Unlike Germany, Austria still has a prevailing antihomosexual attitude, in spite of the large number of gay people who live there. There is still much discrimination; gay liberation has a long way to go. Vienna, however, has a large gay community with many bars and restaurants. For information about gay-related activities in Vienna, go to Rainbow Online (www.gay.or.at).
In Austria, the minimum age for consensual homosexual activity is 18.
The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA; tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626; www.iglta.org) is the trade association for the gay and lesbian travel industry, and offers a directory of gay- and lesbian-friendly travel businesses; go to its website and click "Members." In Canada, contact Travel Gay Canada (tel. 416/761-5151; www.travelgaycanada.com).
Many agencies offer tours and travel itineraries specifically for gay and lesbian travelers, such as Above and Beyond Tours (tel. 800/397-2681; www.abovebeyondtours.com). Now, Voyager (tel. 800/255-6951; www.nowvoyager.com) is a well-known San Francisco-based gay travel service. Olivia Cruises & Resorts (tel. 800/631-6277; www.olivia.com) charters entire resorts and ships for exclusive lesbian vacations and offers smaller group experiences for both gay and lesbian travelers. Gay.com Travel (tel. 800/929-2268 or 415/834-6500; www.gay.com/travel or www.outandabout.com) is an excellent online successor to the popular Out & About print magazine. It provides regularly updated information about gay-owned, gay-oriented, and gay-friendly lodging, dining, sightseeing, nightlife, and shopping establishments in every important destination worldwide. It also offers trip-planning information for gay and lesbian travelers for more than 50 destinations, along various themes, ranging from Sex & Travel to Vacations for Couples.
The following travel guides are available at many bookstores, or you can order them from any online bookseller: Spartacus International Gay Guide (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus: The International Gay Travel Planner (www.odyusa.com), both good, annual, English-language guidebooks focused on gay men; and the Damron guides (www.damron.com), with separate, annual books for gay men and lesbians.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
