Florida attractions

The biggest draw to this Florida state park and tourist attraction is a group of mermaids—dancers with shimmering tails and oxygen lifelines performing underwater shows in the Weeki Wachee Springs. In addition to seeing the mermaid shows, you can ride riverboats down the Weeki Wachee, see alligators at native wildlife demonstrations, and drop down the waterslides at Buccaneer Bay.

Hidden in the interior of St. Petersburg, Boyd Hill Nature Preserve is a lakeside preserve with hiking trails, a 19th-century pioneer settlement, and a visitor education center. It’s considered a hidden gem, as many tourists don’t visit it, but it’s a popular park with locals for weekly events for adults and children.

Get your adrenaline pumping and put yourself in the driver’s seat at I-Drive NASCAR Indoor Kart Racing. Located in Orlando, I-Drive offers plenty of activities to keep the whole family occupied, with state-of-the-art electric go-karts, an arcade area, a bowling alley, pool tables, and full-service bar and restaurant.

The Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, Florida, is in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. Like at all Hard Rock Cafes, the emphasis is on food and fun with an American diner-inspired menu of burgers and fries in a rock ‘n’ roll atmosphere filled with music memorabilia. Look for live performances at the Hard Rock Live venue.

Learn about Florida’s Spanish influence in the Colonial Quarter, a living history museum in St. Augustine. Colonial buildings, a watchtower, plus shopping and dining make up this recreated 1740s town. Engage with “local townspeople” (all costumed actors) to hear stories about how blacksmiths, carpenters, and soldiers lived and worked. There’s also an outdoor venue that hosts frequent concerts.

The central business district of this popular Florida destination is rife with a diverse arts and culture scene, as well as lively nightlife, dozens of museums, and a handful of historic performance spaces. A stroll along the scenic riverwalk showcases striking views of the Tampa city skyline.

A tropical paradise just a stone’s throw from bustling Miami, Key Biscayne is a prime addition to any Florida itinerary. Hit the golf course, charter a fishing boat, or just chill out on a beach.

Founded by famed marine scientist Eugenie Clark in 1955 to study sharks, the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota has broadened its scope to a range of marine life. At the heart of the facility is an aquarium with more than 100 species of marine life and a massive 130,000-gallon (490,000-liter) shark habitat.

This blackwater tributary slowly flows through the swamplands of northeastern Florida. Deemed an Outstanding Florida Waterway, it's one of the most pristine rivers in the area and comprises beautiful scenery of moss-covered cypress and palm forests. It has plenty of wildlife to see, making it a popular kayaking and canoeing destination.

A pretty church surrounded by a grotto and a garden with the Stations of the Cross, the 1905 Basilica of Saint Mary Star of the Sea is on the National Register of Historic Places. Palm trees flank the American Victorian exterior, and inside the airy white church is a magnificent stained glass window that was installed in 1907.

Just south of Downtown Tampa you’ll find Tampa Hyde Park, a historic neighborhood that evokes the ambiance of old Florida with its collection of homes dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, it’s not only a desirable residential neighborhood, but also home to Hyde Park Village, lined with upscale boutiques and restaurants.

Home to the New World Symphony, the New World Center in Miami Beach was the first Florida building designed by architect Frank Gehry. Debuted in 2011, the landmark concert hall lacks Gehry’s typical sinuous forms, though its glass-fronted looks still make a statement (and have helped cement it as a top cultural destination).

The Key West cruise port is the gateway to America’s southernmost city, where pristine nature meets quirky culture and history. The cruise terminal is walking distance from many top attractions in the compact center of Key West and is a convenient starting point for exploring the city’s neighborhoods, beaches, and nightlife.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Orlando is no normal attraction. Filled with bizarre exhibits and mesmerizing optical illusions, Ripley’s includes life-size Terracotta Warriors, a real shrunken human head, and a 2-headed dog skeleton.

First inhabited by the Manasota peoples 5,000 years ago, Weedon Island Preserve remains a significant cultural, ecological, and social destination in St. Petersburg. Along with historical landmarks, the limited solid land and rich marine ecosystem on Weedon Island offer unspoiled opportunities for birdwatching, kayaking, hiking, fishing, and wildlife photography. Guests regularly visit to spend the day under the sun, just minutes from downtown St. Petersburg and South Tampa.

Find masses of tropical blooms and lush foliage in this beautiful garden on the site of West Martello Tower, a military site built during the Civil War. Combining historic architecture with beautiful plants, the garden also has narrow paths that are perfect for a leisurely stroll away from Duval Street crowds.

The Exploration Tower stands tall beside the Canaveral Lighthouse at Cape Canaveral. This interactive attraction was built in 2013 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Canaveral Port Authority. It hosts seven stories of exhibition and event space, including indoor and outdoor observation decks for viewing cruise ships, sunrises, and rocket launches.

Situated within the historic Caribbean Gardens, the Naples Zoo is one of South Florida’s top family-friendly destinations. Home to dozens of exotic animal species (like giraffes and tigers)—and offering immersive habitat areas, educational keeper talks, and other interactive programming—it’s also an important conservation center.

Filled with species from across the world—as well as those native to Florida—the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens are home to everything from leopards and alligators to butterflies and ferns. Take pictures of the majestic animals and delicate plants, or get into the action by feeding a giraffe or meeting a rhino.

Located near downtown Orlando, the Orlando Museum of Art showcases a wide range of art in its collection of more than 2,400 items, in media such as painting, sculpture, and photography. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum offers a rotating series of temporary exhibits, traveling exhibitions, and educational programs.

Henderson Beach State Park became a public park in 1991 and added amenities like campsites, a playground, beach boardwalks, and a bathhouse soon after. It has some of the Panhandle’s last remaining coastal scrub communities, which are visible along the trails. Today, many people visit the beach throughout the year for camping, swimming, and wildlife viewing.

Pier 60 opened in Clearwater Beach in 1962 to extend the existing Clearwater Municipal Pier. Since then, Pier 60 has been the main gathering point for visitors and locals. The park features a playground, restroom, and snack bar, while the fishing pier has a bait house, telescopes, and covered pavilions.

The Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier is an 800-foot (244-meter) walkway located on the northern end of Cocoa Beach that features popular restaurants, bars, shops, and live entertainment. Visitors come to the area around this Florida pier to surf, play beach volleyball, go swimming, and just relax, and they stay afterward for the true laid-back vacation vibes its amenities bring once those partaking in activities call it a day.

If you’re looking for a dose of retail therapy while in Miami, Aventura Mall is the place to go. This expansive shopping complex exudes sophisticated style, with upscale boutiques such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Burberry alongside trendier favorites including Apple, Anthropologie, and Aritzia.

Covering the western half of Key West, the island’s Historic District—also known as Old Town—is a trove of 19th-century Caribbean and European architecture. Its six square miles (16 square kilometers) encompasses almost 200 historic buildings, including mansions, a landmark theater, the Old Customs House, and the Key West Lighthouse.

Stretching from the edge of the Channelside Drive to the Tampa Heights District, the Tampa Riverwalk is a 2.6-mile (4-kilometer) pedestrian trail that runs along the Hillsborough River. The project started in 1975 and continued through 2020. The main throughway connecting neighborhoods is lined with public parks and attractions among the city's most popular.

Home to the NBA’s Miami Heat, Kaseya Center (formerly the American Airlines Arena and Miami-Dade Arena) is a must for sports fans. Open since 1999, the arena is also a major concert venue, having hosted the likes of Madonna, U2, and Mariah Carey. Designed by the architecture firms Arquitectonica and 360 Architecture, the arena on Biscayne Bay is also known for its striking modernist appearance.

See the fantastical glass creations of world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly at the Chihuly Collection in St. Petersburg. Presented by the Morean Arts Center, the collection features 18 installations from several of Chihuly’s most popular series in a space designed to showcase his organic and large-scale artworks.

Bok Tower Gardens is a historical landmark comprising 250 acres, a children’s garden, a 20-room Mediterranean-style mansion, a cafe, and a Singing Tower with carillon bells all day. Completed in 1929, Bok Tower Gardens has guided tours and live events such as concerts, yoga, and guest speakers.

Few places show off the biodiversity of Florida’s waterways better than Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. Here, 3,500 acres (1,416 hectares) of prime Florida wetland and upland ecosystems—created as rainwater drains into Estero Bay—provide a habitat for alligators, wading birds, wild pigs, otters, butterflies, and other native fauna.