Only one U.S. city is in the top 10.
In 2000, the Netherlands became the first country to allow same-sex marriages. Twenty-two years later, there are only 31 countries around the world with marriage equality. It’s been slow progress, but the movement is gaining public support. As per a poll by Gallup, 70% of Americans support same-sex marriage, a big rise from 27% in 1996.
More people are openly identifying as LGBTQ+ (7.1% of Americans in 2022 as per Gallup), and we need more destinations where the community feels safe to express themselves while traveling. Many European cities are progressive and forward-thinking with societal acceptance. They also have gay-friendly bars and restaurants, and a sizeable queer population.
To assist travelers, Money.co.uk, a UK-based price comparison website for financial products, has analyzed the most LGBTQ+ friendly cities in the world. It explains the methodology: “The most accepting cities in the world were measured using a worldwide indicator sourced from Social Progress on the level of acceptance in each country, Tripadvisor data on the number of LGBTQ+ establishments as well as their ratings. The metrics have been ranked in order to gain an overall score to determine the city most accepting and accommodating of LGBTQ+ people.”