Top 10 Gay Friendly Destinations

After reading the title to this post, you might be saying to yourself, “not another Top 10 List telling me about the same old places to go on holiday” and if you do, you are partially right. It is a Top 10 Gay Friendly Destinations list which isn’t like the rest. We didn’t fill it with sunny beach resorts with pool side bars designed to make you forget your holiday and leave you wondering where the points of interest were and if you indeed missed them.

Our Top 10 list of gay friendly destinations offers much more for travelers and feature destinations that offer fun, sights and history. Read along and see where you might like to go next.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark makes our list because it made history in 1998 by becoming the first nation in the world to recognise registered same-sex partnerships. Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, is home to Europe’s oldest openly gay bar, Centralhjornet. With its origins dating back to the 1950s, it is also a big part of the hip district of Vesterbro in the city’s red-light district. Copenhagen is one of the most tolerant and gay-friendly communities in Europe with boutique accommodations and a variety of LGBT events held every year.

New Zealand

The first nation to adopt the label of “gay/lesbian friendly” when referring to businesses and accommodation, New Zealand offers a network of gay- and lesbian-friendly homestays which run throughout the country. New Zealand passed same sex marriage laws in 2013 and has actively promoted same-sex marriage tourism to other countries whose laws are less progressive.

Toronto, Canada

Toronto is one of the most advanced and progressive nations in North America for the LGBT community. The Village, located in Church-Wellesley, is the cultural hub of the city, with galleries, theatres and a variety of gay-friendly businesses. Toronto is home to many gay friendly events such as Pride Week Celebrations, Pride March and Dyke March.

Palm Springs, US

Palm Springs offers the LGBT traveler a variety of outdoor activities, exceptional shopping and dining and some relaxing poolside lounging. It also offers the largest volume of male and female-only accommodations anywhere with one of the longest running clothing-optional gay resorts in Palm Springs is the Fifties-style Escape Resort for men and the Spanish colonial-inspired Casita Laquita for the ladies.

Sitges, Spain

Home to Spain’s first-ever gay disco, Sitges is one of Europe’s “Big Four” destinations for the LGBT traveler. With a variety of sandy, clothing-optional beaches and a gay friendly calendar of events, there is always something to do in Sitges.

Berlin, Germany

Berlin’s gay history dates back to the golden age of the 1920s and with districts of Schoneberg (which hosts Gay Pride), Kreuzberg and Prenzlauerberg offering a variety of gay friendly clubs, bars and restaurants, it’s no surprise that Berlin made our Top 10. Berlin also has a no “closing time” meaning the parties can often go late into the night.

Skiathos and Mykonos, Greece

The Greek island of Mykonos has been popular in the gay community since the 1970s. With their relaxed atmosphere, warm Mediterranean sun and LGBT appeal, Mykonos and Skiathos offer an exceptional holiday. Book a stay at the Elysium Hotel, an exclusively gay boutique hotel, while in Mykonos and make Greece your vacation destination today.

New York City, US

The communities of the West Village, Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen provide a variety of gay-friendly accommodation options. New York also has many significant LGBT landmarks including Christopher Street, the Harvey Milk School, the Lesbian Herstory Archives, Broadway and the Theatre District. There is so much to see and do in New York City that you might have to take a couple of extra days to see it all.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik is one of the most gay friendly places anywhere. Reykjavik hosted their 17th Gay Pride march and their 11th Bears on Ice event. In 2006, Iceland granted equal rights to same-sex couples with their heterosexual counterparts without limitation. With a variety of waterfalls, dormant volcanoes and geothermal lagoons to see, Iceland is an adventurer’s paradise.

San Francisco, USA

With nearly every bar and restaurant catering to the LGBT community, you will find rainbow flags in every window in San Francisco. San Francisco offers many things to do and see including the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Pride Parade where half a million people party in the street on the last Sunday in June. San Francisco has always been a gay friendly destination and that is why they are on our list.