Gay villages, or “gayborhoods,” are neigbhorhoods within cities that provide safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people to express themselves openly and form communities. Many gay villages feature bars and restaurants, vibrant nightlife and boundless queer history. Wherever one may find themselves, there is likely a gay village just around the corner waiting to be discovered. Here are eight gay villages from across the world.

1. Shinjuku Ni-chome, Tokyo

Buildings and neon lights in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward. Andy Miller. Unsplash

In the heart of Shinjuku ward in Tokyo, between modern skyscrapers and dazzling neon-lit billboards, hides one of Asia’s most vibrant gay villages. Shinjuku Ni-chome, shortened to just Ni-chome, has the highest concentration of gay bars in the world. Ni-chome was once Tokyo’s red-light district, but when prostitution became illegal in Japan in 1956 it became Tokyo’s gay village. In a city known for its nightlife, Ni-chome is home to fusion restaurants and nightclubs open late into the night. Many of Ni-chome’s gay bars are small and personal, fostering their own tight-knit community within the city. Ni-chome was the location of Japan’s first gay pride parade in 1994, and is where the country’s first permanent LGBTQ+ center opened in 2020.

2. Oxford Street, Sydney

A brightly colored building near Taylor Square, Sydney. Ted McGrath. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Located in the Darlinghurst neighborhood of Sydney, Oxford Street is known for its nightlife, shopping and dining venues. It is also the heart of Sydney’s LGBTQ+ community, playing host to the annual Syndey Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Unlike other Pride events, which usually occur around June, Mardi Gras is held in March, drawing over half a million attendees. The first Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras was held in 1978. The organizers of the event were arrested and outed by the police, which garnered national attention. The next year in 1979, another event was held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, as well as to bring attention to the events of the previous year. Every year since then, queer Australians have gathered along the western end of Oxford Street to socialize, party and remind Australia and the world that they will not be silenced.

3. Chueca, Madrid

Pride flags hang over a crowded street in Chueca, Madrid. Ted Eytan. CC BY-SA 2.0

Chueca is a timeless neighborhood in an already historic city. Located in the heart of Madrid, this gay village is defined by its lively crowds as much as by its many cafes and boutiques. Chueca’s annual gay pride event, known as Madrid Pride, is the largest in Europe with an average crowd of over 2 million people each year. The neighborhood also hosted WorldPride Madrid 2017, an international Pride event that promotes LGBTQ+ issues globally. WorldPride 2017 was one of the largest Pride events in history, attracting an estimated 3.5 million attendees. Chueca has more to offer than just shops and festivals. For those with a love for romance and history, one can visit the Church of San Anton, where visitors will find the bones of St. Valentine himself.

4. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Colorful buildings in Caminito, Buenos Aires. Barbara Zandoval. Unsplash

Unlike other major cities, Buenos Aires lacks a specific gay village. However, this doesn’t mean that Buenos Aires isn’t a gay-friendly city, or that there isn’t a queer community in the Argentine capital. Rather, LGBTQ+ travelers will find pockets across the city’s many barrios that cater to gay and straight patrons alike. San Telmo, Bueno Aires’ oldest barrio, is known for its historic streets and contemporary art installations. In the city’s largest barrio, Palermo, one can find both stunning botanical gardens and the city’s largest collection of gay bars and clubs. The belle epoque buildings of Barrio Norte can instantly transport travelers to the streets of Paris. None of these neighborhoods are explicitly Buenos Aires’ gay village. Rather, visitors and locals alike will find a queer-friendly environment all across the city. Argentina is a leader of LGBTQ+ rights in the region, becoming the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage in 2010. Regardless of where travelers find themselves in Buenos Aires, they will find a progressive city paving the way for gay rights and liberation.

5. Gay Village, Montreal

A Black Lives Matter street mural in Montreal’s Gay Village. Martin Reisch. Unsplash

Montreal’s Gay Village is one of the most prominent of its type in the French-speaking world. Known as “Le Village Gai” in French, the community had to overcome decades of oppression before becoming one of the most well-known gayborhoods in the world. During the 1970s, gay businesses in the city were regular targets of the police, who often raided bars and other establishments. Police violence didn’t deter Montreal’s LGBTQ+ population. Rather, Montreal’s gay residents formed a series of demonstrations to fight injustice against their community. Now the area is one of Montreal’s most popular neighborhoods. It draws visitors from all over the world, and hosts the largest Pride in Canada. Fierte Montreal, literally “Montreal Pride,” drew more than 3 million attendees in 2019, which also makes it the largest Pride in a French-speaking city (sorry Paris!). In classic Montreal fashion, two gay villages technically exist in Montreal: an English one located near downtown, and a French one on Saint Laurent Boulevard.

6. Canal Street, Manchester, England

Canal Street in Manchester, England. David McKelvey. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

When one thinks of cosmopolitanism in the U.K., most think of London. However, travelers shouldn’t count out the city of Manchester. Canal Street easily competes with London’s Soho for the center of Britain’s queer scene. The street dates back to the early 1800s as a transportation hub, when Manchester was rapidly growing as a major industrial center. Canal Street derives its name from the Rochdale Canal which runs alongside it. By the 1950s, the neighborhood was facing urban decline. This was around the same time that Canal Street became Manchester’s main gayborhood. Like many gay villages around the world, the community faced hostility from police during the 1980s. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Canal Street was able to thrive openly as a gay village. Now the street is a proud and open community, drawing locals and travelers from both the U.K. and across the world. It is home to the annual Manchester Pride, the second-largest Pride event in Britain after London’s.

7. Ximending, Taipei, Taiwan

A rainbow-colored street in Taipei’s Ximending district. waychen_c. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Known for night markets and traditional temples, Taipei should be near the top of anyone’s list when traveling in Asia. It is also one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, and a leading example of equal rights in the region. In 2019, Taiwan became the first and only country so far in Asia to legalize same-sex marrriage. This makes Taipei not only the center of gay culture in Taiwan, but a perfect example of what LGBTQ+ equality could look like in Asia. The city’s gay village is located in Ximending, a shopping area of the historic Wanhua district. Situated near the famous Red House Theater, Ximending offers a plethora of gay bars and nightclubs open late into the night. In a city like Taipei, you don’t need to be a local to enjoy what this friendly city has to offer travelers of all kinds. However, you might need to be a night owl to fully experience this gayborhood.

8. Schoneberg, Berlin

Nollendorfplatz in Berlin’s Schoneberg neighborhood. Schoneberg is the oldest gay village in the world. Oh-Berlin.com. CC BY 2.0

Located in the western part of Berlin, Schoneberg’s history as a gay village spans nearly a century. The neighborhood’s roots lie as a village in the Middle Ages, all the way back in the 13th century. In the 1920s, as Berlin grew in size, Schoneberg became a part of the German capital. That is around the same time the area became the center of the city’s emerging queer scene. Gay nightclubs and other venues flourished during the Weimar Republic, before almost all of them were shut down when the Nazis seized power in 1933. Now, Schoneberg is once again a proud gay village. Much of the gay life in the neighborhood is centered around Motzstrasse, a street that goes right through the center of Schoneberg. The street is where Berlin’s Lesbian and Gay City Festival is held each year, one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Whether one comes for its history or its nightlife, Schoneberg is a constant reminder that queer people have always been a part of Berlin life, just as they have been a part of communities around the world.

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Aerex is a current student at Occidental College majoring in Diplomacy and World Affairs with a minor in East Asian Studies. He is passionate about sharing people’s stories through writing, and always strives to learn about new places and cultures. Aerex loves finding new music and exploring his hometown of Los Angeles in his free time.

For over a year, Ray Reynolds slept in a hearse. Working at a funeral home in Montego Bay, Jamaica, he spent his life hiding from homophobic mobs threatening to torture and kill him. “Even though I worked at the funeral home, people still called that place and threatened me. ‘Oh, batty bwoy (a derogatory slur) I know where you is. When I’m coming for you, I’m coming with a tanka (tanker truck with bombs) to burn you out.’” The best hiding place he could find was a hearse; they would never expect to find him there. But Ray knew that if he stayed in Jamaica much longer, he would soon find himself in a coffin six feet underground.

He contacted Rainbow Railroad, and soon, they provided him transport to Spain, where he currently lives. Spain offered a starkly different environment for a gay man like Ray. “I’m free to walk. I’m free to be who I am. I’m free to be what I am.” Along with this newfound freedom, Ray can now experience aspects of queer life strictly forbidden in Jamaica. “I see drag queens, gay people, trans people—everyone together—just having a drink at the bar. Nobody cares!”

Ray is one of more than 800 individuals from 38 different countries to receive assistance from Rainbow Railroad. Founded in 2006, the Toronto-based charity helps LGBTQ+ people escape violence and persecution in their home countries. After reviewing thousands of applications for assistance, Rainbow Railroad has built a worldwide network to lend aid to queer people in need and contribute to LGBTQ+ activist organizations abroad.

Much of its work has focused on Jamaica. In 2006, Time magazine named the Caribbean country “the most homophobic place on earth.” Buggery and anti-sodomy laws that criminalize homosexual intimacy are still on the books. Though they are rarely enforced, these laws buttress Jamaican society’s systematic marginalization of queer individuals. LGBTQ+ individuals face mob violence and constant death threats, many coming from the police force. To escape persecution, they travel from town to town, rarely able to settle in one place and hold a steady job. This, coupled with the expulsion from families that many queer Jamaicans face, has driven many to homelessness. Forced to live away from virulent homophobia, many live in sewers.

40% of the requests Rainbow Railroad receives originate in Jamaica; 300 individuals have been relocated in the past two years. Activist groups on the ground have proven invaluable for the mission of Rainbow Railroad. Upon receiving a request for aid, the person’s identity must be verified and aid given in the requisite areas, including everything from plane tickets and hotel stays to housing assistance and legal representation in the refugee application process.

This process can take up to a year, and the average cost per person is $7,500. Surprisingly, Rainbow Railroad receives no money from the Canadian government, relying instead on private donors. Some donors make contributions in the thousands, but others make small donations through the website or become monthly donors.

The charity first received widespread attention in 2017 when it was one of the first international organizations to take action against the anti-LGBTQ+ purge in Chechnya. Led by Ramzan Kadyrov, the police, military and other state actors began capturing gay men at random and transporting them to detention facilities where they were tortured, raped and sometimes killed. Working with the Russian LGBT Network, Rainbow Railroad helped locate individuals in need and co-funded safe houses where queer individuals could live safely while the logistics of escape were handled. To date, 70 individuals from Chechnya, the Caucasus and Russia have been relocated thanks to Rainbow Railroad.

The charity’s work will become all the more necessary in the coming years. Communications director Andrea Houston notes that the amount of requests has been steadily increasing year after year as populism and authoritarianism flourish worldwide. “Unfortunately,” Houston said, “populism seems to be a winning political strategy right now, and the ones who receive the short end of the stick are marginalized people.”

Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of countless queer individuals. Bans on travel stranded queer refugees in their home countries. Lockdown measures gave police the license to target queer people and punish them unequally and disproportionately for lockdown violations. The growth of the state in many nations has allowed homophobia to become more embedded and systemic. For the time being, Rainbow Railroad will have to run nonstop in the fight against discrimination.