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Let's make 2025 your biggest travel year yet with one simple goal: tick more places off your travel bucket list than ever before...
In the spirit of celebrating Australia’s diverse and vibrant community where everyone belongs, we’ve compiled a list of LGBTQIA+ friendly destinations and experiences in Australia and abroad, where everyone can be themselves.
From pool parties in lush Tropical North Queensland to the fabulous Mardi Gras street parade and festival in Sydney all the way to the Gay Museum in Berlin and cheeky Big Gay Ice Cream in New York City, there’s plenty to enjoy and ways to immerse yourself in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Below is just a sample of eight destinations and events where love is love and all are welcome.
1. Brisbane
Brisbane is known for its laid-back, welcoming culture, making it no surprise it has many LGBTQIA+ inclusive venues, attractions and events. Visit in November for the MELT: Festival of Queer Arts and Culture at the Brisbane Powerhouse. From global headliners, award-winning cabaret and high-energy music club nights to a queer comedy gala, cutting-edge contemporary dance and First Nations art, Melt Festival takes over Queensland’s capital with a celebration of contemporary culture.
Other seasonal standouts include Big Gay Day at the Wickham, a mini-Mardi Gras that has been running for 20 years straight, featuring live music acts, street performers, and drag artists. The Brisbane Queer Film Festival, showcasing the latest in queer cinema, the Brisbane Pride Festival and the Brisbane Pride Choir performances and open rehearsals.
Brisbane offers a diverse range of LGBTQIA+ friendly hotels, try The Calile for an inner-city tropical resort reminiscent of Palm Springs or Crystalbrook Vincent a sustainable five-star hotel perched above the Howard Smith Wharves precinct.
2. Port Douglas
Port Douglas, nestled beside the Coral Sea in far north Queensland, is the perfect base to explore the Great Barrier Reef and the pristine Wet Tropics rainforests. This chic destination with luxury resorts and curated fashion boutiques welcomes LGBTQIA+ travellers year-round.
Make the most of your visit and time your stay with the Hot and Steamy Festival in February that aligns with the Sydney Mardi Gras. The four-day event in the tropics includes street parties featuring DJs, cocktails, food stalls, long lunches, white party on the wharf, day trips to the reef and pool parties.
Choose from a range of resorts for all budgets such as the Silkari Lagoons with six lagoon-style pools and private plunge pools or Bay Villas Resort, all in walking distance of downtown Port Douglas.
GETTING THERE
3. Sydney
Home of the Mardi Gras parade and festival, Sydney fosters a thriving LGBTQIA+ community and welcomes all. Did you know it all began in 1978, when the police descended on a street festival bravely celebrating gay rights when homosexuality was illegal. This crackdown ignited a resilient community that refused to stay silent, and Mardi Gras became a defining moment in Australia's gay rights movement. Each year since, the event has grown into a vibrant display of self-expression, celebration and advocacy which attracts over 300,000 party goers.
Celebrate the Sydney Mardi Gras basing yourself in Darlinghurst and Surry Hills, home to the parade and many of the city’s best gay venues. 57 Hotel or Pullman Sydney Hyde Park offer a comfortable option to rest your head. Just a little further north is Kings Cross and Potts Point, two more of Sydney’s traditionally queer suburbs. The area is historically a party precinct and has a history of adult entertainment and nightlife, stretching back to the 1930s. The Holiday Inn Sydney Potts Point or No.9 Springfield are located here.
GETTING THERE
4. Melbourne
Voted the fourth most LGBTQIA+ friendly city in the world by a 2022 study by Big 7 Travel, you can find Melbourne's alternative queer community around Fitzroy and Collingwood, and an abundance of gay bars and clubs, LGBTQIA+ bookshops and gay-owned restaurants down in South Yarra and Prahran.
Travel in summer to experience the Midsumma Festival running for 22 days in January/February each year and bursting with queer events that centre around hidden and mainstream queer culture, involving local, interstate and international artists.
There are many accommodation options available in Melbourne and its surrounds from hotels to private apartments, homestays or backpackers. District Fitzroy is a fully self-contained option, The Como Melbourne M Gallery offers luxury hotel rooms or for more budget-friendly single rooms try the 15 Charles Abbotsford Homestay.
GETTING THERE
5. Berlin
Berlin is one of the most tolerant cities in the world and the LGBTQIA+ scene is flourishing with many bars, clubs parties and events held year round. There’s a wide-ranging queer cinema programme and the Gay Museum is a must-visit with its changing exhibitions providing authentic insight into queer life worlds and identities.
Schöneberg in the southwest of the city is the epicentre for many LGBTQIA+ bars and is also the location for the annual Gay Pride Festival in July, as well as the events throughout Pride Week. Here you can base yourself at the ArtHotel Connection with double and single rooms in a thoughtfully decorated Art Nouveau building or try the Axel Hotel with designer rooms and rooftop jacuzzi overlooking the city skyline.
GETTING THERE
6. New York City
In 2016, New York City (NYC) made history by becoming the first to designate a landmark specifically recognising the LGBTQIA+ community — the Stonewall National Monument. Visit the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay & Lesbian Art, the world's first museum dedicated to LGBTQIA+ themes in SoHo. Sweet tooths will want to head to Big Gay Ice Cream for treats with mischievous names like Dorothy and Salty Pimp.
There are four main areas for LGBTIQ+ nightlife in NYC – Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, West Village, and Brooklyn. There is a whole calendar of events in NYC celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community meaning anytime you go there will be plenty to do. Visit in June for Pride Week where many concerts, marches, film screenings and foodie events take place.
There are plenty of accommodation options to choose from in NYC, you’ll want to stay at W Times Square to be right in the heart of the action and a step away from Broadway. Located in Midtown East neighbourhood of Manhattan, The Bernic Hotel is a short walk from the St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Rockefeller Centre. If you love tech, YOTEL New York Times Square has SmartBeds and a robotic luggage storer, it’s also steps away from the city’s best entertainment, dining and shopping including Times Square and the nearby Hudson Yards.
GETTING THERE
7. Taipei
Many LGBTQIA+ travellers flock to Taipei for the nightlife, creative design, delicious food and welcoming culture. Nightlife includes everything from speakeasy bars and local waterholes to bear bars and all-night dance events. In the Ximending and Zhongshan districts you’ll find a variety of bars, clubs, and saunas that cater to every taste and style.
Travel to Taipei in October to join 20,000 others to celebrate the annual Taipei Gay Pride parade. The parade kicks off a four-day event with live shows and performances and a big post-parade party that lasts well into the late evening. Stay at the Citizen M hotel with XL beds, a 10min walk from Main Station and a 5min walk to MRT Baimen Station to Taoyuan Airport. Or splash out at the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel with seasonal outdoor pool and hot tub on the rooftop.
GETTING THERE
8. Helsinki
Helsinki is full of rich history, intriguing design and a healthy nightlife scene. If you're a karaoke enthusiast make sure to visit Mann's Street for Euro-pop fuelled music or Street Pride for DJ's drag shows bingo and more karaoke. Alternatively, indulge in a spot of wellness at Löyly for a traditional smoke sauna or wood-burning sauna, named in Time Magazine's World's 100 Greatest Places list.
If travelling in summer, don’t miss Helsinki Pride, an event that takes place from 27 June to 3 July and consistently attracts a crowd of 100,000 people. The celebration includes exhibitions, lectures, workshops and concerts. There’s also a separate program for people aged 13–29: Youth Pride Week.
During your stay, consider the LGBTQIA+-friendly designer hotel Klaus K or enjoy the hospitality of a bed and breakfast at Villa Jokivarsi B&B.
GETTING THERE
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