The best Pride parades across America

As summer dawns, the LGBTQ+ community and allies all over the world gear up to toast diversity, freedom and love in all its forms during Pride Month. The USA holds a key place in the historical Gay Rights movement, and today, cities across the country host exciting programmes of queer events to honour their unique histories.

We’ve compiled the ultimate lineup of Pride festivities and LGBTQ+-friendly activities in the US, alongside a selection of Travel Proud hotels worth booking ASAP. The Booking.com Travel Proud label denotes partners who have participated in our special hospitality training and are committed to welcoming queer guests, helping them feel safe and comfortable during their stay.

There’s no place more fitting to kick off a Pride pilgrimage than the Big Apple. The LGBTQ+ rights movement and global Pride parades have their roots at 51 and 53 Christopher St in NYC’s Greenwich Village, where the Stonewall Inn once stood. Run by the Mafia, this bar was a haven for marginalised communities, including gay, lesbian and transgender Americans whose very existence was legislated against and incessantly policed. Tensions came to a head on 28 June 1969, when cops raided the venue. Spontaneously, the angry patrons fought back, triggering several nights of rioting, violent protests and arrests.

The Stonewall Rebellion was a watershed moment that marked the beginning of the Gay Liberation Movement in the USA and beyond and led to the establishment of activist organisations, with the first Gay Pride marches held the following year in several American and European cities.

Today, New York is home to the world’s largest Pride parade, attracting around two million queer folk and allies in a jubilant celebration of freedom and love. It takes place on 30 June, winding and voguing through Manhattan’s streets before culminating in a massive party in Greenwich.  

While you’re in town, stop by the newly opened Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center (SNMVC) at Stonewall’s original site. The centre explores the history of the queer community while serving as an educational resource for present-day activism, and Booking.com is proud to be a founding partner.

If you’re looking for Travel Proud accommodation to rest your dancing feet, we recommend The Maritime Hotel. While sailor themes may be something of a gay trope, this nautical hotel opposite Chelsea Market is anything but kitsch. Abundant dark-wood panelling and oceanic blues lend an old-world feel, enhanced by the mid-century-modern furnishings, and porthole windows frame views of the Manhattan skyline.

San Francisco is widely considered one of the world’s most queer-friendly cities. Here, Compton’s Cafeteria Riot was a landmark event where trans women and drag queens fought back against police harassment – one of the first recorded LGBTQ+ uprisings in the USA, pre-dating Stonewall by three years. The annual Pride parade coincides with New York’s on 30 June, but the whole of Pride Month features enticing events, like film festivals and the 20th anniversary of the Fresh Meat Festival – a glitter-sprinkled buffet of transgender and queer performances.

San Fran’s Castro may be one of the most iconic queer neighbourhoods on the planet. This vivacious district is an enduring symbol of gay pride and activism, where historic landmarks stand cheek-to-cheek with bars, restaurants, shops and nightlife that cater to the community. Dig into Castro’s past on a tour with an expert local or opt for a broader walking tour exploring the city’s LGBTQ+ culture.

Staying Downtown gives you easy access to culture, dining and after-dark attractions, and Hotel Zelos San Francisco is a Travel Proud property defined by retro elegance. A stone’s throw from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, this hotel is a masterpiece in its own right, filled with quirky design details and futuristic art and flaunting a delightfully old-world façade dressed in minty green.

As Chicago, Illinois is the informal capital of the Midwest, expectations for Pride Month are high; the city has been a haven for LGBTQ+ inclusivity and activism for many years and hosted the world’s first Pride march. It’s here, between the shimmering shores of Lake Michigan and the snaking Chicago River that bisects the city, that you’ll find America’s oldest officially recognised gay neighbourhood, Northalsted, colloquially known as Boystown.

Boystown will be the epicentre of the Pride Parade on 30 June and other revelry throughout the month. If you’ve already committed your 30 June to one of the numerous US cities holding their parades the same day, consider visiting the Windy City a week earlier to attend Chicago Pride Fest on the 22nd and 23rd. The street festival will host three stages, a beautifully queer lineup, drag acts, dance exhibitions, guest speakers, a pet parade and dozens of food stalls showing off the city’s renowned culinary culture.

The city offers a glut of luxury hotels and is an ideal place to splash out on accommodation that’s all about indulgence. One of our favourites is the Viceroy Chicago, steps away from the upscale boutiques, dining and entertainment of the Magnificent Mile. The interior design is expertly considered, marrying past and present, and the sky-high views are second to none, with a roof terrace from which all guests can imbibe them.

California’s persistent sunshine, laid-back lifestyle and progressive politics make cities like Los Angeles a popular choice for LGBTQ+ folk. LA’s showbiz scene is another draw, and the queer community is organised around the West Hollywood – or WeHo – district. While several key Pride events, including the parade, already took place in early June, there’s still plenty of fun and festivity to be had in and around the city.

Kick off your adventure just outside LA with a healthy dose of camp at a three-course, bottomless drag brunch in the postcard-perfect desert city of Palm Springs. Back in the City of Angels, discover a piece of Tinseltown lore with a peek backstage at the Dolby Theatre, home of the Oscars, before levelling up your cultural education with a food, film and fashion tour in Beverly Hills. LA is close to California wine country, with areas like Temecula boasting endless vineyards and some of the finest wineries.

Smack-bang in the middle of Downtown, you’ll find the LA edition of The Hoxton. This Travel Proud spot delivers a pared-back take on old-world glamour through natural materials, muted tones and lush vegetation. Claim a pinstriped lounger poolside and smooth on the sun cream for an afternoon of doing sweet nothing.

Boston occupies a notable spot in America’s LGBTQ+ history. The city is home to the renowned legal advocacy NPO, GLAD, and Massachusetts became the first US state to legalise same-sex marriage in 2004, 11 years before it became law nationwide. Like LA, Boston’s key Pride events primarily took place in early June, but a calendar filled with events like markets, parties, picnics and shows continues throughout the month and into early July.

Immerse yourself in the queer community in the neighbourhoods of South End and Jamaica Plain, where you’ll find a variety of bars, lounges and nightclubs to dance your heart out. Come daytime, trace the footsteps of Boston’s revolutionaries with a private Freedom Trail walking tour or go behind the scenes at one of the country's most treasured baseball stadiums – Fenway Park.

For a look at history through the lens of gendered persecution, consider making the half-hour trip to Salem to learn about the Witch Trials. While you’re in this spooky city, turn up the camp dial with atour of locations from the cult-classic film Hocus Pocus.

If you like your accommodation as colourful as Pride Month itself, book a stay at The Verb Hotel. This playful wonderland offers the option of staying in luxurious converted trailers with eclectic decor that pays tribute to music legends and pop culture.

While it may clash with several of the other 2024 parades, Seattle Pride on 30 June is the Prima Donna of America’s Pride calendar this year, as it commemorates the historic 50th anniversary of the Washington City’s Gay Pride Week. The pioneering 1974 event featured quirky dress-up, a roller-skating sing-along and a 200-strong street dance. To honour the brave queer folk of years past, a significantly larger crowd will take over Downtown this month, led by sporting legends Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird as grand marshals, and you can book grandstand seating, tickets to a drag brunch with a viewing party and more via the Seattle Pride website.

You can dig deeper into Seattle’s LGBTQ+ history and culture with a guided tour that features neighbourhoods like Capitol Hill, a hub for the community. And if all the partying and celebrations have left you feeling a little worse for wear, why not drink in fresh mountain air and expansive views with a day trip to Olympic National Park, which includes the chance for a rejuvenating hot-springs soak?

As for where to stay, Travel Proud-certified Hotel Theodore exudes an aura that its name perfectly encapsulates: think sophisticated design combining grandfatherly details like paisley curtains, leather sofas and check soft furnishings with contemporary touches like the industrial-chic bar and dining spots and Pillow Bar, where you can get your hands on specialty pillows.