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The best gay beaches around Spain are not found in surprising, secluded destinations. In fact, they’re right where you’d think they are – in Spain’s most gay-friendly, party-friendly and internationally known destinations. Some may be more clothing optional, others have cruising areas and some of these top gay beaches are mixed among the hetero-friendly ones. All however, are great spots to enjoy the summer sun along with other friendly, like-minded guys.

Europe is easily the most tolerant and accepting region in the world and there are many cities across the continent where you can let your true colors shine without fear of judgement or harassment. Places like Amsterdam, Berlin or Barcelona are well known for being gay friendly, tolerant and having a large community of LGBT residents. Still, we think Madrid is perhaps the contender for the number one spot on our list of the best gay destinations in Europe. Certainly, there are a handful of cities that compete for this title, but with the mix of its size, gay scene, events and overall vibe, we’d ague to say that Madrid takes the crown. Here are 10 reasons why we think you should visit Madrid and see why we think it’s the best gay destination in Europe.

If you’ve followed our blog or social media for a while, it should come to no surprise that we love Sitges. It’s a place where the beautiful and sunny Mediterranean coast, meets a bit of Catalan culture with a whole lot of gay thrown into the mix. Just south of Barcelona, Sitges has been a popular gay destination for decades and its luster seems to hold strong. With an awesome, yet relaxed beach vibe, great restaurants, events and nightlife – we can’t find any reason why you wouldn’t love Sitges. But just in case you’re not convinced, we’ve rounded up our top 5 reasons why we think Sitges is perhaps Spain’s top gay destination.

Social, sensual, clothing-optional sailing …Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Ok, I suppose we have a biased opinion – we’ve already earned our sea legs before on our gay sailing trip in Croatia. We love sailing trips which is why we’re doing our next one to Greece this summer and why we’re encouraging you to embark at your earliest leisure. The experience is both vast and unforgettable, yet intimate and tantalizing. Everything to Sea is a new sailing company offering relaxing trips across the Indonesian seas, visiting exotic islands while enjoying a care-free and naked experience… if you desire. That’s right, a clothing-optional cruise through uninhabited islands…  you can’t tell me that doesn’t sound appealing.

Couchsurfing is a global platform that allows you to stay in people’s homes for free, while offering a social experience with your host. Likewise, you can sign up as a host in your own home city and host travelers from around the world. You can even use the platform to find LGBT hosts in most cities around the world. During our round-the-world trip we stayed with at least 10 different Couchsurfing hosts in countries like Germany, Chile and Japan. It was one of the most memorable travel experiences we had and we still keep in touch with many of our past hosts. It’s free to use but for a small one-time fee, you can pay to get your profile verified which will greatly improve your chances of hosts accepting your stay requests. We recommend verifying your profile as it helps to maintain safety and trustworthiness within the platform.

Back in 2012 we published an article on Robert’s Leave Your Daily Hell blog where we shared our take on Gay CouchSurfing in Europe with tips on how to couchsurf and find hosts that are a good fit. We shared our experiences about how we stayed with gay friendly hosts during our 1-year round the world trip. Since then Couchsurfing has upgraded its platform and it’s not as straight forward to find LGBT hosts on the website. A recent follower and fellow traveler pointed this out to us but we hadn’t noticed because we don’t Couchsurf as much now after finishing our round-the-world trip. Though when we’re not whoring our guestroom out on AirBnB, we do still occasionally host travelers (mostly LGBT) in our apartment in Madrid.

Well-established on the LGBT travel map, it’s likely either you or someone you know has raved about this sea-side Mediterranean city. And for good reason – Barcelona boasts a cosmopolitan and welcoming environment for all types of travelers from every corner of the globe. Barcelona is one of those cities that has so much to offer, you can never see it all.

Rome is one of the quintessential destinations for any visit to Europe. The history, architecture and culture of this city are one-of-a-kind and are rivaled by few places in the world. But while it offers such a variety of sites and experiences to any traveler, it’s severely lacking a gay scene or even an acknowledgement that the community exists. No, Rome is not a “gay destination” and the Vatican City is one of the last places you’d think to find any tours for LGBT visitors.

Ready for your next gaycation? We thought so! Gay cruises are popular vacation choices because of the “no muss, no fuss” style of travel it offers. It’s an all-in-one type of holiday that includes meals, accommodations, parties, exotic locations, and the ease of meeting new people. It’s the perfect choice for those who want a guaranteed great time with minimal effort into planning all the tiny details. That’s why we’ve done it multiple times!

Looking for some insider travel info? There’s more to Europe to be discovered and The Azores are Portugal’s best kept secret.

But don’t take our word for it, Condé Nast Traveller recently touted the archipelago as “the secret gardens of the Atlantic – lush and green, thick with temperate forests which feel almost like rainforest, alive with birds and a rich wildlife.” Meanwhile Lonely Planet recently wrote an article titled “This other Eden: The Azores, Europe’s secret islands of adventure”.

In just the past few years, Cuba has become a destination gaining more interest and the ability to access this island nation has grown tremendously. The landmark decision to increase economic and political ties between Cuba and the US is creating new opportunities for everyone, especially those in the LGBT community.