Travel Queer Here

These inclusive smaller Southern towns take pride

- BETH D'ADDONO

in today’s political climate, traveling in the South while queer can feel like a dicey proposition. Of course, New Orleans, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Asheville, North Carolina, are a few of the bigger cities that roll out the rainbow welcome mat. New Orleans is the gold standard, with its Southern Decadence festival akin to a queer Mardi Gras every Labor Day. It’s the largest LGBTQ+ event in the South.

But there are smaller towns, too, destinations where tourism and vibrant LGBTQ+ bragging rights coexist, forming well-rounded arts, culture, outdoors, and dining scenes reflecting a geographic sense of place. These five towns practice inclusive tourism along with a public commitment to DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s good business. Rainbow travelers spend plenty of green, adding up to $100 billion a year from the queer community in the US alone.

ATHENS, GEORGIA

visitathensga.​com

Roughly 70 miles northeast of Atlanta, Athens sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a green getaway that attracts adventure seekers of all stripes. More than 127,000 people live in this college town, home to the University of Georgia. The edgy arts, theater, and live music scene is vibrant—unsurprising in the town formative for queer-relevant music acts including the B-52s, Indigo Girls, and R.E.M. Visit the colorful State Botanical Gardens and Georgia Museum of Art, with its 18,000-piece collection including art by Georgia O’Keeffe and Andy Warhol. Athens Pride + Queer Collective runs Pride Week, a week of events including Queer Prom. There’s the annual AIDS fundraiser Boybutante Ball and drag shows at Athens Showgirl Cabaret. The dining scene is also diverse. A fabulous four-way rainbow crosswalk in the heart of downtown speaks volumes.