Gay bars san francisco castro
San Francisco Castro: Foremost Things to Perform & See In this Famous, LGBT District
The San Francisco Castro district is an internationally known neighborhood that supports the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer) group.
This progressive and accepting neighborhood was also home to one of the most significant male lover rights activists of the 1970s, Harvey Milk.
In my life of visiting this district often, there are plenty of fun things to do here during the day and at night.
I love walking around this lively and colorful neighborhood. While this SF district is recognizable for its help of the LGBTQ community, you will find that many families also contact this neighborhood home.
Is the Castro safe? Absolutely. In evidence, due to its strong sense of community, it's one of the safest in San Francisco.
During your visit, you will immediately watch the fun essence of the group all the way down to the names of some of the bars, restaurants and shops. My two favorites are "Does Your Mother Know" which is a present shop and the "Sausage Factory" an Italian restaurant serving h
San Francisco’s fabulous LGBTQIA+ scene is no surprise if you realize anything about the city’s history. SF is known for electing Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the US, and is still acknowledged today for its thriving homosexual community.
At the epicentre of it all is San Francisco’s Castro District, full of drag shows, bars and great restaurants, but there’s plenty more to spot throughout SF (and Oakland) if you know where to stare. Whether you’re looking for amiable lesbian bars, balls-to-the-wall Latinx boogie parties or a very unforgettable drag show, these are the best gay bars in SF right now.
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This guide was written by Bay-Area based scribe Clara Hogan. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.
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The Castro
The Castro District, one of the original gay neighborhoods in the nation, is located right in the center of the urban area of San Francisco near The Mission, Decrease Haight, Cole Valley and Noe Valley. A vibrant neighborhood filled with amazing restaurants, bars, clubs, museums and more, The Castro is one of the most popular tourist areas in the city.
The history of the neighborhood dates back to the late 1800s, about 40 years after the peak of the Gold Rush and 20 years before the 1906 earthquake and fires that devastated the city. It was built in 1887 after a modern railway line was created that would link the area to downtown. The neighborhood went through many changes as the city grew. Several years after the 1906 earthquake, the neighborhood became known as Short-lived Scandinavia, due to the large population of Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish people who settled there. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that the male lover population began to grow and The Castro wasn’t the first gay neighborhood in the capital. In fact, the Polk Gulch area of San Francisco was the initial gay center of the city starting from the 1940s and then behind declining through the 1960s and 1970s as The Castro started
Castro’s newest gay bar
The designate is a nod to the city’s 49 square miles and also an exclusive lineup of over 49 beer and wine options, and 10 beers on draft.
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Monday- Friday until 6pm
$3 off tapped beers
$3 off house wines
$10 Frose, spritz and frozen margaritas