Gay Guide
Listing and event details can change quickly. Please verify with the venue directly before visiting. Lavender Atlas is not responsible for third-party accuracy.
About LGBTQ+ Edinburgh
Scotland decriminalised sex between men in 1980, thirteen years after England and Wales, and the change only took effect in February 1981. The country has moved quickly since: the Scottish Parliament passed equal marriage in 2014, and the first same-sex weddings took place on the last day of that year.
Edinburgh's scene centres on the Pink Triangle, the streets at the top of Leith Walk around Broughton Street and Picardy Place, on the eastern edge of the New Town. CC Blooms, open since 1994 beside the Playhouse on Greenside Place, is the city's oldest LGBTQ+ bar and club, with food upstairs, a basement dance floor seven nights a week and drag most weekends. Planet on Baxter's Place and The Street on Picardy Place are a couple of minutes' walk away, and Steamworks sauna is tucked into Broughton Market.
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The neighbourhood has deep roots. Scotland's first lesbian and gay bookshop, Lavender Menace, opened on Forth Street in August 1982, and its name lives on as a queer books archive and pop-up shop on London Road. On 17 June 1995 Scotland's first Pride march set off from Broughton Street, with organisers expecting 500 people and around 3,000 turning up.
Beyond the Pink Triangle, Paradise Palms on Lothian Street near the university is a queer-popular bar with a vegetarian kitchen and live music, and Lighthouse on West Nicolson Street is an independent bookshop with a strong LGBTQ+ section. The Regent in Abbeyhill, at the foot of Calton Hill, is a relaxed, inclusive real ale pub.
Pride Edinburgh marches each June from the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood up the Royal Mile to Bristo Square, where a stage of drag, DJs and live music waits at the finish. In August the Fringe fills the city with queer cabaret, comedy and theatre.
An acclaimed independent bookshop on West Nicolson Street in Edinburgh, Lighthouse stocks a wide range of LGBTQ+ literature alongside fiction, politics, and community interest titles. Known for author events and a welcoming atmosphere.
Edinburgh Abbeyhill relaxed inclusive LGBTQ+ pub with real ales and pub grub.
Edinburgh Pink Triangle hybrid stand-and-model gay bar with DJs upstairs and mixed crowd downstairs.
Long-running Edinburgh gay bar with entertainment every day and a friendly crowd.
Edinburgh queer-popular bar with award-winning vegetarian food and live music.
A queer and feminist Edinburgh bookshop reviving the legacy of the original Lavender Menace, one of Scotland's pioneering LGBTQ+ book spaces from the 1980s and 90s.
Scotland's capital city Pride event, held annually in Edinburgh each June. Edinburgh Pride features a march through the historic city centre and a rally celebrating LGBTQ+ life in one of Europe's most storied cities.
Edinburgh's oldest LGBTQ+ bar and club, open since 1994 beside the Playhouse at the top of Leith Walk. The upstairs bar serves food by day, and the basement club runs seven nights a week until 3am, with drag most weekends and the Sunday cabaret Disgraceful.
An acclaimed independent bookshop in Edinburgh's Hillside area, Topping & Company is known for floor-to-ceiling shelves, author events, and a well-curated selection that includes strong LGBTQ+ titles.
Edinburgh's gay sauna in the Broughton Street Pink Triangle (also known as The Pound), a multi-level venue with a steam room, dry sauna, hot tub, private cabins, and darkroom.
The Edinburgh youth service of LGBT Youth Scotland, offering support, groups, and a safe space for young queer people.
A Scotland-wide project working to improve gender identity and gender reassignment equality, rights, and inclusion, with community groups and healthcare information for trans people.