Gay club zurich

Switzerland’s best LGBT clubs

Find the best gay and lesbian nights out – with the ultimate instruction 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 male lover and lesbian rights. Homosexual 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 womxn loving womxn mayor in Corine Mauch, is very much Switzerland’s LGBT capital, as adequately 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 Lgbtq+ fest event now draws around 45,000 pink party people.

Bern, Geneva and Basel all have bijou scenes, in particular the restaura

Nightlife & Party

Zurich's nightlife suggestions the LGBTQ+ community a broad and varied bouquet of clubs and parties. Various party labels in changing locations guarantee a lively ambiance – particularly popular are the events staged by the largest gay party organizer Angels. They include the "Kitsch Party", featuring bizarre decorations, and the "White Party", where guests are required to wear white.

Festivals & Culture

Since 2009, Zurich organizes the Zurich Pride Festival every year. The three-day program features an opening and closing party, bars and food stands at the festival site, a series of concerts and shows, various parties, conferences on specific themes, and a parade through the inner city. Up to 30,000 people take part in the festival every year. Since the year 2000 the "Warmer Mai" (Warm May), a cultural month, is held annually, focusing on homosexual themes in the fields of art and culture. Kicking off the event is the Pink Apple Clip Festival, featuring movie screenings, podium discussions, concerts and much more besides.

How queers have shaped Zurich’s nightlife

But the gay scene remained vibrant in adversity. The Barfüsser, which opened in 1956, had a key role to compete. The Barfü wasn’t considered a dance hall so it avoided the exclude on men dancing together. The Barfü quickly became a popular meeting place for anyone and everyone – homosexual women and men of all ages, transvestites, heterosexuals, bisexuals and later the Lederkerle, a leather fetish group.

The bar on men dancing together was tacitly lifted in 1966 when the Conti Club opened on the top floor of Köchlistrasse in district 4. Now it was just the neighbours who were openly hostile to the male lover club and complained about excessive noise. The club decided to defuse the situation by inviting the whole neighbourhood to view around the club and have a bite to eat. This proved to be a good way of clearing the atmosphere, and today the Block & Club Commission Zurich still adopts this approach as part of the Open Bar and Club Day.

Zurich Gay Travel Guide 2025

Upcoming Events in Zurich

Accommodation Tip

Hotel Alexander

Hotel. ***, from 150 CHF

Reviews, Photos & Reservation

Located between central station and Old Town of Zurich, very close to some of the gay bars and clubs. Modern facilities.

@ Niederdorfstrasse 40
Zurich 8001

Tram: Rudolf-Brun-Brücke

About Zurich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland (with a population of 1.2 million including the suburbs) and the economic, social and cultural center of the country. As the wealthiest city in Europe and with its privileged location along the Limmat river and at the idyllic Lake Zurich with view of the snow-covered mountains, Zurich belongs to the cities with the highest quality of life in the society (but also with the highest cost of living).

Zurich already was raised to the level of a city in the Early Middle Ages, in 1262 it became a free imperial urban area and in 1351 a member of the Swiss Confederation. The economic rise began with the textile industry in the 18th and 19th century. After the mid-19th century the financial and services sector became increasingly important through the founding of numerous ba