On the winding lower reaches of Pithlachascotee River, this city was developed at breakneck speed during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. That was a time of great optimism, and New Port Richey was marketed as a winter escape for Hollywood stars. Several stars, including actor Thomas Meighan spent time in the city in …
About 15 miles north of Orlando’s Central Business District, Lake Mary is one of Florida’s fastest-growing communities. The city was incorporated in 1973, and has burgeoned since 2000. Over time the cityscape has been endowed with lively mixed-use developments. I adore the leafy downtown area, and Colonial Town Park, a whole dining and entertainment district. …
Between US 1 and the Intracoastal Waterway, Lighthouse Point is a coastal community laced with residential canals. In the absence of a main street, US 1 has a long succession of shopping centers, restaurants, and entertainment attractions. What I love most about this place are the canal-side parks and restaurants, imbued with South Florida’s maritime …
This city in North Central Florida can trace its history back more than 200 years. For a long time, Lake City was known as Alligator, and its most famous resident was the Seminole chief, Alligator Warrior. Nature abounds in the immediate countryside, with state parks, and city owned nature park, and the massive Osceola National …
The seat of Lake County is a lovely waterfront city among the Harris Chain of Lakes. With so much water all around, people needed an alternative way to travel long distances. This is the seaplane, and Tavares has long been known as America’s Seaplane City, with a base right on Lake Dora next to downtown. …
At the north end of the Jacksonville Beaches, Atlantic Beach is a shorefront community, bordering Jax but about 25 minutes from downtown. This part of the coastline was first developed at the turn of the 20th century with the arrival of the railroad. Atlantic Beach quickly became an elevated tourism hotspot, with an enormous luxury …
Directly north of Miami International Airport (MIA), Miami Springs is a city that sprang up overnight in the 1920s. More than a century later the golf course at the core of the planned development is still going strong. Elsewhere you can find a lot of other clues from those early days. One is the home …
Visiting this upscale island paradise, I had to remind myself that I was 15 minutes from downtown Miami. Bookended by a state park and sprawling county park, Key Biscayne feels a lot more secluded than it really is. To the south is Cape Florida, commanded by a lighthouse that has stood here for 200 years. …
The oldest city in the United States has been continuously inhabited since 1565. St. Augustine is as pretty as it is old, and I could spend whole days under the spell of Castillo de San Marcos or the Colonial Quarter. More than almost any American city, St. Augustine has a European atmosphere. You can feel …
I doubt there are many places on planet Earth that feel quite like Florida city. This is the southernmost city in the United States, not on an island. Florida City is the final stop before US 1 takes to the water and visits the Keys. By the highway are shopping centers, charming roadside attractions, eateries, …