Sights in St Petersburg
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Boyd Hill Nature Park
A great 245-acre park, Boyd Hill is an oasis hidden in the midst of an urban area. Partly on the shores of Lake Maggiore, this natural butterfly habitat has about 3½ miles of nature trails and boardwalks that traverse scrubland, pine flatwoods, swamp woodlands and coastal willows. On Willow Marsh Trail you’ll likely hear young alligators squeaking and see bald eagles, snowy egrets, box turtles and opossums among the oaks, cypresses and ferns. The friendly rangers here offer lots of good walks (check at the entrance when you arrive). Daily tram tours depart at 1pm; on Saturday there’s an extra tour at 10am. There’s a picnic area, playground and paths for bicycles.
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Coffee Pot Bayou
This old northeast neighborhood, the heart of which is east of 4th St and between 19th and 30th Aves NE (but it's also very sweet around 9th Ave NE), was developed in the 1920s and is lined with brick streets and authentic period architecture. A 30-minute drive will reward you with an insider's view of St Petersburg beyond the museums and marinas.
While you're in the area, drive over the Venetian-style Snell Isle Bridge (at Coffee Pot Blvd and 21st Ave NE) to appreciate some Mediterranean-style architecture. To reach the Coffee Pot Bayou, follow the waterfront north of downtown; take Bayshore Dr to North Shore Dr to Coffee Pot Blvd.
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The Pier
Walk straight into the Gulf of Mexico, or so it feels when standing on the fishing platform at the edge of this old railroad pier on the eastern edge of town. At the end of the long paved boardwalk is the pier’s star attraction: a crazy looking, bright and blocky inverted pyramid structure that houses a five-story shopping mall, complete with three restaurants (which allow you to eat your seafood directly over the sea) and even a small aquarium. Walk to the fishing platform at the very edge of the pier around sunset for a fabulous natural-light show. A shuttle runs between the parking lots and the action. Parking costs $3.
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Little St Mary’s
At the very start of the pier – just after crossing Bayshore Drive – is Little St Mary’s, the coolest public toilet in the region, and probably the only toilet in all of Florida that is also a historic landmark. So how did this happen? Well the story begins with Henry Taylor, who was never paid for his design work at St Mary’s Church. Out of spite he then built this Romanesque-revival miniature church and dubbed it Little St Mary’s. The joke? When people showed up, they were greeted with a public toilet!
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Florida International Museum
Ensconced in a former department store, this enormous museum, a Smithsonian Institute Affiliate, hosts some of the country's most spectacular traveling exhibits plus a permanent one on the Cuban Missile Crisis. All those international blockbusters that you read about in the London Times make a stop here. Recent shows have included: Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post Covers, Treasures of the Tzars, Splendors of Ancient Egypt, Alexander the Great, Titanic and Diana, A Celebration.
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Florida Holocaust Museum
This memorial, one of the country’s largest, is worth a visit not just for its Holocaust exhibits but also for those of Jewish life around the world. It also exhibits one of the three boxcars located in the USA used to transport prisoners to death camps in Poland. Visit the quiet meditation court before leaving and vow to make the museum’s mission your own: promote tolerance today.
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Sunken Garden
Opened in 1935, this educational and cultural garden was resurrected in 2001 and once again has abundant water features, four tropical gardens with stunning palm specimens and a walk-through butterfly enclosure. Horticultural programs, workshops and special events are offered throughout the year.
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Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum
This 2-acre arboretum contains upwards of 300 different exotic and rare palms and cycads representing about 75 worldwide species. Follow the brick walkways to inspect the wildly diverse jelly palm, windmill palm and triangle palm, but don’t overlook the garden-variety gru gru palm.
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Picnicking
South of the pier, Demen's Landing, with picnic facilities, is a great waterfront park in which to while away a lunchtime. The park, by the way, was named for a Russian-born railroad developer who brought passengers to the area in the late 1880s.
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Demen's Landing
South of the pier, Demen's Landing, with picnic facilities, is a great waterfront park in which to while away a lunchtime. The park, by the way, was named for a Russian-born railroad developer who brought passengers to the area in the late 1880s.
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Great Explorations
The term ‘hands-on’ reaches new heights at this fun science museum, adjacent to the Sunken Gardens. Kids get fired up with interactive computer games, chair pulleys, a harp made with lasers instead of strings and a tot area designed like a ship.
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St Petersburg Museum of History
St Petersburg Museum of History has interesting mementos of early Florida, plus a funky 3000-year-old mummy.
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Museum of Fine Arts
The recently expanded and twice-as-big Museum of Fine Arts spans pre-Columbian to impressionism to modern.
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Salvador Dalí Museum
The Salvador Dalí Museum is the largest Dalí collection outside of Spain.
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