Is switzerland gay friendly

LGBT Equality Index

Equality Index Methodology

Equaldex's Equality Index is a rating from 0 to 100 (with 100 being the most equal) to serve visualize the legal rights and widespread attitudes towards Homosexual (lesbian, gay, attracted to both genders, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex...) people in each region. The Equality Index is an average of two indexes: the legal index and the public perspective Index.

Equality Index

Average of Legal Index and Public Opinion Index

Legal Index

The LGBT legal index measures the current legal status of 13 diverse issues ranging from the legal status of homosexuality, homosexual marriage, transgender rights, LGBT discrimination protections, LGBT censorship laws, and more. Each topic is weighted differently (for example, if same-sex marriage is illegal in a region, it would have a much bigger impact on the score than not allowing LGBT people to serve in the military). Each topic is assigned a "total possible score" and a "score" is assigned based the status of the law using a rating scale that ranges from 0% to 100% (for example, if homosexuality is legal, it would would receive a score of 100, but if it's illegal, it would receve a score of 0.)



Switzerland Gay Guide

The Top Hotels in Switzerland for Gay Travellers

There are not any gay-only hotels or guesthouses in Switzerland, however, there are various gay events taking place in the region, like the renowned Arosa Ski Weekend, which transform the cities into big same-sex attracted hotspots. In Zurich, you will find several gay-owned apartments whose hosts will guide you through the city's gay scene.


Here you will find many gay-friendly boutique hotels located close to gay hotspots, as adequately as mountain resorts and hotels located close to popular ski areas!

The Diverse Queer Scene of Switzerland!

Switzerland has a diverse gay scene, with the most of the gay clubs and bars of the country located in Zurich. Geneva and Bern also feature an organized gay scene with various homosexual venues, while in petite towns like Lucerne, Laussane, Kriens, and Basel you will identify various gay hotspots like gay saunas and gay bars.

Arosa Gay Ski Week is the most popular gay event taking place in Switzerland, attracting&nbs

Rainbow Map

2025 rainbow map

These are the main findings for the 2025 edition of the rainbow map

The Rainbow Map ranks 49 European countries on their respective legal and policy practices for LGBTI people, from 0-100%.

The UK has dropped six places in ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Guide, as Hungary and Georgia also register steep falls tracking anti-LGBTI legislation. The data highlights how rollbacks on LGBTI human rights are part of a broader erosion of democratic protections across Europe. Read more in our force release.

“Moves in the UK, Hungary, Georgia and beyond signal not just isolated regressions, but a coordinated global backlash aimed at erasing LGBTI rights, cynically framed as the defence of tradition or public stability, but in life designed to entrench discrimination and suppress dissent.”

  • Katrin Hugendubel, Activism Director, ILGA-Europe


Malta has sat on highest of the ranking for the last 10 years. 

With 85 points, Belgium jumped to second place after adopting policies tackling hatred based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. 

Iceland now comes third place on the ranking with a score of 84.

The three

Switzerland’s best LGBT clubs

© thierry@mensgo.com

Find the best gay and lesbian nights out – with the ultimate reference to Switzerland’s LGBT nightlife scene

The LGBT party scene in Switzerland offers something for everyone, from relaxed, mixed-queer shindigs to sweaty danceathons. For all their alpenhorn-apotheosizing and minaret-marginalising traditionalism, the Swiss have for many decades taken a world-leading stance on same-sex attracted and lesbian rights. Gay relations were decriminalised here in 1942, and on New Year’s Day 2007 a referendum made Switzerland the first country on Earth where gay civil unions were voted in by the public, not just parliament – and by a massive majority.

Today Zurich, which happens to have a chic homosexual woman mayor in Corine Mauch, is very much Switzerland’s LGBT capital, as skillfully as one of the world’s most gay-friendly cities, with bars, cafes, saunas and clubs adding up to dozens of same-sex attracted venues. The old town’s Barfüsser is considered Europe’s oldest gay hostelry and the annual Zurich Event event now draws around 45,000 pink party people.

Bern, Geneva and Basel all have bijou scenes, in particular the restaura is switzerland gay friendly

Public opinion surveys in Switzerland have pointed to a varied attitude towards Gay individuals.

Survey results from 12 LGBTQ+ Equaldex users who lived in or visited Switzerland.

Perceived Safety*
Absence of verbal harassment
Absence of threats and violence
*Survey results represent personal perceptions of safety and may not be indicative of current actual conditions.

Equal Treatment
Treatment by general public
Treatment by law enforcement
Treatment by religious groups

Visibility & Representation
Representation in entertainment

Culture
Interest groups and clubs

Services
Support and social services

History

Homosexual activity in Switzerland

?

Homosexual task in Switzerland is legal.

Current status
Homosexual acts were not mentioned anymore in the revision of the Penal Code of 1991. Therefore the age of agreement was lowered to 16 years old for all consenting sexual intercourse.
The Swiss Penal Code introduced in 1942 allowed same sex acts between adults (above 20 years old), but punished homosexual intercourse with people between 16 and 20 years old (while allowing heterosexual acts)

Censorship of LGBT issues in Switzerl