We always have an awesome time at Madrid's Pride! 3. During Pride in early July, the city becomes one huge gay street festival, with something happening on every other street block in Chueca – it's mad, crazy and always tons of fun! In terms of gay clubs, we love Delirio, DLRO Live and Kluster. There are so many gay bars here to check out like Gris, La Kama and LL Bar. We love meandering through the Chueca gay neighbourhood of Madrid. Plus, an entire square in the center of Madrid was named Plaza de Pedro Zerolo, after an activist who championed the LGBTQ rights movement. In fact, central LGBTQ figures in history are honored throughout the streets, with statues like Federico Garcia Lorca, a Spanish queer poet, centered in the city. It was the third country in the world to legalize gay marriage back in 2005 and in the Pew Global survey, 88% of locals believe homosexuality should be accepted into society. Spain itself definitely ranks as one of the gayest countries in the world. Home to the largest gay community, Madrid natives have no choice but to embrace our fabulousness! As well as having the biggest (and in our opinion, one of the best!) Pride event in Europe, they also have a fantastic gay scene in Chueca, with something happening every day of the week. Madrid, SpainĪrguably the gay capital of Europe, Madrid is not only a fantastic city for LGBTQ tourists, it's a also a great place to live. For more, be sure to check out our comprehensive gay guide to Berlin along with our interview of cutie local boy Marcel from Berlin. The Axel Hetero-Friendly Hotel is a staple for us when it comes to gay accommodation in Berlin. And of course, there's the infamous, exclusive Berghain club. Some of our favourite gay bars in Berlin include Heile Welt, Hafen, Moöbel Olfe and SchwuZ. Today, there are so many things to do and see. Luckily, after the fall of the Third Reich, the LGBTQ scene began to thrive once more and homosexuality was decriminalised in 1969. There are various memorials throughout the city that commemorate all of the LGBTQ victims of the Second World War.
Sadly, during the totalitarian regime in the late 30s and 40s, the gay scene was stubbed out, with many homosexuals forced into hiding or sent to concentration camps.
Back then, the Berlin queer scene reached its climax in the 1920s when it became the first place in the world to actually have a gay scene. A gay magazine was published, known as ‘Der Eigene', and gay icon Marlene Dietrich was a fixture on the queer nightlife scene. The gays have made their voices heard throughout the city from as far back as the late 1890s when LGBTQ artists began performing in clubs and making music about their gay desires. Wandering through the streets of Schöneberg, we spotted tons of queer couples proudly walking around, holding hands and stealing the odd kiss in the middle of the street. Yet regardless of where you go, it seems that every other person in Berlin is a friend of Dorothy! With dozens of queer nightclubs, LGBTQ-owned restaurants, gay hotels and a thriving gay village, the Berlin scene sets a high bar for all other European cities.
#Rainbow gay bar kansas city full#
We haven't broken out the ole' cliched ‘Wizard of Oz' analogy for no good reason: Berlin is full of an assortment of people that you wouldn't find anywhere else. “I don't think we're in Kansas anymore”, we heard ourselves think as we stepped out of Hauptbahnhof train station and into the industrial revolution that is Berlin. For more inspiration, be sure to check out our more comprehensive guide to the gayest cities in the world and our top gay destinations in Europe. Some are smaller, some are wilder and some have become so intertwined within city life, that the straight community is left feeling like they're intruding into our special world!įor this list of the top 10 gayest cities in Europe, we look at the gay scene, what's it like to live there for a member of the LGBTQ community and from our own first-hand experience travelling there as a gay couple. Yet, each gay scene manages to be different from the others. We've been around the European block quite a few times, and can safely say, it boasts some of the most progressive places in the world. Check out our roundup of the gayest cities in Europe based on our first-hand experience, the gay scene, as well as what life is like for the local LGBTQ community.įrom the industrial warehouses in Berlin to the babbling of water stroking the canals of Amsterdam, European gay life spans across the entire spectrum.