Things to Do in Florida

When artist and ornithologist John James Audubon visited Key West and the Dry Tortugas in 1832, he sighted and drew 19 new species for his monumental "Birds of America" folio. It is believed that many of those detailed paintings were conceived in this garden.

The 19th-century home, originally built by ships' carpenters for harbor pilot and shipwreck salvager Captain John Geiger - whose family occupied the house for approximately 100 years, is a museum that showcases both the...

When artist and ornithologist John James Audubon visited Key West and the Dry Tortugas in 1832, he sighted and drew 19 new species for his monumental "Birds of America" folio. It is believed that many of those detailed paintings were conceived in this garden.

The 19th-century home, originally built by ships' carpenters for harbor pilot and shipwreck salvager Captain John Geiger - whose family occupied the house for approximately 100 years, is a museum that showcases both the Audubon connection and Key West's early years. The antique-filled house contains nearly 30 first-edition Audubon works and adjoins a gallery featuring 500 Audubon lithographs.

The gardens surrounding the house, encompasses nearly an acre and contains a breathtaking variety of tropical foliage, native plants and exotics believed to attract Audubon's birds. In the front yard stands three Geiger trees - one of which appears in Audubon's painting of the white-crowned pigeon.

Bahia Honda State Park straddles U.S. Highway 1 just after the Seven Mile Bridge. Guest using the park on the south side have views and use of the Atlantic Ocean beaches, while those on the north side can play in Florida Bay.

Dr. Stephan Leatherman, also known as 'Dr. Beach,' recognizes Bahia Honda as having one of the Top 10 beaches in the U.S.

The 524-acre park on Bahia...

Bahia Honda State Park straddles U.S. Highway 1 just after the Seven Mile Bridge. Guest using the park on the south side have views and use of the Atlantic Ocean beaches, while those on the north side can play in Florida Bay.

Dr. Stephan Leatherman, also known as 'Dr. Beach,' recognizes Bahia Honda as having one of the Top 10 beaches in the U.S.

The 524-acre park on Bahia Honda Key offers camping, picnicking, sunbathing, watersports including snorkeling and boating (marina and launch on site) and fishing - reputed to be the best tarpon fishing in the state.

The park and its nature center showcase the unique Caribbean flora and fauna - including wading and shorebirds, found nowhere else in the continental U.S. At the park, rent kayaks and dive and snorkel gear.

Walk to the southwest end of the island to see the old Bahia Honda Bridge, reminiscent of Henry Flagler's days.

The park with sabal palms and sea grapes and a one-mile nature trail is comprised of 342 acres on a barrier island. It is the home to gopher tortoise and loggerhead sea turtle. Barefoot Beach is separated from the mainland by tidal creeks and mangrove swamps - an extremely important part of the ecosystem as it is a nursery for young fish.

The park with sabal palms and sea grapes and a one-mile nature trail is comprised of 342 acres on a barrier island. It is the home to gopher tortoise and loggerhead sea turtle. Barefoot Beach is separated from the mainland by tidal creeks and mangrove swamps - an extremely important part of the ecosystem as it is a nursery for young fish.

Journey to an ecosystem only accessible by airboat. During 30-minute group tours or a 45-minute private tour explore Central Florida's Everglades, home to alligators, turtles and birds, while learning about this unique habitat.

Professional trophy bass fishing guide and gator hunting guide services are offered.

Journey to an ecosystem only accessible by airboat. During 30-minute group tours or a 45-minute private tour explore Central Florida's Everglades, home to alligators, turtles and birds, while learning about this unique habitat.

Professional trophy bass fishing guide and gator hunting guide services are offered.

The 35-acre coastal habitat features a three-quarter-mile-long boardwalk that brings visitors to the beach. The boardwalk doubles as a nature walk and during warmer weather provides respite from the sun.

Clam Pass is separated from the mainland by tidal creeks and mangrove swamps - an extremely important part of the ecosystem as it is a nursery for young fish. Additionally shorebirds call this area home.

The 35-acre coastal habitat features a three-quarter-mile-long boardwalk that brings visitors to the beach. The boardwalk doubles as a nature walk and during warmer weather provides respite from the sun.

Clam Pass is separated from the mainland by tidal creeks and mangrove swamps - an extremely important part of the ecosystem as it is a nursery for young fish. Additionally shorebirds call this area home.

All aboard the Conch Tour Train for a fully narrated 90-minute tour of Key West's Old Town and points beyond. Along the way learn about island facts and folklore. Crisscross the island while traveling past places of interest like Ernest Hemingway's Home and Museum, the Key West Lighthouse, the Southernmost Point, and the Historic Seaport district (The Bight), among many others.

This is an great introduction to Key West for the whole family. Its small, open, canvas-canopied cars are...

All aboard the Conch Tour Train for a fully narrated 90-minute tour of Key West's Old Town and points beyond. Along the way learn about island facts and folklore. Crisscross the island while traveling past places of interest like Ernest Hemingway's Home and Museum, the Key West Lighthouse, the Southernmost Point, and the Historic Seaport district (The Bight), among many others.

This is an great introduction to Key West for the whole family. Its small, open, canvas-canopied cars are pulled by propane-powered simulated steam engines with smokestacks, whistles and bells. Passengers depart from Mallory Square or Flagler Station in the Historic Seaport district.

The Crane Point Museum and Nature Center has more than 10 major exhibits covering the geography, plant and animal life of the Florida Keys, as well as the 5,000-year history of man's habitation in the region. Highlights include:

• a wall-size, color-enhanced enlargement of a Skylab photo of the region that reveals details about the island chain

• a shipwreck display highlights the many ships and men that were lost on the treacherous reefs surrounding the Keys....

The Crane Point Museum and Nature Center has more than 10 major exhibits covering the geography, plant and animal life of the Florida Keys, as well as the 5,000-year history of man's habitation in the region. Highlights include:
• a wall-size, color-enhanced enlargement of a Skylab photo of the region that reveals details about the island chain
• a shipwreck display highlights the many ships and men that were lost on the treacherous reefs surrounding the Keys.
• gold and silver, as well as cannons and everyday objects

The museum has secured a traveling exhibit from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum showcasing artifacts from the 1733 shipwreck that occurred off the coast of the Middle Keys.

Some of the museum's rarest artifacts include weapons, tools, an ancient Indian dugout canoe and pottery.

Crane Point is one of the Florida Keys' most sensitive environmental and archaeological sites, and has been preserved as a nature sanctuary. The property contains evidence of pre-Columbian and prehistoric Bahamian artifacts and was once the site of an entire Indian village.

A one-of-a-kind, living record of Keys history, 63.5-acre Crane Point is home to a wide range of endangered, native and exotic tropical vegetation. Visitors can explore firsthand the preserve's rare tropical forests via an interpretive quarter-mile nature trail with unusual geologic features.

Discover mangrove, palm and hardwood hammocks - rare ecological systems that make Crane Point an important environmental resource. On self-guided tours, view a pit worn away by a millennium's rainfall, exposing ancient ocean fossils such as giant brain and star corals; rare hardwoods and native palms; red mangroves, known as "walking trees" for their long roots that give the tree a legged appearance; and indigenous fauna such as rare tree snails and the endangered ibis. A wild bird rehabilitation center and flight habitat also are accessible via the trail.

Crane Point also features a wild bird rehabilitation center and the historic Adderley House, a home with thick tabby concrete walls built in 1903, and children's activities.

The center, in downtown Tampa on a nine-acre site along the east bank of the Hillsborough River, is the largest performing arts complex south of the Kennedy Center.

The 335,000 square-foot facility, consisting of five distinct theaters and a performing arts conservatory, offers a wide variety of world-class events. It boasts one of the nation's leading Broadway series and is nationally respected for producing grand opera, as well as concerts, performances and events....

The center, in downtown Tampa on a nine-acre site along the east bank of the Hillsborough River, is the largest performing arts complex south of the Kennedy Center.

The 335,000 square-foot facility, consisting of five distinct theaters and a performing arts conservatory, offers a wide variety of world-class events. It boasts one of the nation's leading Broadway series and is nationally respected for producing grand opera, as well as concerts, performances and events.

Note: formerly the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.