Gay & Lesbian Travellers
Germany is a magnet for schwule (gay) and lesbische (lesbian) travellers, with the rainbow flag flying especially proudly in Berlin and Cologne. There are also sizeable communities in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich.
- Legal stuff: Homosexuality has been legal since the late 1960s. Same-sex marriage is legal.
- Attitudes tend to be more conservative in the countryside, among older people and in the eastern states.
- As elsewhere, Germany's lesbian scene is less public than its male counterpart and is centred mainly on women's cafes and bars.
- Gay pride marches are held throughout Germany in springtime; the largest, in Cologne and Berlin, draw hundreds of thousands of rainbow revellers and friends.
Publications
Blu (www.blu.fm) Free print and online magazine with searchable, up-to-the-minute location and event listings.
L-Mag (www.l-mag.de) Bimonthly magazine for lesbians. Available at newsagents.
Spartacus International Gay Guide (https://spartacus.gayguide.travel) Annual English-language travel guide for men. Available online, in bookstores and as an app.
Websites & Apps
German National Tourist Office (www.germany.travel/en/ms/lgbt/home/home.html?et_rp=1) Dedicated LGBT pages.
Spartacus World (www.spartacusworld.com) Hip hotel, style and event guide.
Patroc Gay Travel Guide (www.patroc.com) Travel information to 25 European destinations.