From Cleveland to New Orleans, these are the 16 best US cities for gay dating

In 2017, San Francisco was named America's best city for gay travel by Travel and Leisure. And perhaps rightly so — much of modern gay culture got its start in the city.

In 1978, the first rainbow flag was created by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker. It has since gone through several color variations to become more inclusive.

San Antonio's official website reads, "San Antonio's friendly folks welcome and celebrate one and all." And based on everything it offers its LGBTQ community, it shows. The city hosts its "Bigger Than Texas" Pride Parade and Festival, which unlike most Pride festivals doesn't start until 9 pm.

The city even has its own LGBTQ magazine, Out in SA.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots, St. Louis hosted a number of events, including St. Louis Pride Fest, gay pride weekend at Washington University, and several museum and library tours of St. Louis's gay history.

St. Louis has also had official Pride celebrations as far back as 1980.

Los Angeles is a big city, and that means a big LGBTQ community as well

The Los Angeles LGBT Center, founded in 1969, is one of the city's main LGBTQ institutions. It plays an important role in organizing events, social services, housing, advocacy, and education, among other services.

Hartford, just a couple of miles from New York, has several LGBTQ events happening year-round.

There's the Hartford Pride festival and the OUT Film CT Festival, as well as several LGBT-frequented bars and restaurants. Other Connecticut towns have their own Pride festivals as well: New Haven, New London, and Norwalk.

Atlanta boasts on its site that it's the "national headquarters of the LGBT South" and that it "slays with a vibrant gay community."

Detroit has multiple neighborhoods with LGBTQ-friendly bars and restaurants, mostly in the Ferndale, Royal Oak, and Palmer Park areas.

Some of Ferndale's restaurants include The Emory and Rosie O'Grady's.

Cleveland may be the 52nd-largest city in the country, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in pride.

Cleveland's bars, restaurants, and community centers host LGBTQ events throughout the summer months like Pride festivals, drag queen bingo, dance competitions, and fundraisers.

Portland has a seemingly endless amount of LGBTQ-friendly organizations, eateries, and events. It has so many, in fact, it needs its own Gay Yellow Pages.

Some of its organizations include Basic Rights Oregon, Cascade AIDS Project, Pride Foundation, and Portland's all-volunteer chapter of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

Denver says on its site that it's "the true gay and lesbian center of the West."

The Denver PrideFest is held every year and features not only the standard march through the streets of Denver, but a 5k run. There's also the Rocky Mountain Regional Gay Rodeo and the CinemaQ Film Festival.

Providence, Rhode Island's capital, is also something of a capital for LGBTQ life in the state. There's the annual Pride festival, the RI Pride Art Gallery (an arts event that runs through June), as well as weekly drag shows year round at local bar EGO Providence.

Orlando is known for being the site of Disney World, but it's also the site of a vibrant gay social scene.

In fact, every year, thousands of people wearing red visit Disney World for Gay Days Orlando to celebrate the LGBTQ community. Disney has hosted the visitors since 1991. Last year, over 50,000 people took part in the events.

While many Florida cities are gay friendly, Tampa is sometimes overlooked by its bigger neighbors Orlando and Miami.

Tampa has its own long history, starting with one of its first gay bars, the Knotty Pine, which was popular in the 1940s, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Much like the Stonewall Inn in New York, the Knotty Pine was the site of violent clashes between patrons and police during raids. Now, Tampa residents remember the bar as the birth of the local gay community.

Despite being in the heart of politically conservative Texas, Austin is known for its welcoming atmosphere and friendly citizens. It's also a great place to enjoy cultural get-togethers like the South by Southwest music festival and Texan food.

As for gay nightlife, there are popular bars like Oilcan Harry's and Rain on 4th.

The Big Easy has always been a cultural hub for artists, musicians, and colorful characters, as well as a destination for the gay community.

New Orleans was gay-friendly long before other cities were. America's oldest gay social organization, the Steamboat Club, was founded in 1953, and the Gay Liberation Front of New Orleans was active in the early 1970s. Famous gay residents have included playwright Tennessee Williams and photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston.

Every August, New Orleans hosts Southern Decadence, their Pride festival, which draws upwards of 180,000 people, according to the New Orleans official site. Even though Mardi Gras gets all the attention, this party is the city's fifth-largest tourist attraction, drawing $215 million in revenue for the city.

In addition to festivals, New Orleans is home to gay-friendly bars such as Cafe Lafitte In Exile, The Oz, and Napoleon's Itch — and that's just the French Quarter.