Cheapflights.ca Celebrates Gay Pride Around the World

TORONTO--(Marketwire - Jun 15, 2011) - Celebrated each year in June, Gay and Lesbian Pride Month is revered around the world. Cheapflights.ca, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, joins in the celebrations with its list of Top 10 Destinations to Celebrate Gay Rights paying tribute to cities, states and countries where monumental strides in LGBT rights have taken place. Wonderful considerations for your next getaway, these gay-friendly spots act simultaneously as historical landmarks and present-day vacation destinations.

Gay and Lesbian Pride Month originated in the U.S. as a way to commemorate the June 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, which sparked the modern LGBT liberation movement in the U.S. However, the gay rights movement is a very global effort. Below are landmark locations from other corners of the world that are great destinations for celebrating gay rights:

• Athens, Greece -- Some of the first-recorded mentions of same-sex relationships, unions and marriages trace back to Ancient Greece in 7th Century B.C. Socially accepted relationships between older men of status and teenage boys were prevalent throughout society in Athens, as were more formal unions among couples now cited in Ancient Greek writings. Though relationships between two men were eventually banned, thousands of years later, Greece is back on track. In 2011, more than 10,000 activists marched at the annual Athens Gay Pride parade to show their support for LGBT rights. Search and compare cheap flights to Athens.

• Toronto, Canada -- Canada is by far the gay-friendliest country in all of the Americas, having offered civil marriage and legislative rights to members of the LGBT community for years. But equality did not always come so easy. The 1981 bathhouse raid in Toronto enraged so many people in the liberal city that thousands took to the streets to protest the injustice. The city's come a long way since; it was recently picked to host WorldPride, an international celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, in 2014. Search and compare cheap flights to Toronto to check out Toronto Pride Week -- one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world from June 24 - July 3.

• Tel Aviv, Israel -- A known leader in LGBT rights in the Middle East, Israel's way ahead of the curve when it comes to adoption, marriage and military equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-identified people. Homosexuals are allowed to serve open in the military (1993), same-sex couples have the same inheritance rights as couples of the opposite sex (2004) and individuals in a lesbian couple are able to adopt each other's children (2005). It's no wonder that Out Magazine designated Tel Aviv -- the Mediterranean metropolis that celebrated its 10th pride parade this year -- the gay capital of the Middle East. Search and compare cheap flights to Tel Aviv.

• Netherlands -- The Dutch have it so good. The bicycle is a legitimate mode of transportation; the government doles out vakantiegeld, or vacation money, annually for citizens to use on extended summer travel; and -- of course -- marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples abound. Renowned for being the first country to legalize gay marriage in 2001, the left-leaning Netherlands was voted the largest supporter of same-sex marriage in 2006 by the European Union and is a premier destination for LGBT travellers and residents alike. Search and compare cheap flights to Amsterdam to check out Amsterdam Pride from July 30 - August 7.

Our complete list of Top 10 Destinations to Celebrate Gay Rights includes the following six US destinations: New York City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Hawaii and Massachusetts. To read further details on these gay-friendly destinations, visit www.cheapflights.ca/travel-tips/top-10-destinations-to-celebrate-gay-rights/.

About Cheapflights Media
Cheapflights Media is an international media network providing users with different ways to find low cost travel. Since 1996, Cheapflights Media has been helping consumers research, compare and save on domestic and international travel. Our flagship brand, Cheapflights, is one of the largest flight deals publishers, delivering over 4 million deals daily. With brand-name deals on airline tickets from more than 300 partners and 600 airlines and a team of travel experts hand picking the best offerings, Cheapflights offers visitors a mix of deals they can't find anywhere else. There are currently Cheapflights sites in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Germany, Australia & New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain. For more information, visit www.cheapflights.ca.