This is a list of notable lesbian bars worldwide, including early prototypes and modern more inclusive spaces.
Africa
BarCityCountryYear openedYear closedNotesBeaulah BarCape TownSouth AfricaclosedOriginally founded as a lesbian bar, until it became a mixed crowd laterDuchess LoungeCape TownSouth Africa2024Social media page references "sapphics and the queer community" but widely marketed as a lesbian bar
Asia BarCityCountryYear openedYear closedNotesAmazonaTel AvivIsrael2020Only lesbian bar in the cityBigudi ClubIstanbulTurkey2008First lesbian bar in IstanbulCoup d'EtatBeirutLebanon20062007The Middle East's first "openly" lesbian bar Closed in 2007 and opened again in 2018.2018LesbosSeoulKorea1996Lesbos (), located in the Sinchon area of Seoul was opened in 1996 and is the first lesbian bar in South Korea.L'ParadiseHong KongChina2000s (early)One of two remaining lesbian bars in Hong Kong as of 2020GoldfingerTokyoJapan2000s (early)"The most famous lesbian bar in all of Tokyo, maybe in one of the most famous in the world"Roxie'sShanghaiChina2014June 2024First lesbian bar in ShanghaiVirusHong KongChina1997Hong Kong's first lesbian bar and as of 2020 one of only two remaining from as many as nine in the early 2000s
Australia
BarCityCountryYear openedYear closedNotesChing-a-lingsDarlinghurst, New South WalesAustralia2009Lesbian and nonbinary bar
Europe BarCityCountryYear openedYear closedNotesCafébar MarianneBerlinGermany2008Also known as Mariannenbar.Candy BarLondonEngland19962014Chez MouneParisFrance1936Damenklub ViolettaBerlinGermany1933Daniel'sBarcelonaSpain1975closedOne of the first lesbian bars in Spain and one of the first LGBTQ bars in BarcelonaGateways ClubLondonEngland19432014La GataFrankfurtGermany19712026As of 2021 the only lesbian bar in FrankfurtLe HannetonParisFrance1890s (early)1900sDepicted in lithograph Au Hanneton by Toulouse LautrecLe MonocleParisFrance1920s1940s (early)One of Paris' first and most famous lesbian barsNew MoonParisFrance1960s1980sShe SohoLondonEngland2014SaareinAmsterdamNetherlands1978The oldest still existing women's café of AmsterdamBar Buka AmsterdamNetherlands2019
North America BarCityStateCountryYear openedYear closedNotesA League of Her OwnWashington, D.C.United States2018A Little More San FranciscoCaliforniaUnited States1980sAmelia'sSan Francisco, Mission DistrictCaliforniaUnited States19781991Morse, Rob (November 12, 1991). "As San Francisco goes, so what?" San Francisco Examiner. pg. 3. Retrieved 10 October 2021.The Anxious AspSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19581967Arcana Bar and LoungeDurhamNorth CarolinaUnited States2015North Carolina's only lesbian bar in 2024–2025Artist's ClubSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19461949As You Are BarWashington, D.C.United StatesBabes of CarytownRichmondVirginiaUnited States1979Babiana Club LessMexico CityMexico2013BabyFace DiscoMontrealQuebecCanada1960s (late)1983First lesbian bar in MontrealBachanalAlbanyCaliforniaUnited StatesBeaded BagSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited StatesThe Bond Street BarAsbury ParkNew JerseyUnited States1970s1980sLocation was also the site of a women's bar in the 1930sBlanco'sSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States1943mid-1950sAlso known as Blanco's TavernBlush & BluDenverColoradoUnited States20122024Colorado's only lesbian bar, closed as of October 5, 2024Bum Bum BarNew York City, QueensNew York (state)United States1990s (early)2018Cafe Des Beaux ArtsNew York CityNew York (state)United States19111921One of the earliest "ladies bars"Chances BarHoustonTexasUnited States19942010Chez-Elle Asbury Park New JerseyUnited States19651990Also known as Chez-L Lounge, opened by a former nun, it was Asbury Park's first "women's club" and a "groundbreaking lesbian nightclub" that was "part of a landmark court case in the 1960s"Chez Madame ArthurMontrealQuebecCanada19711975Chez Jilly'sMontrealQuebecCanada1970s1970sChi-Chi ClubSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19491956Clementina's Baybrick San Francisco, South of MarketCaliforniaUnited States19821987Also known as The Brick, The Bay Brick InnCopper LanternNorth Beach, San FranciscoCaliforniaUnited States19551965CubbyholeNew York City, West VillageNew York (state)United States1994Dani's Queer BarBostonMassachusettsUnited States2024On Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhoodDar's HideawayCupertinoCaliforniaUnited States1980s2000sDoc Marie'sPortlandOregonUnited States20222025DriftwoodHaywardCaliforniaUnited StatesAlso known as The Driftwood, and Driftwood LoungeDorothyChicagoIllinoisUnited States2022Egyptian ClubPortlandOregonUnited States19952010Eve's Hangout New York City, Greenwich VillageNew York (state)United States19251926Also known as Eve Adams's TearoomFemme BarWorcesterMassachusettsUnited States2023Located in Worcester's Canal DistrictFirst Choice/The NightNewarkNew JerseyUnited States1980sSangaline, Isabella. "First Choice/the Night." Clio: Your Guide to History. May 24, 2021. Accessed June 12, 2023. https://www.theclio.com/tour/1873/2 FrontSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited StatesGina'sVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada2025Late 2025Ginger's Bar New York City, BrooklynNew York (state)United States2000Also known as The G-SpotGossip GrillSan DiegoCaliforniaUnited States2009The Grand UnionSeattleWashingtonUnited States1950sHelene'sRoselleNew JerseyUnited States1960sHenrietta HudsonNew York City, West VillageNew York (state)United States1991HerzMobileAlabamaUnited States20192023If ClubLos Angeles, Koreatown CaliforniaUnited States1947c. 1940sThe earliest known lesbian bar in Los Angeles, also known as If Cafe.JubileeOaklandCaliforniaUnited StatesJust Marion & Lynn'sHouston, MontroseTexasUnited States19731987One of the first lesbian-oriented bars to open in Houston, the bar closed in 1987, one year after one of the founders was murdered - "Just+Marion+%26+Lynn's"+address It was also at 903 Richmond according to Bob Damron's Address Book, 1987, page 4, and Allgo Pasa!: Newsletter of the Austin Latino/a Lesbian & Gay, 1986, page 2.Kelly's Alamo Club San Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited StatesA police raid in 1956 and the arrest of 36 women on charges of "frequenting a house of ill repute" led the Daughters of Bilitis to publish a guide, "What To Do In Case of Arrest."The Key West HotelAsbury ParkNew JerseyUnited States19811990"The 1980’s most popular club for New Jersey lesbians, and possibly the oldest lesbian venue of its kind on the East Coast" (originally published in Curve magazine) "New Jersey’s largest and most happening lesbian club and hotel" Formerly Owl and PussycatThe Lexington ClubSan Francisco, Mission DistrictCaliforniaUnited States19972015Last Ditch BarGreenfieldMassachusettsUnited States2025Gained national attention after a 2026 Boston Globe profile of the bar went viral.Lipstick LoungeEast NashvilleTennesseeUnited States2002MagnoliaMontrealQuebecCanada1990s2003"One of the greats."Mamzelle'sPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUnited States19821986A separate, private lesbian club ran by Sally Tire in the top two floors of the gay leather bar Bike Stop in Center City.Marsha'sPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUnited States2025Marketed as a "queer women's sports bar," rather than specifically a lesbian bar.Mary’s First and Last ChanceOaklandCaliforniaUnited States1956Closed in 1958 for "catering to lesbians", but the bar challenged the ruling in the State Supreme Court and won in 1959.Mary’s TowerSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19531967Maud'sSan Francisco, Cole ValleyCaliforniaUnited States19661989Miss Smith's Tea RoomSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19541960Mona's 440 ClubSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19361950sSold in the mid-1950s to a former employee, and was renamed "Ann's 440 Club" and then no longer served as a lesbian bar.Mona’s Candle Light RoomSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19481957Later it changed and became the Club Gala, the Jazz Workshop, Burp Hollow, and the Dixie Land Jazz.Mother BarSan Francisco, Mission DistrictCaliforniaUnited States2023My Sister's RoomAtlantaGeorgia (state)United States1996Ollie'sOaklandCaliforniaUnited States19811991Our ClubSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited StatesPage 3New York City, Greenwich VillageNew York (state)United Statesmid-1950smid-1960s*The PalmsWest HollywoodCaliforniaUnited States1960s2013Paper DollSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19491961The Pearl BarHoustonTexasUnited States2013"only lesbian bar in the Bayou City, one of two in Texas and one of 16 in the nation" Profiled in a documentary by the Lesbian Bar Project. Peg's PlaceSan Francisco, Richmond DistrictCaliforniaUnited States1950s1988The site of a 1979 lesbophobic attack by off-duty members of the S.F.P.D.Phase OneAtlantaGeorgia (state)United States2010sPhase 1 Washington, D.C.United States19702016The oldest continually operating lesbian bar in the country when it closed.Redz BarLos Angeles, Boyle HeightsCaliforniaUnited States1950s 2015Originally known as Redheads, it catered to working class Latina lesbians.Roselle InnChicagoIllinoisUnited States1935Also known as Rose-El-Inn, one of the earliest lesbian bars. Shut down by police in 1935.Sappho's TavernSeattleWashingtonUnited States1950sThe SavoySanta ClaraCaliforniaUnited States19842009Scott’s PitSan FranciscoCaliforniaUnited States19701984The first lesbian biker bar in San Francisco; home of brawls and poetry readings.The Silver SlipperSeattleWashingtonUnited States1970sSistersPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUnited States2013SlammersColumbusOhioUnited States1993Sue Ellen'sDallasTexasUnited States1989Summit StationColumbusOhioUnited States19712008Ohio's oldest and longest-running lesbian barTin AngelSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited States19531961Toasted WalnutPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUnited States20152021Tommy's Place/12 Adler PlaceSan Francisco, North BeachCaliforniaUnited Stateslate 1940s1955Val's Lesbian BarPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUnited States2026Philadelphia's first brick-and-mortar lesbian bar since the COVID-19 related closure of Toasted Walnut in 2021.Walker's PintMilwaukeeWisconsinUnited States2001"Wisconsin's last lesbian bar"Wild Side WestSan Francisco, Bernal HeightsCaliforniaUnited States1962The Wildrose SeattleWashingtonUnited States1984 A long running lesbian bar on the West Coast.XX+Washington, D.C.United States2018closed
South America
BarCityCountryYear openedYear closedNotesBach BarBuenos AiresArgentinaOldest lesbian bar in Buenos Aires References