Gay places to visit

In Shadyside, East Liberty and Lawrenceville, you'll find queer-popular cafes, bars and boutiques.

Before you leave town, be sure to ride the bright-red Duquesne Incline funicular to the top of Mount Washington, where you'll be treated to a stunning panoramic view of downtown's architecturally impressive skyline and the confluence of the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.

Where to stay

Among several upscale downtown lodgings set in beautifully restored historic towers, the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh (rates start at $198 or 35,000 IHG One Rewards per night) is within walking distance of a few downtown gay bars.

You'll also find historically significant cities like San Francisco, and the Midwest resort towns Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan.

LezVolley is a volleyball tournament for queer women, and in addition to the tournament, there is an after-party for players and spectators.

5. Carnival in August is a week with a parade, parties and costume contests. Its main drag, Saint Catherine Street East, is home to a buzzy strip of bars like Le Stud, Aigle Noir and Complexe Sky.

Non-binary, queer women and trans visitors should also check out parties such as Elle Lui and Sweet Like Honey.

"The queer community is well-mixed between anglophones and francophones, so I guess some kind of richness comes with having most of our events bilingual," said Theo Tessier from the Montreal LGBTQ+ Community Centre, established in 1988, whose library, she explained, holds "more than 20,000 books, essays, documentaries and films." Meanwhile Montreal's Gay Archives, which is open to the public, contain thousands of books, zines, posters and periodicals.

Alamy

Bangkok

Thailand legalised same-sex activity back in 1956 and has laws that ban discrimination over gender identity and sexual orientation.

In Golden Gate Park, visitors can enjoy fine art at the de Young Museum and the blossoms at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybring Arboretum.

San Francisco is also home to more events than can be named in a single article. Club Skirts Presents the Dinah is billed as “the biggest queer, lesbian, non-binary event in the world” and includes pool parties, DJs and live performances.

In addition to the annual Boston Pride Week held annually each June, the city also hosts an annual LGBT Film Festival every Spring.

If I were traveling to Boston, I wouldn't pass up the one-mile LGBTQ Past Walking Tour offered by Boston By Foot. Distinctive buildings and houses (including the 400-foot spire of the ornate Cathedral of Our Lady, completed in 1521) dominate the skyline of this fashion-forward cultural hub.

There’s a concentration of queer-owned businesses and nightspots in and around the compact city center, where you'll find cool attractions like the celebrated MoMu–Fashion Museum Antwerp and MAS–Museum aan de Stroom.

In August, the city's four-day Antwerp Pride is one of Europe's best-attended Pride events.

Where to stay

The refined, LGBTQIA+-popular Hotel Julien (rates start at $236 per night) is just a five-minute stroll from gracious Groenplaats and close to several hopping gay bars and clubs.

Community activists fought for decades for visibility and equality, and today, San Francisco is one of the most welcoming U.S. cities to LGBTQ+ people. Seneca Falls, New York

Nestled in the Finger Lakes, Seneca Falls is a gorgeous small town full of charm. Up the hill from downtown, the grassy lawns of the five-sided Halifax Citadel National Historic Site provide a glorious vantage point for taking in the city and surrounding waters.

Where to stay

Sitting the edge of downtown and near the diverse cafe culture of the city’s North End, the hip but reasonably priced Moxy Halifax Downtown (rates start at $210 or 24,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night) offers 160 compact but artfully appointed rooms, including several studios with kitchens.

Pines Party is a weekend in July or August featuring DJs, pool parties and beach parties. Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs is not only a popular travel destination for the people in the LGBTQ+ community for the gay resorts (some with clothing-optional pools and hot tubs), bars and events, but it also is a beautiful location with outdoor activities like those at nearby San Jacinto State Park and Joshua Tree National Park.

Bike Palm Springs Rentals and Tours rents bicycles, tandem bikes and electric bikes for personal use, and they offer tours of celebrity homes and mid-century modern neighborhoods.

Other highlights include the Utah Gay Ski Week in February and a bounty of chic boutiques and see-and-be-seen restaurants.

Where to stay

The Kimpton Hotel Monaco Salt Lake (rates start at $335 or 61,000 IHG One Rewards points per night) has whimsically decorated guest rooms and common spaces and an outstanding restaurant (Bambara).

Queer folks here are generally quite out and open.

The gay-popular nightlife district Zona Rosa is within the El Poblado neighborhood, known for vibrant cafes and restaurants, upscale shopping centers and an abundance of desirable hotels. She loves telling the stories, histories and culture of places that inspire others to go and experience new destinations.

The settlement was started in the mid-19th century, and it originally thrived as a logging town, then when those resources were exhausted, industry shifted to fruit orchards. Since around the 1950s, the towns also have been known as a “gay haven,” which led some to feel safe enough to live openly long before it was widely accepted in the U.S.

There are a lot of LGBTQ+ owned businesses to patronize.

From San Francisco to Fire Island and everywhere in between, these cities and small towns are inclusive enclaves where love is love, and you can truly be yourself.

LGBTQIA+ Friendly Cities

1. Don't pass up seeing a show at the Ogunquit Playhouse, a charming, historic theater, and dancing at Mainestreet, Ogunquit's premier dance club that is as diverse as it is inclusive.

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Fantasia Fair (formerly Trans Week) occurs in October and features workshops, brunches and lunches.

It's not just events that bring people to “Ptown.” People enjoy live performances and plays, and with nearly the entire town surrounded by ocean, the beaches are a popular spot, including Race Point Beach and Herring Cove Beach in Cape Cod National Seashore.

Formed in 1992, it's the largest LGBTQIA+ event in Ireland after the extremely popular Dublin Pride celebration, in late June.

Where to stay

A tony 101-room boutique hotel that has long had an LGBTQIA+ following, the Temple Bar Inn (rates start at $195 per night) lies in the heart of Dublin's lively riverfront nightlife quarter, close to several gay establishments and the oft-photographed Ha'penny Bridge.

These areas on the east side of the island are home to parties and wild nightlife all summer long for those staying for a day, a weekend or longer.

Events include Invasion of the Pines on July 4 when drag queens in Cherry Grove hop on a water taxi and “invade” The Pines. The city also has several gay-owned cafes and bars, most of them set amid the narrow lanes of Centro Historico and around nearby Plaza de la Merced.

Check out our list and start planning your perfect getaway.

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