Flamingo languages

San Francisco is the most European city in the United States. Originally, San Francisco was known as the Barbary Coast and was home to scoundrels, thieves, gun slingers, outlaws, prostitutes, and all those wishing to make a quick fortune, including the most famous group: the 49ers. Although these days 49ers is the name of San Francisco’s professional football team, it was originally the name for the men and women who rushed to San Francisco in 1849 to find gold. Hence the gold rush!

Word of the gold rush spread around the world and fortune seekers arrived by the boatload from Europe and as far away as China and Asia. This has led to San Francisco’s international flair. Chinatown, Japantown, the Mission, North Beach, and the Castro are just a few dynamic neighbourhoods that make San Francisco the thriving multicultural metropolis that it is today. Its temperate climate is Mediterranean with warm breezy days and cool misty nights that lend to feelings of romance and mystery. Stunning views of the bay, Mount Diablo and Mount Tamalpais surround the visitor with vivid blue skies reflected from the Pacific Ocean and dramatic foggy nights with cable car and foghorn bells as a soundtrack.

San Francisco is a dream city for gay and lesbian travellers and students. It has a thriving gay and lesbian community, strong anti-discrimination laws and, of course, the annual San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade that attracts more than half a million people annually. San Franciscans are easy going, relaxed, open-minded and welcoming to international wanderers.

The heart of San Francisco’s gay scene is Castro Street. During the day, Castro Street's cafés and restaurants are perfect for people watching. By night, the action shifts to the street's clubs and bars, where drag queens mix with leather boys and their daddies, suburban boys, party boys, butch dykes, glamour dykes, transsexuals, bisexuals … and just about anybody else you can think of. In San Francisco’s SOMA (South of Market) is another gay and lesbian centre. Here you’ll find more bars, cafes, and clubs.