Pride 2026: 6 historic LGBTQ+ destinations to visit in the US

The Pride month of June offers a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and learn more about the proud, though often difficult, history of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States. But where do you start?

Many sites, such as New York City’s Stonewall Inn, are widely known for their significant role in queer history. Yet there are many other places across the country that have also contributed to this important story.

For fresh insights into the queer liberation movement’s seminal figures, events and venues, it's well worth taking the time to visit one (or more!) of these six sites that have played a key role in LGBTQ+ life in the USA – and the world.

1. Julius’, New York City

Enjoy a burger and a beer as you learn about a key site in NYC's LGBTQ+ history. This marvelous bar in the West Village has been welcoming tipplers continuously since 1864. By the 1960s, it had become a gathering spot for gay men, who had to be discreet, since any hint of the presence of “disorderly” homosexuals might have risked revocation of the bar’s license. A group of bold, forward-thinking, proudly out (and thirsty) activists – all members of the Mattachine Society – decided to challenge this status quo on April 21, 1966, when they staged a “sip-in” at the bar, daring the bar’s management and the authorities to question their right to a round or two with friends. The result? Business as usual; Julius’ faced no consequences, and the institution of the gay bar slowly began evolving from house of ill repute to neighborhood staple.

2. Leather Archives & Museum, Chicago

In 1991, Chuck Renslow, an openly gay businessman known for pioneering homoerotic photography in the mid-20th century, opened the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago to preserve a subculture of queer life. Through temporary exhibitions, visitors can consider how and why the leather, kink, fetish and BDSM scenes blossomed in the queer community. The museum also holds the archives of Mineshaft, a historic, members-only BDSM gay leather bar and sex club that drew gay men to the (then) grungy streets of Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

3. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, New York City

This handsome former schoolhouse became a site of urgent activism during the AIDS crisis, when the community gathered to agitate for a governmental response to a disease that disproportionately affected gay men. The activists of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) officially joined forces here; The Center was also the birthplace of such influential groups as the Lesbian Avengers and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

It remains a beautifully maintained community gathering place where anyone can drop in, whether for a coffee, a youth-oriented program, career counseling, a 12-step meeting or an art exhibition. Don’t miss the sensational, if rather graphic, mural in the second-floor bathroom by LGBTQ+ icon Keith Haring.

4. Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, San Francisco

During the HIV/AIDS crisis, this San Francisco parish opened its arms to LGBTQ+ people, offering weekly support groups and sermons throughout the 1980s that embraced the community with love. Today, the church is a regularly visited historical site and remains a popular place of worship for those looking for inclusion.

5. Jacob Riis Park, New York City

Jacob Riis Park – better known as Riis Beach or just Riis – has drawn queer sun worshippers since the 1940s. Located on the oceanfront Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, Riis has for decades been where gay people from New York City went to sunbathe nude, as they were often excluded from more central or crowded bathing areas. Today, this area of the beach maintains its queer identity as one of NYC’s popular and diverse LGBTQ+ public spaces. It’s particularly popular during the summer and over Pride weekend.

6. GLBT History Museum, San Francisco

San Francisco’s “queer Smithsonian,” the GLBT History Museum, maintains an extensive archival collection of materials relating to queer history in the US, with a focus on the LGBTQ+ communities of San Francisco and Northern California. In the historic “gayborhood” of the Castro, the objects and displays here showcase the extensive history of LGBTQ+ life in the city since the 1850s.