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The World's Gayest City


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The World's Gayest City

by John David Wilson III

365Gay.com Travel Editor

While just about every locale can boast it is unique in some way or other, nowhere can compare to Amsterdam for throwing out the welcome mat to gays and lesbians.

This ancient city, which goes back to the 1st century BC, has built a reputation on liberal attitudes, warm hearts, and moderate prices.

Amsterdam Pride, held each year in August, is an experience I can only describe as going to the mother church of gayness.

Holland is the only country in the world to have complete civil rights for gays, including marriage. So, it is altogether fitting that it should also have a memorial to gays. The Homomonument, situated on the Westermarkt in the center of Amsterdam, was unveiled on September 5th 1987.

The monument was designed to inspire and support lesbians and gays in their struggle against denial, oppression and discrimination. It is also a memorial to the men and women of the past who were oppressed and persecuted because of their sexual feelings.

The Homomonument is above all a living monument. It is a permanent confrontation with the existence of homosexuality.

As for nightlife, you will find something for any taste, from saunas to high energy dance clubs, to leather and fetish clubs.

And, when you come up for air, you will want to to visit some of the city's other sites. The canals which provide an easy way of getting through town are lined with historic homes and museums. The Pride parade floats down the canals creating a flowing rainbow flag.

You will also want to visit the Anne Frank House, a museum that marks the place where the Jewish girl and family hid out from the Nazi occupation during World War II.

The Stedelijk Museum is Amsterdam's main modern art museum. And, the Rijksmuseum is the city's repository for Dutch masters (Rembrandt, Vermeer and many others).

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