4 destination dupes to refill your bucket list

Travel's latest trend, destination dupes, takes a queer twist as GayCities offers our favorite alternatives to popular vacation spots.

Mark

Jun 24, 2024 - 20:00

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4 destination dupes to refill your bucket list

Three gay friends gather at Otto Wagner Pavillon, Karlsplatz, Vienna. Photo by WienTourismus/Paul Bauer.

Destination dupes are one of the year’s biggest travel trends. Top-ranked cities for US travelers rarely fluctuate, but we think a bucket list should be bottomless. There’s a whole world to discover, so why not explore your polyamorous love for travel with swaps for some of the most popular travel spots, with some queer finds along the way?

For cool Britannia, try Manchester as a London alternative

A man holds a rainbow umbrella at Manchester Pride. — Manchester Pride. Photo: Shutterstock.

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When you’re feeling the need for a dose of English hip, look past the obvious option of London for a bolder Britain in the northern city of Manchester. Boasting an excellent LGBTQ+ scene, fantastic restaurants, and a stellar musical heritage that’s produced everyone from the Bee Gees to the Smiths to Oasis, Manchester is as cool — and still unpretentious — as it gets.

Stay: Leven

With a fantastic location right on Canal Street in the heart of the Gay Village, the cool and cosy new LEVEN is set in a landmark brick building that once served as a cotton warehouse and brewery, but has now been perfectly divvied up into 42 distinct loft-like rooms.

Eat: Maya

Easily enough at LEVEN’s base is the brand new Maya, which landed in the esteemed Michelin Guide just weeks after opening. Maya’s canal-side brasserie space serves up modern European classics, while the gorgeous and inviting lower level is for finer dining with an ingredient-led, locally sourced, and seasonal menu.

Gay all day: Manchester Pride

One of the UK’s largest and most elaborate Pride events, Manchester Pride, dominates the city’s annual queer calendar. The entire Gay Village is enclosed from Friday to Monday for four days of wild parties and stellar performances from major artists, all capped by a moving Candlelit Vigil in Sackville Gardens.

For Japan’s many flavors, opt for Osaka over Tokyo

A gay couple in Osaka, Japan. — Osaka, Japan. Video still courtesy of Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau.

For most US travelers, a trip to Japan will be at least a 10-hour flight. (Unless you’re on a world cruise, in which case — why weren’t we invited?) So it’s likely that you’ll explore several cities throughout the country. There’s no need to play favorites, but all eyes are on Osaka this year as the host city for the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association’s annual convention, where the world’s top queer industry leaders gather to explore new trends and how to make LGBTQ+ travel more globally accessible. But you don’t have to be an industry insider to appreciate these iconic finds.

Stay: Noum Osaka

Set right in the heart of Osaka and offering fantastic views of the Okawa River, the Noum marries minimalist design with welcoming comfort for what the Michelin Guide says “might be the defining feature of present-day Japan: unpretentious excellence.” The hotel’s “Tokyo bike” rental program makes it easy to explore Osaka’s flavors on two wheels.

Eat: Hajime

Focusing on the meaning of life through food, chef Hajime Yoneda is best known for his signature “Planet Earth” dish in which he reinterprets the globe using 110 different vegetables, grains, and herbs, all meticulously arranged around shellfish foam representing land and sea. It’s not the cheapest meal you’ll ever have, but Hajime is worth every one of its three Michelin stars.

Gay all day: Doyamacho neighborhood

Set within easy walking distance of Umeda train station, Doyamacho is Osaka’s gayest neighborhood, loaded with informal bars (known locally as izakayas), clubs, karaoke spots, and love hotels. Bar-wise, don’t miss FrenZ-FrenZY and Grand Slam.

For European romance, vibe with Vienna rather than Paris

Friends gather for Vienna Pride — The Rainbow Parade at Vienna Pride. Photo by WienTourismus/Paul Bauer.

Paris may be pretty, but avoid the big crowds during the Olympics this summer (or any other time) by heading to Austria’s capital, Vienna. The city is packed with the stuff of romance—gorgeous hotels, fascinating history, oodles of culture, and an unparalleled dining and café scene.

Stay: Hotel Bristol

With its opulent rooms and perfect location next to the Vienna State Opera, the five-star Hotel Bristol has been one of Vienna’s top hotels for over 130 years. It’s here that Edward, then Britain’s Prince of Wales, and his American divorcée girlfriend Wallis Simpson hid away at the height of their affair.

Eat: Steirereck

Coming in at number 22 on S. Pellegrino’s latest World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Steirereck deftly blends romantic formal dining (think terraces and white-gloved servers) with modern creativity (Chef Heinz Reitbauer is known for using rare local vegetables like the purple Beta Sweet Carrot).

Gay all day: Hofburg Imperial Palace

The longtime winter residence of the powerful Habsburg royal dynasty, Hofburg was the 1842 birthplace of Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria, more commonly known as Luzi-wuzi, who scandalized the family with his antics at Vienna’s Centralbad indoor swimming pool (fittingly, today the gay Kaiserbründl Sauna).

For a mountain metropolis, swing into Salt Lake City instead of Denver

Participants kick off Salt Lake City Pride Month by walking a large Pride flag to the Utah state Capitol. — Participants kick off Salt Lake City Pride Month by walking a large Pride flag to the Utah State Capitol. Photo: Shutterstock.

Denver may be a mile high, but it’s not the only mountain town rising to the occasion. Salt Lake City (SLC) is becoming an oasis of queer positivity in sometimes-less-so Utah. With a thriving gay scene, excellent restaurants, natural wonders all around, and a big-city vibe overlaid with small-town friendliness, SLC is well worth your attention.

Stay: Hotel Monaco

Set in a 13-story National Register of Historic Places-listed former bank building that turns a century this year, the ideally situated Hotel Monaco just completed its most extensive renovation since opening as a hotel in 1999. As part of the Kimpton family of boutique properties, gay-friendliness is a given.

Eat: Manoli’s

After surviving a massive water main break in 2022 and that other global setback that had us all hunkered down in 2020, local favorite Manoli’s is back and better than ever with its small plates concept that reinterprets Greek cuisine while showcasing fresh, local and seasonal products, all in a very hip and friendly setting.

Gay all day: Under the Umbrella

Opened in 2021, Under the Umbrella is the only bookstore in the Salt Lake City area that caters to LGBTQ+ readers and amplifies QPOC and disabled authors. Discover books from small presses and self-published queer authors not generally found in general bookstores.

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