Gay Tuscany & Northern Italy

A guide to Gay Northern Italy - including Tuscany, Florence, Venice and Milan

Northern Italy offers gay travelers everything that makes medieval Italy seductive – from the art-filled towns of the Veneto to the grand old ports of Trieste and Genoa. Tuscany has always ben the most famous and glamorous of the regions of Northern Italy. The landscape of rolling hills studded with rocket pines is some of the most beautiful in Europe. Florence and Venice are the big two tourist towns - both relatively well preserved, and overcome by tourists in summer. Milan can be a lot of fun - and has a lot more in the way of gay bars, clubs and saunas for gay travellers. And up-and-coming Umbria, as beautiful as Tuscany, offers northern italian delights at a lower price.

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Gay Tuscany & Northern Italy

It’s safe to say that the Italian attitude to homosexuality is behind that of most of the rest of Europe. Being ‘out’ is more difficult and thus less common. Because of this, there are fewer exclusively gay hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs in Tuscany and Northern Italy than you might find in neighbouring France or Germany. That said, you can find quite a few gay-friendly hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts - listed to the right. (To search using a map and more criteria, click here.)

As elsewhere in Europe – attitudes to gay people improve as you get into city centres. Gay life in North Italy’s main cities – Milan, Bologna, Genoa, Verona, Venice, Florence, Turin, Bergamo and Padua is improving. And any gay or gay-friendly accommodation here would give you easy access to an increasing number of gay bars, clubs and saunas.

Milan

Milan is the largest city in the North of Italy, and like other Italian cities, has very few gay-only hotels on offer. The centre of Milan’s gay area is just to the north of the city centre, and there are quite a few gay-friendly places to stay just to the south of this gay area. With its huge fashion industry, Milan is one of the most gay-friendly of Italian cities – especially during fashion week, when Milan truly becomes a fashionista’s heaven on earth – with luxury boutiques as far as the eye can see – sporting the best of Modern Italy’s elite brands. While for history and art buffs there’s Caravaggio’s home just up the road.

Venice

Venice has literally hundreds of hotels – but very few are gay. Again, a quick check on our Gay Welcome map search page will show you which of the many hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses in the city are gay or lesbian. But again, there is enough gay-friendly accommodation in the centre of Venice for gay travelers to find somewhere welcoming to stay. We’d recommend staying as centrally as possible, as getting around car-free Venice can be difficult.

Umbria

Umbria is the north’s up-and-coming region – just as beautiful in parts as Tuscany, but less expensive. As in all parts of Northern italy, there are a fair number of gay hotel, B&Bs and guesthouses run by non-Italians – who can often offer a more cosmopolitan atmosphere than their purely Italian competitors. Bellaugello, a gay guesthouse run by an Englishman, is a good example. It offers a gorgeous infinity pool and five well-furnished and decorated suites – all with views over the spectacular valley below.

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The big plus for gay and lesbian travelers in northern Italy is the geographical diversity. From a hotel or guesthouse in the mountains, you can ski in the alps in the morning, and sunbathe on the sun-drenched beaches of the Riviera after lunch. Then you can stop for lunch in the green valleys of Piedmont, and enjoy superb truffles and wines eating al fresco in pretty villages.

Pass down through Italy’s gorgeous lake district, where you’ll find plenty of gay friendly bed and breakfasts, pensiones and small hotels. Drive past endless castles, and down to pretty Verona (home of Romeo and Juliet), or take a day to travel down the Po River valley to Venice, taking in picturesque canals, chic resorts of the Ligurian Riviera, and traditional fishing villages. You should find gay or gay-friendly accommodation in all of these areas (check our search map to find something that suits your needs).

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The best links for Gay Northern Italy

We have chosen not to list Tuscany's gay bars, restaurants and saunas - simply because the gay scene there (as in all European cities) changes so often. So any listings we had would probably be out of date. Rather than trying to replicate the listings of other specialist websites, we've listed below those websites we recommend you use to view the most up-to-date information on events, where to eat, what to do and see etc.