Waikīkī

Waikīkī is a beachfront neighborhood of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii, United States. Waikiki is most famous for Waikīkī Beach, but it is just one of six beaches in the district, the others being Queen's Beach, Kuhio Beach, Gray's Beach, Fort DeRussy Beach and Kahanamoku Beach.Waikīkī is home to public places including Kapiolani Park, Fort DeRussy, Kahanamoku Lagoon, Kūhiō Beach Park, and Ala Wai Harbor.EtymologyThe name Waikīkī means spouting fresh water in the Hawaiian language, for springs and streams that fed wetlands that once separated Waikīkī from the interior.HistoryThe area was a retreat for Hawaiian royalty in the 1800s who enjoyed surfing there on early forms of longboards.A few small hotels opened in the 1880s. In 1893, Greek-American George Lycurgus leased the guest house of Allen Herbert and renamed it the "Sans Souci" (French for "without worries") creating one of the first beach resorts. Later that year Robert Louis Stevenson stayed at the resort; subsequently it became a popular destination for tourists from the mainland. The area at coordinates is still called "Sans Souci Beach".