List of Gay Villages

WikiSexGuide World Gay Villages Map Top Gayborhoods

List of gay villages is a guide to the world’s best known gay villages, gayborhoods, LGBT districts, queer nightlife streets and urban areas where Gay men, bisexual guys and girls, transgender people, Lesbian girls and wider LGBT communities have built gay bars, clubs, cafés, gay saunas, gay cruising areas, pride culture and nightlife.

A gay village or gayborhood is usually not an official district on a city map, like most red-light districts are not official city zones either. It is more often a neighbourhood, street or nightlife zone that became known over time because gay cuising bars, drag clubs, queer cafés, LGBT-friendly hotels, sex shops, pride events and community venues gathered there. Some are famous worldwide, like New York City’s West Village, London’s Soho, San Francisco’s Castro, Manchester’s Canal Street, Madrid’s Chueca, Berlin’s Schöneberg, Paris’s Le Marais, Bangkok’s Silom, Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ni-chōme, Sydney’s Oxford Street and Toronto’s Church & Wellesley.

These places matter for gay and lesbian travel because they are often the first areas visitors search for when looking for gay bars, lesbian bars, gay clubs, drag shows, LGBT nightlife, gay saunas, cruising, pride events and safer queer social spaces in a city. Some gay villages are still strong nightlife districts. Some have faded because of rising rents, dating apps, gentrification and changing queer culture. Some are more mixed now, with straight tourists, restaurants and normal city nightlife taking over part of the old scene. Still, the names remain useful for tourists and for anyone trying to understand where the local LGBT scene sits.

This list covers famous gayborhoods and LGBT nightlife areas by continent, including gay villages in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and the Caribbean.

Africa

Egypt

Cairo — Zamalek (gay-friendly bars, cafés)

Kenya

Nairobi — Westlands (gay-friendly bars, nightlife)

Morocco

Marrakech — Gueliz / Medina (gay-friendly riads, bars)
Casablanca — city centre (gay-friendly bars)

Senegal

Dakar — Almadies (gay-friendly bars)

South Africa

Cape Town — De Waterkant (gay bars, clubs)
Cape Town — Green Point / Sea Point (gay bars, nightlife)
Johannesburg — Melville (gay bars)
Johannesburg — Rosebank (gay nightlife)
Durban — Florida Road (gay-friendly bars)

Tanzania

Zanzibar — Stone Town (gay-friendly hotels, bars)

Tunisia

Tunis — La Marsa (gay-friendly cafés)

[[File:Rainbow Crossing.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Rainbow Crossing on Oxford Street

Asia

China

Beijing — Sanlitun (gay bars)
Chengdu — Yulin (gay bars)
Guangzhou — Tianhe (gay bars)
Shanghai — Former French Concession (gay bars, clubs)

Hong Kong

Hong Kong — Central / Sheung Wan (gay bars, clubs)

India

Bengaluru — Indiranagar (gay bars)
Delhi — Connaught Place (gay bars)
Mumbai — Bandra / Andheri (gay bars)

Indonesia

Bali — Seminyak (gay bars, beach clubs)

Israel

Tel Aviv — City Centre / Hilton Beach (gay bars, clubs, beach)

Japan

Fukuoka — Tenjin (gay bars)
Nagoya — Sakae (gay bars)
Osaka — Doyama (gay bars, clubs)
Tokyo — Shinjuku Ni-chōme (gay bars, clubs, saunas)

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur — Bukit Bintang (gay bars)

Philippines

Manila — Malate (gay bars, clubs)
Quezon City — Cubao (gay bars)

Singapore

Singapore — Tanjong Pagar (gay bars, clubs)

South Korea

Seoul — Itaewon (gay bars, clubs)
Seoul — Jongno (gay bars)

Sri Lanka

Colombo — Colombo 7 (gay-friendly bars)

Taiwan

Taipei — Ximending (gay bars, clubs)
Taipei — Zhongshan (gay bars)

Thailand

Bangkok — Silom / Surawong (gay bars, clubs, saunas)
Chiang Mai — Old City (gay bars)
Phuket — Patong (gay bars, clubs)
Pattaya — Boyztown (gay bars, clubs)

Vietnam

Hanoi — Old Quarter (gay bars)
Ho Chi Minh City — District 1 (gay bars, clubs)

[[File:Motzstrassenfest2006.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Gayvillage in Berlin]]

Europe

Austria

Vienna — Naschmarkt / Mariahilf (gay bars, saunas, cruising)
Vienna — Inner City / 1st District (gay bars)

Belgium

Brussels — Saint Jacques / city centre (gay bars, clubs)

Croatia

Zagreb — city centre (gay bars)

Czech Republic

Prague — Vinohrady (gay bars, clubs, saunas)

Denmark

Copenhagen — city centre (gay bars, clubs)

Finland

Helsinki — Kallio / city centre (gay bars, clubs, saunas)

France

Bordeaux — Saint Pierre (gay bars)
Lille — Vieux-Lille (gay bars)
Lyon — Presqu’île (gay bars, clubs)
Marseille — Cours Julien / Le Plaine (gay bars)
Montpellier — city centre (gay bars)
Nice — city centre (gay bars)
Paris — Le Marais (gay bars, clubs, shops)
Toulouse — Saint-Cyprien (gay bars)

Germany

Berlin — Schöneberg (gay bars, clubs, saunas)
Berlin — Kreuzberg / Neukölln (queer nightlife)
Cologne — Old Town / Rudolfplatz (gay bars, clubs)
Frankfurt — Nordend (gay bars)
Hamburg — St. Georg / Lange Reihe (gay bars)
Munich — Glockenbachviertel (gay bars, clubs)

Greece

Athens — Gazi (gay bars, clubs)
Mykonos — town centre / beaches (gay bars, clubs)

Hungary

Budapest — city centre (gay bars, saunas)

Ireland

Dublin — Parliament Street / city centre (gay bars)

Italy

Milan — Porta Venezia (gay bars, clubs)
Rome — Testaccio / city centre (gay bars)
Viareggio — Torre del Lago (gay bars, clubs)

Netherlands

Amsterdam — Reguliersdwarsstraat (gay bars, clubs)
Amsterdam — Warmoesstraat / Zeedijk (leather, cruising, bars)
Rotterdam — city centre (gay bars)
Utrecht — city centre (gay bars)

Norway

Oslo — city centre (gay bars, clubs)

Poland

Warsaw — city centre (gay bars, clubs)

Portugal

Lisbon — Bairro Alto / Chiado (gay bars)
Lisbon — Príncipe Real (gay bars, clubs)
Porto — city centre (gay bars)

Spain

Barcelona — Eixample / Gaixample (gay bars, clubs)
Madrid — Chueca (gay bars, clubs, shops)
Maspalomas — Playa del Inglés (gay bars, cruising)
Sitges — town centre (gay bars)
Torremolinos — La Nogalera (gay bars, clubs)
Valencia — Ruzafa (gay bars)

Sweden

Stockholm — Södermalm (gay bars, clubs)

Switzerland

Zurich — Langstrasse / Old Town (gay bars, clubs)

United Kingdom

Birmingham (England) — Hurst Street (gay bars, clubs)
Brighton (England) — Kemptown (gay bars, clubs)
Bristol — Old Market (gay bars)
Edinburgh — Broughton Street (gay bars)
Glasgow — Merchant City (gay bars)
Leeds — Lower Briggate / The Calls (gay bars)
London — Soho / Old Compton Street (gay bars, clubs)
London — Vauxhall (gay clubs)
Manchester — Canal Street (gay bars, clubs)

File:13th Gayborhood.jpg

The Gayborhood in Philadelphia

North America

Canada

Edmonton — Jasper Avenue (gay bars)
Montreal — Gay Village / Sainte-Catherine East (gay bars, clubs, shops)
Ottawa — Bank Street Village (gay bars)
Toronto — Church & Wellesley (gay bars, clubs)
Toronto — Queen Street West / Parkdale (queer bars)
Vancouver — Davie Village (gay bars, clubs)

Mexico

Guadalajara — Zona Rosa / Chapultepec (gay bars)
Mexico City — Zona Rosa (gay bars, clubs)
Puerto Vallarta — Zona Romántica (gay bars, clubs)

United States

Atlanta — Midtown (gay bars, clubs)
Austin — Warehouse District (gay bars)
Boston — South End (gay bars)
Chicago — Boystown / Lakeview (gay bars, clubs)
Columbus — Short North (gay bars)
Dallas — Oak Lawn (gay bars)
Denver — Capitol Hill (gay bars)
Fort Lauderdale — Wilton Manors (gay bars, clubs)
Las Vegas — Fruit Loop (gay bars)
Los Angeles — Silver Lake (gay bars)
Los Angeles — West Hollywood (gay bars, clubs)
Miami Beach — South Beach (gay bars)
Minneapolis — Loring Park (gay bars)
New Orleans — French Quarter / Marigny (gay bars)
New York City — Chelsea / Hell’s Kitchen (gay bars, clubs)
New York City — West Village (gay bars)
Omaha — Old Market (gay cafés, bars)
Palm Springs — downtown (gay resorts, bars)
Philadelphia — Washington Square West (gay bars)
San Diego — Hillcrest (gay bars)
San Francisco — Castro (gay bars, clubs)
Seattle — Capitol Hill (gay bars, clubs)