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Experiencing LGBTQ+ Florence

Tours, events, associations and bars to discover LGBTQI+ Florence.

Florence is a destination that’s open to all and doesn’t have a specific target. Making it a perfect destination for anyone - and above all, for the entire LGBTQ+ community - is its artistic beauty and its pioneering in the fight against discrimination since the time of Leopold II, to whom "we owe the abolition of penalties for homosexuality in 1853”.

Let's discover the LGBTQ+ world of Florence together!

Photo credits: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPnfnwRLyMF/

Florence Walking Tour

One of the most interesting ways to get to know rainbow Florence is to experience a tour of Florentine history and culture, linked both to the LGBT world and to love in all its forms. The LGBT themed walking tour of Florence You will discover the iconic places of Florence with a walk that historically retraces the city and its society, also highlighting the presence of important homosexual historical figures and their contribution in making Florence an immortal city

We will make a comparison on how the homosexual community was treated in the classical era and in the Renaissance period and we will tell anecdotes and curiosities that really happened in Florence.

At the end of the tour there will be a relaxing tasting in an exclusive place accredited as LGBT + friendly.

Tuscany Pride 2024

This year Tuscany Pride will take place in Lucca (date tbd)! If you are in Florence, just take a train from Santa Maria Novella station, there is one every half an hour.

LGBTQ+ evenings and events

The most important and wide-ranging event is undoubtedly the one organized by the IREOS association of Florence: the Florence Queer Festival. It’s the most important Tuscan festival, and one of the most important in Italy, in terms of art, cinema, video, theater, photography, and literature dedicated to QUEER culture from November 27 to December 1st. 

Turning to music and entertainment, the best Florentine gay nights are:

  • PridePark NCS: Also called "Necessariamente", the evenings are self-financed by the Florentine association, Azione Gay e Lesbica, who have been holding their monthly events at the Flog Auditorium for 25 years. A must in the city, today they are known as PridePark / NCS, taking place on the last Friday of the month.
  • Bossy: Soul Kitchen's gay Thursday with DJ, aperitivo and dinner.
  • Mamamia in Florence: once a month (Friday) the famous Versilian Mamamia arrives at the Viper Theater in Florence, with colours, drag and music all night long.
  • ICON: the new LGBT party on Saturday evenings in Florence, located on Via della Vigna Vecchia
  • Gulp: gay-friendly association that organizes parties and events throughout the year.
  • Tenax - Nobody's Perfect: Saturdays at Tenax, the most historic nightclub in Florence hosts Saturday nights filled with music and performances.

LGBTQ+ bars in Florence

If you prefer less disco and more aperitivi and cocktails, here’s a list of some of the gay friendly bars in Florence: Queer in Borgo Allegri, Piccolo Caffè in Borgo Santa Croce, Twist Bistrot in Via Cavour (with evenings of drag), and Quelo.

Photo credits: Photo by Brian Kyed on Unsplash