With same-sex marriage now being legal in 29 countries around the world and COVID travel restrictions easing, everyone now has the opportunity to plan that luxury destination wedding you and your partner have been dreaming of, to commit to spending the rest of your lives together.
But with so many amazing and romantic cities and destinations around the world to choose from, where are the best locations to get hitched?
To find this out, we’ve ranked some of the most popular destinations around the world based on nine factors.
top 3 overall LGBTQ+ wedding destinations
London
The United Kingdom
7.01/10
LGBTQ+ score
The unofficial gay capital of Europe, London’s LGBTQ+ scene isn’t confined to a single area like most cities. Instead, it hosts a diverse scene, from relaxed venues in the South to more vibrant locations in Soho.
London scores top for Instagramability, 20 million posts ahead of Paris, the City of Love as well as the highest number of romantic restaurants with 1,885.
Paris
France
6.74/10
LGBTQ+ score
Often considered the world’s most romantic city, Paris narrowly misses out on the top spot, despite legalising gay marriage a year earlier than London. The city is open-minded, with a large gay scene centred around the historic Marais district.
In our ranking, Paris scored top for the number of romantic hotels (544), as well as ranking highly for LGBTQ+ Danger Index score (287) and LGBTQ+ openness in the city (4.45/5).
Madrid
Spain
6.04/10
LGBTQ+ score
Spain is one of the most gay-friendly nations in the world, being the third country to permit same-sex marriage (in 2005). Madrid, in particular, has one of the largest LGBTQ+ populations, with roughly 10% of citizens identifying as LGBTQ+ so its not surprising this city is in our top three.
The city ranks highly for LGBTQ+ openness (4.87/5) and Summer sunshine hours (10.7).
data table key
LGBTQ+ Destinations Ranked
Select Currency:
| LGBTQ+ friendliness | desirability | romance |
LGBTQ+ score /10 |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City | Country | |||||||||||
| 1 | London |  |
299 | 4.94 | 2014 | 7 | 18.0 | 6.3 | 153,977,200 | 285 | 1,885 | £87.50 | 7.01 |
| 2 | Paris |  |
287 | 4.45 | 2013 | 8 | 18.7 | 7.3 | 133,434,268 | 544 | 1,486 | £144.00 | 6.74 |
| 3 | Madrid |  |
279 | 4.87 | 2005 | 16 | 23.7 | 10.7 | 45,634,716 | 80 | 706 | £98.00 | 6.04 |
| 4 | Barcelona | |
279 | 4.75 | 2005 | 16 | 22.3 | 9.3 | 65,062,057 | 151 | 775 | £139.50 | 5.93 |
| 5 | Toronto |  |
309 | 4.78 | 2005 | 16 | 19.3 | 10.3 | 51,820,904 | 21 | 347 | £144.00 | 5.51 |
| 6 | Lisbon |  |
306 | 3.78 | 2010 | 11 | 22.7 | 10.3 | 10,489,854 | 149 | 622 | £111.00 | 5.46 |
| 7 | Valencia | |
279 | 3.94 | 2005 | 16 | 23.7 | 10.3 | 24,770,495 | 4 | 337 | £70.50 | 5.39 |
| 8 | Amsterdam |  |
265 | 4.72 | 2001 | 20 | 15.3 | 6.3 | 34,382,218 | 170 | 501 | £125.00 | 5.35 |
| 9 | Stockholm |  |
322 | 4.18 | 2009 | 12 | 17.0 | 10.7 | 13,943,132 | 25 | 303 | £103.00 | 5.22 |
| 10 | New York City |  |
187 | 4.91 | 2015 | 6 | 23.7 | 10.7 | 32,115,536 | 114 | 1,283 | £147.00 | 5.21 |
methodology
We looked at some of the most visited cities around the world, and ranked them on the following nine factors, giving each place a score out of ten for each factor, before taking a weighted average out of ten, with double weighting for the LGBTQ+ friendliness factors.
LGBTQ+ danger index score
A score based on numerous different LGBTQ+ factors according to Asher & Lyric. Note that this score is applied at the country level rather than the city. In this case, a higher score indicates a country that is safer for the LGBTQ+ community. Factors accounted for in this score include the laws surrounding same-sex marriage, adoption recognition and protections for the LGBTQ+ community from violence and discrimination.
LGBTQ+ openess in the city
A score out of five based on how open local citizens are towards different orientations, according to Nestpick.
number of years same-sex marriage has been legal
The number of years since same-sex marriage has been fully legal and recognised in each country, according to Wikipedia’s timeline of same-sex marriage. In the case of the UK, we have taken the year when same-sex marriage was legalised in England, Wales and Scotland. However, this was not the case in Northern Ireland until January 2020.
average summer temperature
The average temperature across June, July and August in Northern Hemisphere countries and December, January and February for Southern Hemisphere countries, according to Holiday-Weather.com.
average summer sunshine Hours
The average number of sunshine hours across June, July and August in Northern Hemisphere countries and December, January and February for Southern Hemisphere countries, according to Holiday-Weather.com.
Instagrammability
The number of hashtags on Instagram that mention the city.
number of romantic hotels
The number of hotels listed as ‘Romantic’ on TripAdvisor.
number of romantic restaurants
The number of restaurants listed as ‘Romantic’ on TripAdvisor.
average cost of accommodation per night
The average cost of a hotel room per night according to Kayak.
