Travel · Dating · Info
Making the world a welcoming place.
Gayze opens up the world for LGBTQ+ travellers — find safe destinations, local favourites and people to meet.
Explore the map
Search a city, read local reviews and chat with the people who Gayzed them.
Gayze recommends
Places, culture and destinations we love.
Bangkok
Places / Jim Thompson House Museum
Bangkok
Sacred Emotions / Wai
Cologne
We Love / 4711
Mykonos
Destination / Delos
Mykonos
Review / Scorpios
Paris
We Love / Buly
Stockholm
Review / Svenskt Tenn
Berlin
Destination / Berlin
Athens
Review / The Poet Sandalmaker
Berlin
Review / Berghain
Mykonos
Culture / The Mykonos Biennale
Stockholm
Culture / Stockholm Underground
Where to Next – is it safe?
LGBTQ+ rights, everyday life and what to consider in major cities. Country perspectives based on Outright International, with a separate Gayze interpretation for travellers.
Country perspective
Germany
Generally welcoming · some equality gaps
Gayze editorial rating · not a safety score
Outright reports marriage and adoption equality, nationwide employment protections, and restrictions on conversion practices targeting minors. The 2024 Self-Determination Act allows adults to change gender markers by declaration, with parental approval or legal recourse for older minors. A ban on unnecessary intersex surgeries contains exceptions that advocates consider loopholes. The overview also describes declining acceptance, increased recorded bias-motivated offenses, and a stronger far-right political presence opposing trans rights and family diversity. Formal legal advances therefore coexist with hostile political mobilization and unequal protection across different areas of life. This summarizes Outright’s dated overview, not independently verified current law; subsequent legal changes and implementation should be checked.
Cities: Berlin · Hamburg · Munich · Cologne · Frankfurt
Read the country guideCountry perspective
Spain
Broadly accepting · strong equality protections
Gayze editorial rating · not a safety score
Outright describes marriage and adoption equality and a 2023 law establishing self-determined gender recognition, protection against nonconsensual intersex interventions, and substantial administrative penalties for conversion practices. Pride visibility, openly queer politicians, and generally supportive public opinion indicate broad inclusion. However, the overview reports increasing hate-related experiences, including discrimination, harassment, and assault, drawing on a 2025 civil-society study. It emphasizes political polarization, hostile speech, and insufficient institutional responses. Comprehensive legislation therefore does not eliminate violence or guarantee equal experiences across regions, and reported survey findings should not be treated as complete national crime counts. This summarizes Outright’s dated overview, not independently verified current law; subsequent legal changes and implementation should be checked.
Cities: Madrid · Barcelona · Valencia · Seville · Málaga · Granada · Bilbao · Figueres · Cadaqués
Read the country guideCountry perspective
Sweden
Broadly accepting · strong equality protections
Gayze editorial rating · not a safety score
Outright describes marriage and adoption equality and bans on discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. A 2025 gender-recognition reform removed diagnosis requirements and opened access to some older minors, but still requires a health-professional statement. Gender-affirming treatment for minors remains restricted under clinical guidance. High general acceptance coexists with school bullying, reported conversion practices, and increasing hostility among some young people. The overview also describes more inclusive blood-donation rules. Its account distinguishes improvements in document recognition from full self-determination and from unrestricted access to health care. This summarizes Outright’s dated overview, not independently verified current law; subsequent legal changes and implementation should be checked.
Cities: Stockholm · Gothenburg · Malmö · Uppsala
Read the country guideCountry perspective
Thailand
Generally welcoming · some equality gaps
Gayze editorial rating · not a safety score
Outright describes marriage-equality legislation taking effect in 2025, extending adoption, inheritance, health-decision, and other spousal rights to same-sex couples. The Gender Equality Act provides protections but contains religious and security exceptions. Transgender visibility and the availability of gender-affirming care do not translate into full legal equality: the overview reports no process for changing official gender markers and discretion affecting name changes. Binary school uniforms, intrusive health questioning, and harmful stereotypes remain concerns. Thailand’s welcoming international image should therefore be distinguished from the practical limits of protection and transgender legal recognition. This summarizes Outright’s dated overview, not independently verified current law; subsequent legal changes and implementation should be checked.
Cities: Bangkok · Chiang Mai · Phuket · Pattaya
Read the country guideThese guides are not safety scores or live travel advisories. Source pages may reflect earlier laws; consult current official advice before travel. City context is Gayze’s editorial interpretation, not a rating by Outright International.
20 cities with the largest LGBTQI+ populations
The world’s biggest queer communities, ranked by estimated LGBTQI+ population. Figures from the Williams Institute at UCLA, national censuses and survey-based estimates.
1
New York
USA
706,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
2
London
United Kingdom
est. 650,000
ONS Census 2021, est.
3
Los Angeles
USA
523,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
4
Paris
France
est. 350,000
Gayze est. from national surveys
5
Chicago
USA
298,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
6
Berlin
Germany
200,000–300,000
Berlin Senate (berlin.de)
7
Madrid
Spain
est. 250,000
Gayze est. from national surveys
8
San Francisco
USA
247,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
9
Miami
USA
214,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
10
Dallas
USA
211,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
11
Washington, D.C.
USA
209,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
12
São Paulo
Brazil
est. 200,000+
Gayze est. from national surveys
13
Philadelphia
USA
198,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
14
Atlanta
USA
194,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
15
Toronto
Canada
est. 190,000
Gayze est. from StatCan 2021
16
Boston
USA
186,000
Williams Institute, UCLA (2021)
17
Buenos Aires
Argentina
est. 150,000
Gayze est. from national surveys
18
Amsterdam
Netherlands
est. 120,000
Gayze est. from national surveys
19
Sydney
Australia
est. 100,000
Gayze est. from national surveys
20
Stockholm
Sweden
est. 80,000
Gayze est. from national surveys
Figures are estimates from mixed sources and years. US metro figures are measured survey estimates from the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law (2021); Berlin from the Berlin Senate; London from the ONS Census 2021. Cities marked “est.” are conservative Gayze estimates derived from national survey shares — no global city census of LGBTQI+ populations exists, and true numbers are likely higher.