LGBTQ Boston
As the capital city of the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage, Boston stands proud, accessible and welcoming.
The city boasts one of the largest LGBT populations on the East Coast with neighborhoods such as the South End and Jamaica Plain offering a good variety of neighborhood pubs, dance bars and inviting lounges drawing a mixed gay/straight crowd. The city also touts a number of mainstream clubs that host weekly or monthly gay nights. In recent years one would be hard pressed not to find a rainbow flag proudly hanging from homes and business in just about any neighborhood in the city.
Boston hosts notable annual events and festivals such as Boston Pride Week every June celebrated across the city and the yearly LGBT Film Festival, a must see and be seen event held in late March/early April.
LGBTQ Events
Back to Top of List- dbar
- Recurring weekly on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday
The draw of dbar doesn't end at dinner. When the lights go down, the evening has just begun... Once the plates are cleared, the lights are dimmed, and the music goes up a few octaves, dbar After Dark is officially…
An audience favorite returns with a fabulous show under the stars of the Charles Hayden Planetarium. Coleslaw’s Corner has dazzled audiences across Boston, and now it’s taking over one of the city’s most iconic spaces…
- JustBook-ish, Dorchester
- Recurring monthly on the 3rd Thursday
Join us every 3rd Thursday to tell your stories, immerse yourself in the words of others, play storytelling games, gain confidence, and build community. This is a space for Dorchester’s LGBTQIA+ community and our allies…
- Gibson House Museum
- Recurring weekly on Sunday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
The Gibson House Museum is a private, nonprofit house museum in Boston's historic Back Bay neighborhood. The home served as residence to three generations of Gibson family members and their household staff between 1859…
- Summer Shack Cambridge
- Recurring weekly on Sunday, Saturday
Experience the ultimate weekend entertainment at Summer Shack's themed Drag Brunches! Summer Shack is proud to host many fabulous drag queens as they take on a new theme each weekend. Some of the upcoming drag brunch…
- City Hall Plaza
This family-friendly event is free and open to the public. Guests will be able to dance the night away to all of Donna Summer’s greatest hits in a groovy atmosphere complete with glow sticks, bubbles, colorful lights, a…
Get ready for a chaotic and hilarious night as Jane Don’t (breakout star of RuPaul’s Drag Race) hits the stage with her signature unhinged humor and sharp wit. Expect wild drag numbers, plenty of audience shenanigans…
- Somerville Theater
Internationally beloved drag icon Sasha Velour presents a time-bending, sweeping journey through the hidden queer histories of a single place. A witch burns in a field; a clown builds a theater; an underground gay bar…
- The Mosesian Center for the Arts
- Recurring daily
This show bites. It also sucks. Join Jonathan Harker, London’s most naive real estate agent, as he clashes with some of the most iconic characters in horror literature: Van Helsing, Renfield, Lucy, and of course, Count…
- Club Café
Celebrate community and support a vital cause at the 29th Annual Lesbians & Friends LGBTQIA+ Dance: Halloween Bash for Breast Cancer Prevention! Enjoy a high-energy night at Club Café with music by guest DJ Christina…
As a proud trans-Hawaiian woman, Sasha is a staple in the American drag industry. She’s been hailed “A LEGEND” by castmates of Drag Race past and present, is a former Miss Continental 2012 (one of the most, if not the…
- Multicultural Arts Center
- Recurring daily
2,769 pages of literary perfection, all in 80 minutes of hysterical mishaps. Pride and Prejudice . Sense and Sensibility . Mansfield Park . Northanger Abbey . Emma . Persuasion . With so many classics in the Austen…
We’ve had tourists ask about walking the Yellow Brick Road - we’re sorry to disappoint them by pointing out that they may actually mean the Freedom Trail with its painted red brick line that connects the 16 main sites dealing with the history of Boston and the American Revolution. You may also want to walk the Equality Trail - a self-guided walking tour that follows the route of Boston's first Gay Pride March in 1971 and offers information about issues and individuals related to this route.
So come be a part in our continuing history. Oh and at the end of the Freedom Trail, no need to click your heels three times to get home - we recommend the MBTA.
…Let's not forget Cape Cod is just down the coast a bit. Provincetown has long been a prominent LGBTQ tourist destination. Ferries from Boston (no cars) offer a quick and relaxing way to make the trip or by car it is just a little under three hours.
Please see our full Calendar of Events
Popular LGBTQ Restaurants and Bars
Back to Top of List- 11 Beacon Street
- (617) 227-3100
A 1920's style speakeasy located on Beacon Hill. For memorable cocktail and cuisine experiences Boston, Carrie Nation Cocktail Club on Beacon Street offers not only an extensive menu of exquisite dishes and drinks, but…
- 26 Chandler Street
- (617) 482-4428
A favorite with the locals, Trophy Room is the epicenter of fun for the South End neighborhood. With a colorful atmosphere, superb food and drink options, and a lively brunch on Sundays. Everyone is welcome at The Trophy…
ADDITIONAL LGBTQ+ RESTAURANTS AND BARS
Blend, in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, is a gastro pub that combines the aspects of great food, music, lights and entertainment all into one. Blend "blends" up that neighborhood gastro pub feel where everyone is welcome.
Cathedral Station is a gay sports bar and neighborhood pub that welcomes everyone. The location provides a bar area, dining area, outdoor patio area and free parking in the back.
Club Cafe, located in the South End, is a gay friendly cabaret, piano bar, dance club and American bistro offering the perfect place to dine and drink and dance the night away. Enjoy special performances, comedy shows, Karaoke Wednesdays, and more!
Dani's Queer Bar is a lesbian bar in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood with a core audience that includes Queer, Sapphic Women, Trans and Non-Binary members of the LGBTQ+ Community. Check out their weekly events, from drag shows to emo dance parties.
Jacque’s Cabaret, located in Bay Village, is the oldest show bar in Massachusetts with shows 6 nights a week.
Midway Cafe For over three decades, the Midway Cafe in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood has featured top-notch entertainment. The nightclub hosts live music, dance nights, Queeraoke every Thursday, and more!
The Alley Bar is located in downtown Boston. Dance to Top 40, Hip Hop, and Latin hits every 1st, 3rd, and 4th Friday of each month, take the stage and sing your heart out on Karaoke Sundays, or shoot some pool on the second floor while enjoying your favorite cocktail!