June is Pride month and travel is a great way to celebrate! Learn more about civil rights history by having a drink at Stonewall Wall Inn in Greenwich Village, the site of the 1969 riots that launched the gay rights movement. Travel to Europe for Christopher Street Day in Berlin, a huge event known as one of the best places to enjoy Pride in Europe and attracts up to a million revelers annually. While you’re in Berlin, visit The Gay Museum to learn more about LGBTQ+ culture. 

Here’s some of the top festivals, historic attractions, and nightlife hotspots to celebrate Pride month worldwide.

Show your pride: Festivals and Rallies

Marcha por la Diversidad Montevideo, Uruguay

Uruguay has a culture of being welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community – homosexuality was decriminalized here in 1934, decades before Illinois become the first state in the U.S. to do so in 1965. Revelers at the Marcha por la Diversidad have marked Pride in Montevideo since the 1990s. Celebrations take place on beaches and in the city’s bars and restaurants, which are decked out with Rainbow flags. Montevideo is also known for its incredible drag scene.

Runners up:

Copenhagen, Denmark hosts two Pride weeks, one in summer and one in winter. 

Stockholm, Sweden has hosted EuroPride three times. The Swedish language also has a dedicated gender-neutral pronoun – hen.

Everybody dance!: Nightlife

The George Dublin, Ireland

Of course, Ireland is known for its epic pub culture and Dublin’s nightclub scene adds to the reputation for fun. The George is the jewel of the capital city’s LGBTQ+ nightclub scene. The venue features multiple levels of dance floors and an outdoor alley with an attached pub. Enjoy drag shows, drag bingo on Sundays and karaoke on Saturdays. Open for over four decades, The George is part of Dublin’s LGBTQ+ history.

The Abbey West Hollywood

One of the most famous LGBTQ+ bars in the world The Abbey, in West Hollywood, is often visited by stars. Joey Graceffa and Scott Evans have been known to drop in. The open dance floor transitions into an outdoor beer garden, where the bartenders are known for their incredible hospitality. Be sure to drop by the drag brunch on Sunday afternoons!

Runners up:

Contramano is the oldest LGBTQ+ nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

The stage of the Heaven club in London, England has been graced by Cher, Adele, Madonna and other megastars. 

Learn your history: Museums and civil rights landmarks

Dixie’s Bar of Music New Orleans

This historic place was a hotspot for the LGBTQ+ community in New Orleans in the 1950s and 1960s. One the of the first LGBTQ+ bars in New Orleans, Dixie’s Bar of Music was known for attracting high profile artists and writers such as Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and Gore Vidal. A famous Dixie’s artifact is a 29-foot-long painting that features caricatures of more than 60 famous musicians from the 1940s. The painting was damaged during Hurricane Katrina but was restored in 2018 and newly unveiled at the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church San Francisco

During the HIV/AIDS crisis, this San Francisco parish supported and welcomed the  LGBTQ+ community. The church held weekly support groups and sermons throughout the 1980s for LGBTQ+ people. “Today, the church is a regularly visited historical site and remains a popular place of worship for those looking for inclusion,” according to Lonely Planet.

Other important sites:

Dr. Franklin E Kameny Residence Washington, D.C.: Kameny was a leader in the effort to stop the US Civil Service Commission from denying gay people federal employment and security clearance. He was a Harvard-trained astronomer and WWII veteran. 

First Unitarian Church of Denver: “This 19th-century building hosted one of the modern world’s first same-sex weddings in 1975 after a defiant county clerk issued a marriage license to a gay couple. But local officials refused to recognize the union until 2016,” according to USA Today.

Don’t let common travel mishaps ruin your carefully planned adventures this Pride. Get a quote today to find out how we can make traveling for Pride stress-free.

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