At the head of the Pinellas Peninsula, Tarpon Springs is a city with a distinct Greek flavor. In fact, Tarpon Springs has the highest concentration of Greek Americans of any community in the United States. These Greek origins go back to the birth of the local sponge diving industry in the late 19th century. Even …
Once known for growing watermelons, this fast-growing city is wedged between two large bodies of freshwater, namely Lake Harris and Lake Griffin. Leesburg’s exciting, culturally-rich downtown is a few steps from the shore of Lake Harris. On the waterfront here is one of my favorite parks in the world. In the 1930s, the Works Progress …
Bordering the wealthy cities of Pinecrest and Coral Gables, South Miami was incorporated in 1927. Around this time, the University of Miami (UM) campus was just taking shape next door. South Miami is blessed with a vital downtown area, served by a Metrorail station and hosting a big arts festival every February. On Biscayne Bay, …
The ultimate vacation spot on Florida’s Panhandle, Panama City Beach has 27 miles of perfect sandy shoreline. How you experience the shore is up to you. Families will be wowed by an animated seaside town, packed with attractions, from waterparks to zoos and fun centers. There’s shopping, dining and entertainment at Pier Park, as well …
Nicknamed Island City, Wilton Manors has come through an incredible transformation since the early 1990s. What was once a relatively deprived area is now blossoming, and famed for its LGBTQ+ community. This is a gayborhood with few rivals, becoming only the second city in the country to have an all-LGBTQ+ governing body in 2018. There’s …
On Biscayne Bay in South Dade, Palmetto Bay is a village that was incorporated as recently as 2002. The neighborhoods here have been around for much longer than that, and had to deal with a calamity in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew made landfall near here. Close to the shoreline in the east of Palmetto Bay …
East of Jacksonville, this city is in a long row of coastal communities, collectively known as The Beaches. By a strange quirk of local administration, residents of Jacksonville Beach are still able to vote in Jacksonville’s mayoral elections. Anyway, Jax Beach was hooked up to the railroad in the 1880s and quickly developed as a …
This suburban village was developed in the Florida land boom of the 1920s as Miami’s Biscayne neighborhood. Miami Shores was incorporated not long after, in the middle of the Great Depression. As the name suggests, the village is on Biscayne Bay, and you can survey the water at the scenic Bayfront Park. I was surprised …
At the far end of the Overseas Highway, and at the southernmost points of the continental United States is an island and city unlike anywhere else in the country. The modern history of Key West begins in the early 19th century. The Florida Keys had long been a graveyard for overladen and misguided ships. Their …
It’s easy to fall in love with this historic seaside city on Florida’s central east coast. One of New Smyrna Beach’s draws is the Atlantic shoreline, with 17 miles of perfect white sands. Some beaches, like at Canaveral National Seashore, are wild and remote. For something more social, the lively town beach is right on …