Must-see attractions in Southwest Gulf Coast

  • Top Choice
    Venice Beach

    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.

  • Top Choice
    Ringling Museum Complex

    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…

  • Top Choice
    Edison & Ford Winter Estates

    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…

  • Top Choice
    Cayo Costa State Park

    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…

  • Top Choice
    Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

    The crown jewel in the National Audubon Society's sanctuary collection, the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary provides an intimate exploration of six pristine…

  • Top Choice
    Naples Botanical Gardens

    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…

  • Top Choice
    Baker Museum

    The pride of Naples, this engaging, sophisticated art museum is part of the Artis–Naples campus, which includes the fabulous Philharmonic Center next door…

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    Top Choice
    Anna Maria Island

    The perfect antidote to party-loving Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island appears beached in a 1950s time warp, with sun-faded clapboard houses, teenagers…

  • Myakka River State Park

    Florida's oldest resident – the 200-million-year-old American alligator – is the star of this 39,000-acre wildlife preserve. Between 500 and 1000…

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    Siesta Key

    At 8 miles long, Siesta Key is the area's most popular beach hangout, with a family-friendly village and a public beach of pure quartz sand so fine it's…

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    Island Park

    Sarasota's marina is notable for Island Park, an attractive green space poking into the harbor: it has a great playground and play fountain, restrooms,…

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    Historic Spanish Point

    Explore layers of history at this environmental and archaeological site, which covers a 30-acre peninsula jutting out into Little Sarasota Bay. Covered in…

  • Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park

    This lovely state park and beach extends for a mile from the mouth of the Cocohatchee River. It boasts gorgeous white sands, which are protected during…

  • Lee County Manatee Park

    December through March, manatees flock up the Orange River to this warm-water discharge canal from the nearby power plant. The waterway is now a protected…

  • Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

    If you visit just one botanical garden in Florida, choose Selby, which has the world's largest scientific collection of orchids and bromeliads – more than…

  • S
    Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

    With more than 3500 acres of wetlands, this park is a great place to experience southwest Florida's flora and fauna. A 1.2-mile boardwalk trail is staffed…

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    Golisano Children's Museum of Naples

    Designed by kids (and child psychologists) for kids, this interactive children's museum is devoted to learning through play. A trolley takes kids to…

  • I
    IMAG History and Science Center

    Exciting changes are afoot at this already fascinating science center, which will soon add interactive exhibits and even virtual reality, weaving in…

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    Mote Marine Laboratory

    The Mote bills itself as a research facility and aquarium, and has a large department dedicated to the study of sharks. Exhibits include a preserved giant…