Sights in Key West
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Dry Tortugas National Park
Dry Tortugas National Park is America's most inaccessible national park. Reachable only by boat, it rewards you for your effort in getting there with amazing snorkeling, diving, bird-watching and star-gazing.
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East Martello Tower
The East Martello Tower is home to Robert the haunted doll, the inspiration for all those Chucky movies. (He's in a glass case to keep him from making mischief in the rest of the museum.)
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Key West Lighthouse
You can climb up 88 steps to the top of this lighthouse, built in 1846, for a decent view. But honestly, it’s just as enjoyable to gaze up at the tower from the leafy street below.
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Key West Cemetery
Residents get the last word at the Key West Cemetery, with eccentric epitaphs such as, 'At least I know where he's sleeping tonight, ' or the famous 'I told you I was sick.'
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Hemingway House
Key West’s biggest darling, Ernest Hemingway, lived in this gorgeous Spanish-Colonial house from 1931 to 1940. Poppa moved here in his early 30s with wife No 2, a Vogue fashion editor and (former) friend of wife No 1. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Green Hills of Africa were produced here , but Hemingway didn’t just work; like all writers he wasted a lot of time, specifically by installing Key West’s first saltwater swimming pool. The construction project set him back so badly he pressed his ‘last penny’ into the cement on the pool’s deck. It’s still there today, along with the evil descendants of his famous six-toed cat, who basically rule the house a…
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Casa Antigua
This was technically Hemingway’s first house in Key West and the spot where he wrote A Farewell to Arms, but it isn’t all that notable except for a lush garden in the back and one of the kitschiest ‘guided tours’ in the US. Here’s how it breaks down: go to the Pelican Poop Gift Shoppe, which now occupies the Casa, pay the $2 garden entrance fee and let the kitsch begin! Go into the peaceful green area out the back, then a recorded tape plays at the volume God uses whenever he says anything that begins with ‘Let there be…’ At this ear-splitting volume, a man with a voice that can only be described as Big Gay Al raised in Dixie, lays down the history of the Casa f…
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The Studios of Key West
This new nonprofit showcases about a dozen artists’ studios in a gallery space located in the old Armory building, which includes a lovely sculpture garden. Besides its public visual-arts displays, TSKW hosts readings by local authors like Robert Stone, literary and visual workshops, concerts, lectures and community discussion groups. Essentially, it has become the accessible heart of this city’s enormous arts movement, and offers a good point-of-entry for visitors who want to engage in Key West’s creative scene but don’t have a clue where to start.
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Heritage House
Of all the many historic Key West homes open to visitors, this Caribbean–Colonial house is among the most wonderful to walk through. That’s because it’s rarely crowded, has passionate guides, and contains original furnishings and antiques, from a piano from the court of Marie Antoinette to a set of dining chairs from the 1600s. All have been collected and preserved by seven generations of a local family. The Robert Frost Cottage, where the poet stayed for 16 winters, is out back, along with another wonderful garden.
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Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
‘America’s Southernmost State Park’ (we get it, Keys Chamber of Commerce – Key West is southern), this park is oft-neglected by authorities and visitors, which is a shame as it’s a nice place to while away a quiet afternoon. The actual fort walls are still standing, and within the compound those most-blessed of nerds – historical reenactors – put on costumes and act out scenes from Civil War and pirate days. Butterflies flit over the grounds, and the beach is quiet and quite pretty to boot.
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Little White House
President Harry S Truman – the one who came after Franklin Roosevelt? Marshall Plan? Helped start the Cold War? Never mind – used to vacation at this house. It is as lushly luxurious as you’d expect and open only for guided tours (though the two rooms of the Harry S Truman Annex, with displays on political and presidential trivia, are free). Plenty of Truman’s possessions are scattered about, but the real draw is the guides, who are intensely intelligent, quirky and helpful.
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Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum
The Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum offers tours every half-hour, during which bearded docents spin yarns of Papa. You'll see his studio, hear about his unusual pool, and witness scores of descendents of his six-toed cats languishing in the sun, on furniture, and pretty much wherever they feel like.
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Southernmost Point
There's no way we're going to dissuade you from having your picture taken at this red-and-black buoy at the corner of South and Whitehead Sts, which isn't even the southernmost point (that's in the off-limits naval base around the corner). But we'll say it anyways: this is the most overrated attraction in Key West.
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Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden
Choose this gem of a garden over the more-touted gardens, as it truly feels secret and far removed from the more raucous goings-on in town. Nancy, who lives on the property, invites you to bring lunch (but no cell phones!) into her oasis of lush palms, orchids, and chatty caged parrots and macaws.
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Museum of Art & History at the Custom House
Offering a more low-key, less swashbuckling version of Key West history, the Museum of Art & History at the Custom House is an interesting collection of folklore, artwork and historical exhibits housed in the impressive former Customs House.
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Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum
Hearan impressive tale of tenacity and treasure hunting at the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum and gawk at the treasures salvaged from the Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank nearby almost 400 years ago.
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South Beach
Key West is not about beach-going. In fact, for true sun n surf, locals go to Bahia Honda whenever possible. Still, South Beach is a lovely and narrow beach, with calm and clear water. At the end of Simonton St.
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Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory
Even if you have only the faintest interest in butterflies, you'll find yourself entranced by the sheer quantity flittering all around you at the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory.
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Key West Shipwreck Historeum Museum
The Key West Shipwreck Historeum Museum is lively, with a cast of actors taking you back to 1856, when the Isaac Allerton was destroyed by a hurricane in the Saddlebunch Keys.
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Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center
Further your nature kick at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center, which will help you appreciate the plants, animals and habitats that make up the Keys' unique ecosystem.
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Higgs Beach
Higgs Beach is at the end of Reynolds St and Casa Marina Ct. It has barbecue grills, picnic tables and a big crowd of gay sunbathers and Key West's Eastern European seasonal workforce.
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Wreckers’ Museum/Oldest House
The home of Confederate blockade-runner Francis B Watlington, the Wreckers’ Museum/Oldest House is filled with period antiques and has enjoyable, volunteer-led tours.
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Smathers Beach
Smathers Beach is further east than the other city beaches, off S Roosevelt Blvd, and is more popular with jet skiers, parasailers, teens and college students.
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Mallory Square
On an island this small, you have to work pretty hard to avoid the over-the-top tourist action at Mallory Square at the northwestern end of Duval St. Near where the cruise ships vomit out their daily load, it's hardly the real Key West, but their nightly sunset celebration is a fun ritual to indulge in, however briefly, with jugglers, fire-eaters and street performers of every stripe.
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