Gay Paree...and Gay London, and Gay Rome...

Gay and lesbian travel resources, guides, and tours in Europe

Much of Europe has grown to accept same-sex couples over the past few decades, and in most countries homosexual sex acts are legal. To be on the safe side, do a bit of research on the city or area you're planning to visit. As you might expect, smaller towns tend to be less accepting than cities.

The centers of European gay culture include London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, and, of course, Greece (though the modern Greek culture is rather more conservative than those famously fey ancient Homeric heroes, the Greek Islands in particular are still gay havens, particularly Mykonos; same goes for the party islands of Spain, especially Ibiza).

Resources for gay travel

International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (www.iglta.org) - The best all-around resource. Members ($100 to join, plus $150 a year) get a newsletter, advice on specialist travel agencies (you can search for local ones on the Website), and a membership directory.

Gay.com (www.gay.com) - All sorts of sub-sites that are jam-packed with all sorts of info on everything from gay-friendly hotels and restaurants to action groups and support hotlines to nightclubs and tours. There's no guarantee these sites will have an English-translated version, but the info is usually easy enough to navigate (believe me; I mine these things shamelessly to get the goods on the local gay scene for my guidebooks).

Gay lodging in Europe

Purple Roofs (www.purpleroofs.com) - Loads of gay-friendly lodgings around the world—and, amazingly enough, the listings actually link you directly to the hotel's own Website (most travel sites out there, especially accommodations ones, try their darndest never to give you the opportunity to click off their site).

GayPlaces2Stay.com (www.gayplaces2stay.com) - I only count three dozen properties in all of Europe on this site, but hey, at least that's a start.

Gay travel magazine

Out Traveler (www.outtraveler.com) - The publishers of Out and The Advocate put out this excellent quarterly gay travel mag.

Gay travel guidebooks & bookstores

Spartacus International Gay Guide (2007) - You gotta take the whole world at once with this thick tome (couldn't they do seperate Europe, USA, Asia, etc. editions?), but it is the niche industry standard.
Spartacus International Hotel & Restaurant Guide (2006)
Damron Men's Travel Guide (2005)
Damron Women's Traveller (2004)
Damron Accommodations (2006)
Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe (2003) - Yep, the mainstream guidebook publisher has actually put out a small series of gay guides.
Ferrari International Guides - As a straight man, I can't actually speak to how accurate the various series of gay guides are, but from flipping through them all, this series seems by far to be the best thought-out, laid-out, and all-around useful of the lot. Am currently trying to figure out if they've released any new editions since 2001 (t'would be a shame if the series folded).

Giovanni's Room (www.giovannisroom.com) - Famous gay bookstore in my old hometown (Philly) has a wide selection and does mail order. Support independent booksellers!

A Different Light (www.adlbooks.com) - Famous gay bookstore in my new hometown (New York), also has fabulous selection and will ship. Support independent booksellers!

Gay tours and travel agents

GayJet.com (www.gayjet.com) - Sort of an online G&L travel booking/info site. Not sure yet what it's all about, but it does claim to give back 5% of its profits "to support gay and lesbian community charities and non-profit service organizations," so that can't be bad.

Toto Tours (www.tototours.com) - Tours and cruises all over Europe. Based in Chicago (not Kansas?)

David Tours (www.davidtours.com) - Selection of trips across the globe, including Central Europe, Italy, and Scandinavia. Based in Corona del Mar, CA.

Now, Voyager (www.nowvoyager.com) - Based in San Francisco.

Above and Beyond Tours (www.abovebeyondtours.com) - Mainly Australia, but plenty of Europe as well. The exclusive G&L tour operator for United Airlines. Based in Palm Springs.

Islanders Travel (www.islanderstravel.com) - The group stuff is mostly on this side of the Pond, but the agency will arrange individual packages for Italy, France, Spain, and Greece. Based in NYC.