Berlin

Some people might be surprised to see that Berlin is included on this list, but – possibly in part because to their past – the city has emerged as the European tourism hotspot for gay and lesbian travelers. More gay-friendly attractions may be found in the city than in London, New York, or San Francisco combined. In 2001, Klaus Wowereit, a homosexual man, was elected mayor; he is still in that position today. As well as their homosexual museum (The Schwules Museum) and monument, their pubs and nightlife, and their open-minded districts, Berlin's hedonistic parties and nudist parks draw throngs of LGBT tourists.

A vibrant LGBT community with a long history exists in the city. The borough of Schöneberg is frequently referred to as Berlin's gayborhood, despite the city having several LGBTIQ+-friendly neighborhoods. Berlin's "Regenbogenkiez" (Rainbow District), with a particular concentration of homosexual clubs at and along Motzstraße and Fuggerstraße, is best described as the boroughs North-West around Nollendorfplatz. Many of the pivotal occasions of what is now referred to as Germany's second LGBT movement. Berlin's LGBTIQ+ culture has changed over the course of its roughly two-century queer history (herstory), not just in terms of appearance and self-understanding but also in terms of where the city's gay cultural hotspots were situated. What is true about Berlin's "LGBT culture in Berlin" at one point in time, in a given place and from a given perspective, is almost certainly different the next.

Country: Germany