Which Queer Places Around the World Deserve Honors?

In 2021, while we were still restricted by the ongoing pandemic throughout the entire year, so many queer spaces and queer-friendly locales around the world helped us regain a sense of community and normalcy.

Now, our friends at GayCities are out to honor those places in their Best of GayCities Awards for 2021. You can choose between more than 100 different options around the world that deserve their honors for being lovely, affirming places to go to or bring business to.

The first category, “Fun In the Sun,” seeks to honor the best gay beaches or seaside escapes to visit around the year.  Beaches in Hawai’i, Florida, California, Brazil and Mexico are among the nominees.

Next is the “Lively Gayborhood” category, which seeks to decide which neighborhood do you love the most for fabulous dining, exciting nightlife, world-class shopping, and/or urban outdoor hangouts. Nominees include Montrose in Houston, Hell’s Kitchen in New York, Northalsted in Chicago, and Zona Rosa in Mexico City.

Then there’s the “Picnic-Worthy Urban Park” category, which recognizes the new favored places for dance parties and social gathering amidst the pandemic. Nominees include parks in Portland, London, Amsterdam, and Madrid.

Of course, it wouldn’t be right to recognize places like this without recognizing our top “Romantic Makeout Spot.” Whether it was The High Line in New York City or Love Park in Philadelphia or the Stanley Park Seawall in Vancouver, there’s not really a wrong answer here, is there?

For those who returned to kinky clubs — or went for the first time — the category for “Iconic Leather Bar” may be just for you. Bars in Amsterdam, San Francisco, Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles were among the nominees

If you spent part of the year on the road, you should definitely help decide the winner of the “Scenic Road Trip” category. Beautiful sites in Barcelona, Maui, Seattle, and Salt Lake City are among those nominated.

For our foodies out there, the “Cool Cafe Culture” category needs your perspective. It may be hard to decide which cities are the best ones to find somewhere to sit down and get coffee, but somewhere has to win between Tokyo, Bueno Aires, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and others.

The next category is to decide which is our favorite “Lesbian Hangout.” There is stiff competition amongst the nominees, which include spots in Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, and San Diego.

Then there’s an opportunity to decide on the top “Emerging Gayborhood,” which all have recently gained more popularity for one reason or another. Up-and-coming areas in Denver, Oakland, New Orleans, and Seattle are among your choices.

The next category may arguably be the most joyous category: the “Traveling Couple.” There were many traveling duos that kept us entertained via social media or vlogs while everyone wasn’t able to safely venture out, and there were no shortage of lovely couples we could think for that. Nominees include @NomadicBoys Stefan and Sebastian, @OnceUponAJourney‘s Rox and Maartje, and @Yummertime’s Brock and Chris Lin.

Is there a “Badass Neighborhood Queen” you love to see every time you did venture out or online? GayCities nominated nine of them, including slay-worthy stars from Key West, Austin, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.

Last but not least, there’s a category for recognizing the top “Night Stay.” Staying the night at one of these hotels is definitely an experience for the books! There are hotels in Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs, Key West, and Montreal, among others, to choose from.

Cast your vote for your favorite LGBTQ-friendly icons and cities, once a day, every day from now until December 15th.

The best part: If you have a GayCities profile, each time you vote while being signed in, you have a chance to win a $500 hotel credit. So what are you waiting for? Get out of here and go vote NOW!