Things to do 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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Biff-Burger/Buffy’s BBQ
The last remaining Biff-Burger (once a national burger chain) is a St Petersburg institution. It’s no longer a fast-food drive-in, but instead a sit-down restaurant kitted out with the longest bar in town, two patios and 20 big-screen TVs tuned to sports. Come for eggs, pancakes and every other conceivable breakfast entrée in the morning, or stop by for live entertainment and a greasy cheeseburger or traditional Southern BBQ at night. Biff’s attracts a biker crowd, especially on Saturday nights, and is proud to say so.
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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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Garden
The oldest restaurant in town hosts live jazz and makes a good salad Niçoise at lunchtime. Mediterranean-influenced dinner dishes might include grilled lamb chops or wild mushroom pasta. Or just sample a few dishes from the tapas menu. The Garden has indoor and outdoor seating, poetry readings, a martini bar and live jazz with the Buster Cooper Jazz Trio every Friday and Saturday from 9pm to 1:30am. On Salsa Nights (Thursdays), they dole out free dancing tips.
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Bella Bravo
Authentic northern Italian cooking, a 1000-bottle wine list and lots of atmosphere in a building, whose frontage sports bright-orange-and-yellow checkered tiles, all combine to make Bella Bravo a top Tampa eating experience. Whether you’re indulging in thin-crust Roman pizza on the downstairs patio or house-made potato gnocchi on the upstairs balcony, you can bet that your nouveau Italian meal here will be delicious.
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BayWalk
The downtown revitalization continues with BayWalk, an upscale shopping mall, bounded by 2nd and 3rd Aves N and 1st and 2nd Sts. The open-air emporium is pretty much just a mall, with lots of shops, eateries and a 20-screen theater. At night, however, it becomes one of Tampa’s favorite restaurant and party zones, when loads of bars compete for your attention with various drink specials.
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Coliseum Ballroom
Also called the Palace of Pleasure, this ballroom opened in 1924 and, over the years, big bands, classical orchestras and rock bands have all played here. In 1985, the Colliseum Ballroom made its film debut in Cocoon with an incredible ballroom scene. The red-oak dance floor is classic. If you’re here on a Wednesday, big band Tea Dance sessions run from 1pm to 3:30pm (bring your own booze).
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Tropicana Field Tours
Tropicana Field Tours is home to the major league Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Take a behind-the-scenes tour of Tropicana Field (around US$5 adults, around US$3 seniors and children) to check out the dugouts, press boxes, batting tunnels, weight rooms and the field. On nongame days, the 45- to 90-minute tours are given from 10:00 and 16:00 weekdays; on home-game days, they're at 10:00 and noon weekdays.
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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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Bonefish Grill
Equally good food and service keep crowds coming back to this upscale eatery. Start with saucy shrimp and then listen up as the waitstaff describes first-rate daily specials. The regular fish menu is creative and eclectic, but the pistachio and parmesan-crusted rainbow trout is particularly special. There's always steak for the red meat deprived.
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Joey’s Brooklyn Pizza Place
Big Apple transplants swear by the pizza at this small downtown restaurant – yep Joey’s knows how to make New York–style pies just right. Dine alfresco under the date-palm trees or grab a take-away pizza to feast on in your hotel room. Joey’s caters to the late-night crowd on weekends. Calzones, pasta and salads are also offered.
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Captain Al’s Waterfront Restaurant
Locals take their guests here to show off their city. Out at the end of the pier, it allows you to eat surrounded by water. Although the food is just average fried seafood and fish (although the crab appetizer is quite good), it is really enhanced by the killer views from outdoor tables. At least go for late afternoon cocktails.
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Fourth Street Shrimp Store
This fun place, with murals as far as the eye can see, is perfect for quick dinners like fresh grouper (and duh, shrimp). In addition to baskets of fried fish, their big seller (and a great bargain at around US$8) is a 22-piece shrimp platter with fries and slaw. Go all out with a platter of grouper, clams and shrimp for US$16.
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Chateau France
French classics are paired with romance at Chef Antoine Louro’s acclaimed restaurant in an early-20th-century Victorian house. Everything is good, but the bouillabaisse, coq au vin, pâtés and filet mignon are superior. Save room for the decadent chocolate soufflé or bananas flambé. The wine list is exemplary.
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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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Jannus Landing
The best place in the area to hear live music, Jannus Landing is St Petersburg’s most revered live venue, with good reason. Set in a courtyard, it hosts several weekly concerts by local and national bands. It’s a very casual place and all ages are admitted. Burgers, hot dogs and such are sold.
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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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Friendship Trail Bridge
The Friendship Trail Bridge, aka the old Gandy Bridge and US 92, is basically a 2.6-mile biking, walking and in-line skating path that runs alongside the Gandy Bridge, which connects St Petersburg and Tampa. Look for the trailhead on 34th St S near 8th Ave.
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Central Cigars
In addition to an enormous selection of stogies and a full line of humidors and accessories, Central has a cigar bar (no cigarettes allowed) where you can sink into an overstuffed leather chair, sample some smokes, sip port and catch up on all your cigar-related reading.
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Biplane Rides
Biplane Rides, at Albert Whitted Airport near Bayfront Center, offers downtown tours in a 1933 WACO biplane originally owned by William Randolph Hearst. Tours start at around US$90 for up to three people, for 15 to 20 minutes; they're best taken in the morning.
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Push Ultra Lounge
DJs spin hip-hop and top 40 at this pulsating club that uses lots of colored lights and imagery to set the trippy mood at this popular club. Exposed brick walls and ultramod decor grace all three levels, and there’s a rooftop bar if you need to get some air.
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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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