The Best Cities to Spend New Year's Eve

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Once the getaway for gangsters, honeymooners, and over-the-hillers, neon-lit, over-the-top Vegas in the 21st century is one of the most popular gay travel getaways in the world. Despite the lack of a huge queer-specific infrastructure, the town is as gay as it comes by its very nature. Tightly clad gymnasts are beautifully featured in every Cirque du Soleil show in town, feathered showgirls still high-kick their heels, and the whole place feels like a cartoon of fabulousness—heck, even campy Celine Dion has a regular act here.

Vegas has no bona fide gay ghetto, although the "Fruit Loop" between Paradise and Swenson has a number of LGBT establishments. The city’s pride event is in May (mercifully before summer hits), and the Big Horn gay rodeo beats the heat every September, followed by a queer film fest in October. There are so many shows and attractions in Vegas—most of them centered on the Strip—it would take a lifetime to see them all. Almost all the hotel resorts are open to the public, and just walking amid their crazily themed decor is a journey in itself—you can visit Paris, Venice, New York, Egypt, the Tropics, and Old England all in one go! Meanwhile, once-downtrodden downtown Vegas is now alive with a pedestrian mall and a sound-and-light show called the Fremont Street Experience.

And although it's hard for some to drag themselves away from the casinos, the surrounding area offers some excellent outdoor opportunities, including hiking in Red Rock Canyon or the Valley of Fire State Park, houseboating or kayaking at Lake Mead, or even skiing at Mount Charleston.