Gay Bucket List: The Destinations I'm Going Next

Mexico City has the biggest queer scene in Latin America and Zona Rosa is the heart of it. It's the one destination on this list where I already know people telling me to hurry up.

Best time to go: March to May, before the rain.

A whole town at the tip of Cape Cod that turns entirely queer for the summer. Tea dance every afternoon is a rhythm I want to live inside for a week.

Best time to go: July and August, or Carnival week in August.

The Pines and Cherry Grove are gay history you can walk through, with no cars and no reason to leave the boardwalk. I want to film there.

Best time to go: June to early September.

Berlin's queer nightlife runs on its own clock and its own rules, and nowhere else takes it this seriously. The techno is the excuse, the freedom is the point.

Best time to go: June to August, or late July for Christopher Street Day.

Chueca is a gay neighborhood in the fullest sense, not a strip of bars. Madrid Pride is one of the largest in the world and the whole city turns out.

Best time to go: Late June and early July for Pride.

Super Paradise beach, the Little Venice sunset and a party scene that runs all night. Expensive, and everyone says it's worth it once.

Best time to go: June to September.

The oldest gay bars in the country are on Bourbon Street and the city's queer history is deeper than the party. Southern Decadence is the big one.

Best time to go: Labor Day weekend for Southern Decadence, or February for Mardi Gras.

A small island with a long queer history, clothing-optional guesthouses and no interest in pretending otherwise. Easy, warm, unbothered.

Best time to go: December to April.

Príncipe Real is the queer neighborhood and the whole city is walkable, cheap and beautiful. This is my Europe pick for a long slow trip.

Best time to go: May, June or September.

São Paulo Pride is one of the biggest in the world and the scene behind it runs all year. Everyone who has been tells me nothing prepares you for it.

Best time to go: June for Pride.

What the Locals Say

What people told us on camera about Gay Bucket List, plus approved reader recommendations. Nothing pulled from review sites.

Street interview quotes are being added here as the clips go up. Reader recommendations appear here once they are reviewed.