LGBTQ+ travel guide to Estonia
Estonia is the first Baltic country to legalize same-sex marriage. Read on for more about LGBTQ+ rights in Estonia and the scene in Tallinn and Tartu.
Estonia's parliament approved a bill to allow same-sex marriage in 2023.
From January 1, 2024, same-sex couples have been able to marry and adopt children, making Estonia the first country in the Baltics to do so. This reinforces Estonia’s position as a progressive, welcoming, inclusive, and forward-thinking nation.
Here's how a reporter from the UK-based The Pink News described it:
"Despite everything the Estonian people have been through, their identity has flourished through the cracks of their oppressors. I believe its embrace of same-sex marriage is the recognition that, like the LGBTQ+ community, Estonia has stayed true to itself."
Estonia also tied for 32nd in the Spartacus Gay Travel Index in 2024, ranking the highest of the three Baltic states.
Read on for our tips on the top places that cater to the LGBTQ community in Tallinn and Tartu, the country's two biggest cities.
The Estonian LGBTQ scene is still relatively small...
... though Tallinn has several bars and nightclubs with regular parties and events for the community and allies.
LGBTQ+ rights and organizations in Estonia
The Estonian LGBT Association (Eesti LGBT Ühing) is the official representative of LGBTQ+ citizens in Estonia. The organization focuses on public information campaigns, sex education, and promoting LGBTQ+ rights. The Estonian LGBT Association was founded in October 2008 in Tartu as the non-profit organization Eesti Gei Noored. The goal was to show young people there is nothing scary or scandalous about coming out of the closet. Today, members work primarily as public spokespeople and promoters of sexual education and legal equality.
Source: Marek Metslaid
Where you'll find Estonia's LGBTQ scene...
... in Tallinn
Estonia's capital, Tallinn, is home to a handful of popular LGBTQ-friendly nightclubs and bars. You can also visit spa hotels, museums, art galleries, and world-class restaurants, many of which are listed in the MICHELIN Guide and the Falstaff Guide.
- X-Bar — Estonia's oldest gay bar with multiple dance floors and themed nights.
- Sauna Club 69 – A sauna club with a bar where you can order drinks and snacks.
- Hello! Bar — Small, lively gay bar in Tallinn's Old Town.
- Bar Hungr — Bar with regular events just outside the center of Tallinn.
- Heldeke! Theater Bar — Full entertainment program with burlesque shows, theatre, stand-up comedy, and theme parties.
- TOPS — Cozy neighborhood bar in Kalamaja that attracts students from the local arts university.
- Club Uus Laine — A social club that brings the community together through unique cultural events.
- Möku — A bar with a small performance stage for everyone who doesn't take themselves too seriously.
- Paavli Culture Factory — During the day, it's a place to hang out; in the evening, it becomes a colorful nightlife hot spot.
- House 10 — Karaoke club in Old Town, where, in addition to the bar, there are several rooms for private singing evenings with your group.
Visiting Vabamu, the Museum of Freedom and Occupation, is also recommended. Since the summer of 2023, Estonia's LGBTQ history has been integrated into the permanent exhibition. Experience Estonian history on an interactive journey through time using images and sound.
Source: Patrik Tamm, Paavli Kultuurivabrik, Tallinn Music Week
As a university town, Tartu has an LGBTQ-friendly atmosphere.
The large student population makes the city particularly lively for its compact size.
... in Tartu
The University of Tartu, Estonia's second-largest city, is one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe. Many prominent researchers and academics of international renown have studied here. A seventh of Tartu's population is made up of students, researchers, and teachers, which, of course, contributes to the city's creative, innovative, and open atmosphere.
Bar Lokaal Pirogov is an LGBTQ-friendly bar in the center of Tartu, where both locals and students come together. Also explicitly LGBTQ-friendly is the cult bar Möku and the connected Genialists’ Club (Genialistide Klubi).
Lively drag events — brunches, karaoke, and performances — are organized in Supilinna's community cafe, Käkk, which transforms into club Mülä in the evenings.
Behemoth's Center (Peemoti Keskus) is an activity center primarily aimed at the queer community, providing support through various art projects. On weekday evenings, the center functions as an art sales gallery and a meeting place for open-minded people.
As part of the LGBT community, you will also find a friendly welcome in the other restaurants, clubs, and hotels in Tartu, and you can move about freely with your partner. Acceptance of "otherness" and minorities is normal for most younger Tartu residents, so don't let the relatively small number of explicitly LGBTQ-friendly places give you the wrong impression. Many LGBTQ people living in Tartu do not attach great importance to explicit openness, as openness in this city has been natural for some time.
Source: Maanus Kullamaa, Tartu 2024
Other events around Estonia
The LGBT+ subculture festival Tallinn Bearty has a 10-year history. The event focuses on one art form at a time: visual art, film, or music.
Starting in October 2017, the fall international festival of LGBTQ+ films, Festheart, has been held annually in Rakvere and has now added Tartu to the program, as well. The festival includes film screenings and side events and is the first of its kind in the Baltics.
A Pride-themed parade and related events have also been organized twice in Tartu — in 2022 and the summer of 2024, when Tartu Pride was part of the official program of Tartu's 2024 European Capital of Culture year. The LGBTQ+ crowd now gathers monthly for event nights called Vikerruum.
(Insider tip: If you haven't seen Estonia's most famous drag queens, Nordika and Vilita, perform, then follow Vikerruumi's program calendar — they put on a fantastic show!)
Baltic Pride
Baltic Pride is the largest Pride celebration in the region. Every year, hosting honors rotate between one of the three Baltic capitals: Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; or Vilnius, Lithuania.
Through parades and other events, Baltic Pride shows that society is gradually becoming more caring and free, where everyone should have the right to live well and safely regardless of their sexuality or gender identity. Baltic Pride was last held in Tallinn in 2023. Riga was the host in 2024; the next one is in Vilnius on June 3-7, 2025.
Source: Maanus Kullamaa, Tartu 2024
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Last updated
04.12.2024