In 1715, eleven Spanish treasure galleons were shipwrecked in the Atlantic next to Sebastian. Naturally, this stretch of shoreline has come to be known as the Treasure Coast. In and near Sebastian you can visit two museums charting the events of 1715, and showing items salvaged from the wrecks. I also need to talk about …
True to its name, this understated city is right on the Indian River Lagoon, just south of New Smyrna Beach. Though not a major destination in its own right, Edgewater is within striking distance of a lot of exciting places. First off, the Mosquito Lagoon section of the Indian River is right there. This shallow …
Crammed onto the narrow neck of Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach is a world-famous beach city. With the ocean on one side and the Banana River lagoon on the other, it’s an emblem of the Space Coast, and somewhere I think everyone should see at least once. Cocoa Beach is the spiritual home of surfing on …
In Central Florida, Haines City rests in a landscape of rolling sandy hills, lakes, and citrus farms. This place has a social calendar that would put most towns twice its size to shame. A lot of the annual events go down at the stunning Lake Eva Park. If you’re around outside of the summer months, …
A city of skyscrapers, Sunny Isles Beach occupies just 1.8 square miles of barrier island between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. When I wrote this article Sunny Isles Beach was the most densely populated municipality outside of the New York area. Lining up along Collins Avenue are soaring condos and luxury beach resorts by big hospitality …
A perfect example of a planned city, Venice came about in the mid-1920s and grew steadily as the 20th century progressed. Today Venice is an official Florida MainStreet City, with beautiful architecture modeled on the Italian Venice, and streets lined with palms and live oaks. Downtown Venice combines this elegance with first-class shopping, dining, entertainment …
Next to Clearwater, on the peaceful shores of Tampa Bay, Safety Harbor is a small town with a lot of personality. With a quaint Main Street, community gardens, peculiar outsider art, and yoga at the weekly market, I love the nurturing, progressive feel to this place. Tourism goes back a long way at Safety Harbor. …
By Lake Monroe on the St. Johns River, DeBary is a city named for a 19th-century wine merchant. He decided to build a winter estate near the river, and in doing so, opened up this forbidding watercourse to commerce and future settlers. DeBary’s stately mansion is now preserved as a museum. On a tour you’ll learn …
North of Doral and west of Hialeah, this city of more than 20,000 is on the very western edge of the Miami Metropolitan Area. Until the 1960s the landscape in this part of Dade County was rural, with horse farms along the Okeechobee Road corridor. Over the next 30 years Hialeah Gardens developed into a …
Founded by Union Civil War veterans in 1911, Lynn Haven is a city of almost 20,000, on the north side of Panama City. I’m smitten with Lynn Haven’s beautiful public parks. Many of these are on the serene shores of St. Andrews Bay, with little beaches and sublime views at sunset. As far as I’m …