there’s been an LGBT center in the city that now boasts it serves a lot more queer people than any other organization in the world. You’ll also find the ONE Archives foundation here, tasked with recording LGBTQ history by preserving historical artifacts, publications, and testimonies.

Then there’s the nightlife, including West Hollywood’s gay clubs and bars, such as crowd favorites The Abbey and Rocco’s. Besides the “gay ghetto” of “WeHo,” Silver Lake is also a popular hot spot. There you’ll find The Black Cat, site of the first documented LGBTQ civil rights demonstration in the us and now a popular brunch hangout. For nightlife in Silver Lake, AKBAR draws the bearded hipster crowd with its small dance parties.

When to visit: The LA pride music festival and Parade takes place each June in West Hollywood, with hundreds of thousands of spectators. but if summertime is too hot, the greatest gay party of the year is the complimentary Halloween Carnival, a street party on Santa Monica Boulevard.

6. Tel Aviv

One of the middle East’s a lot of lively and welcoming cities, Tel Aviv has fashioned itself into a popular LGBTQ travel destination, especially during the summertime. Tel Aviv pride is popular for Europeans and Americans, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each June with beach parties, street fairs, and an inclusive parade with celebrity attendees. The Tel Aviv Municipal LGBTQ Center, located in Meir Park, hosts small community events for locals (occasionally in international languages as well).

Hilton beach is the city’s primary gay beach, with men (and occasionally women) spending their days playing beach volleyball or the local favorite sport maktot (a beach version of tennis or ping pong). nearby Frishman beach and all the beachside restaurants, bars, and cafés are very welcoming.

Just down the street from Tel Aviv’s greatest vacationer attraction, the Carmel Market (Shuk HaCarmel), is the popular LGBTQ bar and café Shpagat. operating as a café and small restaurant by day, it turns into a lively bar terrific for dates or occasional dancing (often spilling out onto the sidewalk in front) at night. other bar and nightlife venues include Lima Lima Bar (with a great outdoor space), the hipster Kuli Alma art and club space, and Uganda Bar (which used to be located in Jerusalem).

When to visit: With its party beaches, excellent culinary sceNe e Rich History, Tel Aviv è una delle città più calde del Medio Oriente e, di conseguenza, è spesso una destinazione estiva. Tel Aviv Pride si svolge a metà giugno ogni anno ed è senza dubbio il periodo più gay dell’anno da visitare, ma molte altre attrazioni della città, clima temperato ed eventi LGBTQ occasionali rendono la pena fare il check-out anche in primavera e in autunno. Sii consapevole delle vacanze alte ebraiche (a settembre) e delle vacanze primaverili, che incidono sugli orari di apertura e l’accesso ai trasporti.

7. Buenos Aires

L’Argentina è stato il primo paese sudamericano a legalizzare il matrimonio tra persone dello stesso sesso e i diritti di adozione, mettendo il paese in prima linea nell’uguaglianza LGBTQ considerando che il 2010. Il capitale Buenos Aires ha beneficiato, con una grande e strana cultura strana.

Le aree di Recoleta, Palermo e San Telmo sono dove troverai la più grande concentrazione di bar gay e vita notturna. Palermo, con bar alla moda, caffè, negozi e ristoranti nel suo distretto di Soho, usa molte cose straordinarie per vedere e fare – dal Pop latino e trascina al Jolie Club (Fiesta Jolie) ogni mercoledì al video bar Peuteo Palermo in Soho.

La comunità gay di Buenos Aires è relativamente fuori e aperta, ma la cultura è molto più repressa rispetto ad altre destinazioni gay esagerate. Ma troverai ancora la vita LGBTQ abbastanza ben integrata nella società, con molti bar e club tango anche usando lezioni queer tango e serate di danza.

Quando visitare: Buenos Aires Pride si svolge a novembre, all’inizio della stagione estiva dell’emisfero meridionale.

8. Bangkok

Un favorito di lunga data per i turisti LGBTQ, Bangkok ha molto da offrire, rendendolo una delle destinazioni gay popolari dell’Asia. La divertente e amichevole scena gay è incentrata sul quartiere di Silom, in particolare le strade conosciute come Soi 2 e Soi 4.

La migliore vita notturna gay di Bangkok è alla stazione DJ ogni fine settimana, in particolare le mostre di trascinamento di mezzanotte ogni venerdì. Telephone Pub su SOI 4 funge da ritrovo prima serata con spettacoli di trascinamento e cibo da pub, mentre G.O.D. (Ragazzi in mostra) Disegna la folla dopo ora quando tutti gli altri bar gay si chiudono per la notte (quindi è meglio dopo le 2 del mattino). Inoltre, cerca eventi gay negli hotel di lusso di Bangkok come The Sofitel So, che organizza normali feste gay sul suo bar sul tetto e sulla piscina.

Mentre la Thailandia non ha riconosciuto molti diritti LGBTQ, molti turisti troveranno la città sorprendentemente aperta. (Nell’estate 2020, tuttavia, è stato introdotto un disegno di legge per legalizzare il matrimonio tra persone dello stesso sesso.) E mentre troverai alcuni squallidi club di sesso in tutta la città, le leggendarie scene di shopping e culinarie di Bangkok lo rendono altrettanto interessante per i viaggiatori con molti più esigenti gusti.

Quando visitare: uno dei più grandi e migliori eventi a Bangkok è l’annuale Songkran Water Festival di aprile, con il più grande partito del circuito, chiamato Gcircuit, in Silom – con tutte le trappole di ogni altro partito internazionale (pensa: persone hunky senza camicia e un sacco di musica elettronica che infuria giorno e notte).

9. Stoccolma

Famoso per gli inverni freddi, le estati soleggiate e la tendenza degli svedesi tutto l’anno, Stoccolma ha un eclettico mix di arte, moda, cultura e design – e una delle migliori scene strane della Scandinavia. La Svezia è anche uno dei paesi più progressisti del mondo quando riguarda i diritti di queer e delle donne.

La scena gay è diffusa in tutta la città. Dal rilassante caffetteria Chokladkoppen (con bandiere arcobaleno davanti) al museo kitsch Abba, c’è qualcosa per tutti. Aperto solo durante i mesi estivi, il ristorante Mälarpaviljongen (situato su un set di banchini galleggianti) ospita una serie di eventi LGBTQ, raccolte di fondi e feste.

Quando visitare: l’orgoglio di Stoccolma ogni agosto è il più grande evento gay dell’anno, con grandi atti musicali, feste e seminari pubblici su tutto, dalla formazione fetish ai diritti umani.

10. Madrid

La Spagna ha una lunga storia come paese accettante ed è in genere considerata una delle più gay-friendly al mondo. Gran parte della letteratura, del film e della cultura spagnolo include riferimenti alla vita queer d