If you’re planning to visit D.C. for WorldPride Washington DC 2025 (May 17 – June 8) we have discovered some of the best eateries, clubs, museums and activities for Pride attendees this year.
Stay at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC, which is housed inside the former General Post Office, a stunning neo-classical building whose grandeur is reflected in the ornate and enormous hotel rooms with high ceilings and hallways as wide as the Palace of Versailles.
Or try Hotel Zena, a 119-room boutique hotel that pays tribute to courageous and pioneering women. The LGBTQ-friendly Zena (parent company Viceroy boasts an LGBTQ+ Travel Advisory Board and provides Pride Month drag shows and drink specials) also offers handsome guest rooms with amenities like room-darkening shades, plush robes, and posh bath and body products, plus a rooftop pool that sometimes hosts queer pool parties.
The JW Marriott Washington, DC, a WorldPride official hotel sponsor and host of the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference, is a luxury four-star property where guests are greeted with a welcome (and always evolving) elixir crafted from local ingredients before being whisked away to one of 777 guestrooms and 22 suites. (Some suites have terraces with jaw-dropping Mall views.) But even more exciting, the hotel occupies the same site where the gin rickey was invented and its 1331 Bar & Lounge pays tribute to the classic cocktail with a plaque out front and its own version of the famous libation inside.
During your stay, break up all the partying with some doses of art and history. Visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and the National Portrait Gallery (both housed inside the old Patent Office Building) where you can seek out artworks by LGBTQ artists and luminaries. Between the two museums, there are many, including those by George Tooker, Paul Cadmus, and Frank O’Hara at SAAM.
The Rubell Museum DC, a historically Black junior high school built in 1906 with high ceilings, concrete floors, exposed brick and stunning Georgian windows that let in generous amounts of morning light is exactly where contemporary art should live. Exhibitions change regularly and queer artists are well represented.
A stone’s throw from the majestic United States Supreme Court Building, where conservative justices keep making one horrible decision after another these days, morning shoppers are strolling the cobbled streets of Eastern Market, peering at vine-ripened tomatoes, thumbing through stacks of vintage albums, plunging their noses into the wicks of hand poured candles, and sampling torn pieces of artisanal breads with the help of toothpicks. The 151-year-old market is housed in a historic brick building, though much of the shopping takes place at temporary stalls set up on weekends.
LGBTQ owned Three Fifty Bakery & Coffee Bar is a queer corner bakery below street level, but easy to find thanks to rainbow crosswalks out front, perfect for an afternoon treat. Afterwards, visit LGBTQ owned Miss Pixie’s, an antique furniture store containing all kinds of unique treasures like collectible cookie jars, Hollywood Regency glassware, vintage vinyl, gently used curiosities, and more.
For dinner and drinks, ask several DC gays what they think is the most iconic LGBTQ destination in DC and all of them have the same response: Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse. This community stalwart since 1948 sits just north of a crosswalk ringed by rainbows. Annie’s is more like a neighborhood hangout than an upscale steakhouse.
Naturally, some might head to the famous Little Gay Pub, a cozy corner tavern in Logan Circle that charms instantly. Beyond beverages and bites, there is the bar’s striking décor including alluring caramel banquettes, framed artifacts of LGBTQ+ history, and antique jars full of Jelly Bellies. Its two bathrooms have become selfie hotspots that have even spawned their own Instagram account (@royal_flush_lgp).
LGBTQ owned Red Bear Brewery announces itself with giant fermentation tanks and Pride Progress and Black Lives Matter flags. Settle in and order cider or a non-alcoholic root “bear.” At night, Red Bear hosts drag shows, drag bingo, and Drag Race viewing parties. In the bathroom, a framed pic of Dolly Parton watches over bathroom goers.
Thanks to Thurst Lounge’s hookah program, the newish two-story gay bar is filled with fragrant cloud bursts of guava, mint, and French vanilla upon entrance. Noteworthy, Thurst is the only black-owned queer bar in town.
Other must-visit spots include; Kiki, a sprawling DC gay bar occupying two row houses connected like conjoined twins; Kramers, a wonderful indie bookstore with an onsite café and tons of LGBTQ titles; busy seafood eatery Hank’s Oyster Bar which is LGBTQ owned; and Perry’s, an Adams Morgan fixture, has been hosting drag brunch since 1991 and offers an all-you-can eat buffet which continues throughout the show and includes items both savory and sweet.
Read more about Washington DC at Passport Magazine.com.
