Taipei launches rainbow bus tours to celebrate Pride month
October 3, 2025Taipei has rolled out a fleet of LGBTQ+ themed sightseeing buses as part of its Pride month celebrations, aiming to showcase the city’s queer culture and history, according to The Taipei Times.
The “rainbow sightseeing bus tours,” unveiled Wednesday by the city’s Department of Information and Tourism, will run every Thursday to Sunday through October 26 under the “2025 Color Taipei” series. Passengers will be guided by drag queens and LGBTQ+ influencers, with performances and talk shows bringing Pride culture to life along the route.
Stops include key landmarks such as the Red House, a hub of Taipei’s LGBTQ+ scene, and Ketagalan Boulevard. Special “Party Tour” buses will coincide with major Pride events, including the Drag Room competition finals on October 9, the Taiwan Trans March on October 24, and the Taipei International Drag Festival on October 25.
Alongside the tours, an exhibition on Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ history is running at the Red House through October 31. The city has also partnered with more than 30 LGBTQ-friendly hotels to offer discounts and promotions to attract both local and international visitors.
The celebrations build toward Taiwan LGBT+ Pride, scheduled for October 25. Since its debut in 2003, the march has grown into East Asia’s largest Pride parade, drawing up to 200,000 people in recent years, particularly after Taiwan became the first country in the region to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019.