Southwest Gulf Coast
Where W Venice Ave dead-ends you'll find a covered beach pavilion with restrooms and a snack bar. Further south beyond the pier is Casperson Beach.
Kris Davidson
People who prefer Florida's Gulf side over its Atlantic one generally fall in love with this stretch of sun-kissed coastline from Sarasota to Naples. These two affluent, cultured towns set the tone for the whole region, where visits sway between soporific beach days and art-museum meanders, fine dining and designer cocktails. With their rowdy bars and casual fun, Siesta Key and Fort Myers Beach are slight exceptions, but even they don't reach the same pitch of spring break hysteria just north. No, in this region you'll remember hunting prehistoric shark's teeth in Venice and jewel-like tulip shells in Sanibel, a night at the circus in Sarasota and buying art in Matlacha.
Southwest Gulf Coast
Where W Venice Ave dead-ends you'll find a covered beach pavilion with restrooms and a snack bar. Further south beyond the pier is Casperson Beach.
Sarasota
The 66-acre winter estate of railroad, real-estate and circus baron John Ringling and his wife, Mable, is one of the Gulf Coast’s premier attractions and…
Fort Myers
Florida's snowbirds can be easy to mock, but not this pair. Thomas Edison built his winter home in 1885 and lived in Florida seasonally until his death in…
Southwest Gulf Coast
Slim as a supermodel and as lovely, Cayo Costa Island is almost entirely preserved as a 2500-acre state park. While its pale, ash-colored sand may not be…
Southwest Gulf Coast
The crown jewel in the National Audubon Society's sanctuary collection, the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary provides an intimate exploration of six pristine…
Naples
This outstanding botanical garden styles itself as ‘a place of bliss, a region of supreme delight.’ And after spending some time wandering its 2½-mile…
Naples
The pride of Naples, this engaging, sophisticated art museum is part of the Artis–Naples campus, which includes the fabulous Philharmonic Center next door…
Southwest Gulf Coast
The perfect antidote to party-loving Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island appears beached in a 1950s time warp, with sun-faded clapboard houses, teenagers…
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Dec 19, 2016 • 5 min read
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