Europe Travel Guide

Gay men and lesbians will find most of Europe a tolerant part of the world in which to travel, the west rather more so than the east. Most countries have at least in part legalized homosexual relationships, and the only part of Europe covered in this guide where homosexual acts are still against the law is Romania. Laws still in the main apply to male homosexuality; lesbianism, it would seem, doesn't officially exist, so it is in theory legal everywhere. The homosexual age of consent is, however, usually different from the heterosexual one - on average 18 years of age as opposed to 15 or 16 years. In general, the Netherlands and Scandinavia (except Finland) are the most tolerant parts of the Continent, with anti-discrimination legislation and official recognition of lesbian and gay partnerships. Reactionary laws against "outraging public decency" or "promotion" of homosexuality exist in Russia, Turkey and the UK.

Most cities of any size, at least in northern Europe, have a few bars or cafés frequented by gay men , and it's not hard to make contact with other gay people. In the major northern capitals, certainly, the gay scene is usually fairly sophisticated, with any number of bars, bookshops, clubs and gay organizations and switchboards, though things are usually firmly slanted towards gay men. The gay capital of Europe is perhaps Amsterdam, but there is plenty of interest for gay men in London, Paris, Copenhagen, and, to a lesser extent, Madrid and Barcelona. In southern Europe, things are less developed: the main cities may have the odd gay bar, but it may not advertise itself as such, and outside of the capitals there won't be many obvious places to meet at all. Lesbians can likewise usually find somewhere to meet with other gay women in northern Europe, albeit on a much smaller scale than gay men, while elsewhere, in southern and eastern Europe, word-of-mouth is about the only course open. We've detailed the best of the gay scenes of the major cities in the text; for further information, contact the organizations listed.