Southwest Florida Hot Spot's
There's a sunny aspect to this space of Florida's west coast that makes it a hot spot among the globe's destinations. Fun 'N Sun lovers return from around the world to the beaches of St Petersburg and Clearwater earning this region the title of Florida's "Sun Coast".
Savor the Flavors
After each day at the beach, the museums, on the course, or at any of the host of attractions throughout the Sun Coast, escape to a tropical paradise for a fabulous meal at Fish Tail Willy's, or tantalize your senses with the meticulously chosen menu at Jorge's Seafood Grille. Satisfy the foremost discriminating taste with exquisite meals at Savant Fine Dining, or expertise recent-school cuisine and skilled service, dinner and dancing at the Wine Cellar in Redington Beach. Voted one in every of the "twenty Best New Restaurants" in Florida, by Florida Trend Magazine, Middle Grounds Grill, at Treasure Island, features the freshest in native fare, while Britts Laguna Grill serves up sunsets almost daily in the coolest tropical paradise location on Clearwater Beach. For the epitome in European attract, attempt St. Pete's Cafe Alma, celebrating community, art and intellect with live entertainment.
Notable Nightlife
The Tampa Bay space sizzles with stylish nightlife locations and tropical retreats. Bay Space bands crank out jazz, blues, rock, country and salsa at clubs and restaurants throughout the region, The "Soul of St. Petersburg," BayWalk is an open-air entertainment complicated positive to please in the center of downtown. Set free at Y'bor Town's Inexperienced Iguana, or strive a famous "martooni" at the Stylish-a-Boom Room in Dunedin, serving as a haven for those wanting to relax and get pleasure from mingling. New York New York in Clearwater, serves up an entertaining ambiance and great local bands. A "must visit" is the highly fashionable Shephard's Tiki Bar, right on Clearwater Beach. This raucous establishment could be a favorite of fun-loving souls. Come by boat, or by automotive, however don't miss it.
Water Wonders
With miles of endless shimmering waterways, lakes, rivers and secret hidden backwater, you'll be able to fish to your heart's desire. Whether you like a pier, or the deck of a deep ocean charter, the Sun Coast is sure to thrill you. Hubbard Marina at John's Pass, in Madeira Beach Florida is West Florida's Leader in Deep Sea Fishing for 40 years, offering all sorts of water excursions, as well as sightseeing tours. While you are there, don't miss the Pirates Cove Bar. Exhilarating lunch or dinner cruises are positive to please in Tampa and St. Pete. All aboard for a Dixieland lunch, or a glamorous dinner cruise with gorgeous water views. Watch the dolphins cavort from the Dolphin Encounter® Cruises and read these graceful marine mammals along with the attractive shoreline of Caladesi Island.
Native Journey
An unsurpassed abundance of parks, nature preserves, estuaries and exhibits can have you on a 1st name basis with several of the true Florida Natives. Few destinations provide the opportunity to go to sanctuaries specifically focused on rescue and rehab of Florida's vulnerable wildlife. Located in Indian Shores, The SunCoast Seabird Sanctuary is dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of injured avian life, with an on-site hospital. The Lowry Zoo, the Florida Aquarium and the Tarpon Springs Aquarium supply experiences with marine and wildlife most will never forget. Or, strike out on your own journey at one in all the various preserves. Brooker Creek Preserve's 8,500-acres are sanctuary to over fifty reptiles, forty mammals, 160 bird species and 20 amphibians, of which many are rare or listed as protected. Shell Key Preserve may be a one,755-acre preserve, whose unique habitat provides a sanctuary for vulnerable and guarded wildlife species. Moccasin Lake Nature Park, a fifty one-acre preserve, or Boyd Hill Nature Park located on Lake Maggiore, a 245-acre preserve, will bring you up-shut to several of the endangered plants and rare wildlife of the Tampa Bay area.
Botanical Bounty
Not only is the region rich in botanical beauty, however also features the additional advantage of a rich history and culture. The signature destination of St Petersburg's Sunken Gardens, 1st gap in 1935, offers rare foliage, along with a magnificent butterfly garden. The beautiful Palm Arboretum sits on two-acres of bounty offering hundreds of botanical specimens. Florida Botanical Gardens options 90-acres of protected wetlands and endangered scrubland, together with an abundance of spectacular color throughout the year, and a terribly special Children's trail. A member of the National Register Of Historic Places, Weedon Island Preserve, situated on Recent Tampa Bay, was once home to at least four prehistoric cultures who thrived on the area's natural abundance. The Cultural and National Historic Center features a creative blend of environmental education infused with the Weedon Native Yankee Indian culture.
Niche Excursions
Lively, quaint, fragrant and scenic effectively describe the various hidden treasures of the Sun Coast. Tampa's Hyde Park Village provides a excellent backdrop with its tree-lined streets, brick courtyards and fountains. You will realize an array of dining, searching and entertainment options from The Channel Facet Bay Plaza to Ybor Town's historic Seventh Avenue, named jointly of 2008's "Nation's Greatest Streets" by the Yank Planning Association. Discover an eclectic urban village in the guts of St. Petersburg at the Grand Central District, or immerse yourself within the ambiance and a made history at The Florida Orange Groves Winery. John's Pass Village offers the feel of a unique fishing village, with shopping, dining and entertainment for the full family. Scenic boardwalks, great restaurants, specialty wine creating, and even a streetcar will transport you to the enchanted sites, sounds, aroma and made culture of the region.
Artistic Expressions
An exciting array of annual festivals, street performers and events can be found year-round on the Sun Coast. Live theatrical, orchestra and ballet performances are featured at Ruth Eckerd Hall, The Mahaffey Theatre and The Palladium Theatre, home of the St. Petersburg Ballet Company. St. Petersburg regularly tops the nation among art destinations. The Museum of Fine Arts, together with the Salvador Dali Museum offers examples of paintings, glass, ornamental objects, photography, and antiques. The Gasparilla Festival of Arts attracts tons of artisans and art enthusiasts to the exhibits of photography and jewelers, sculptors and painters.
Clearwater annually hosts their four-day Jazz event that includes street performers, crafts and music. In Largo, visit the Gulf Coast Museum of Art, featuring the work of Florida artisans, or Heritage Village where Florida History comes to life. Known for its little intimate atmosphere, do not miss the Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center hosting Broadway musicals, plays and concerts year-round. Don't miss the Henry B. Plant Museum, housed in the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel, an architectural majesty and a delegated National Historic Landmark.
Thrills and Spills
With exhilarating attractions like Busch Gardens Gwazi, a double picket coaster, boasting the title of the Southeast's largest, and The Serengeti Plain, featuring hundreds of exotic African animals, to skilled baseball, professional soccer and hockey, you are never way from the action on the Sun Coast.
Sunscreen Required
Known for award-winning beaches, this region offers a plethora of pristine shore line. Home to America's range one beach in 2008, Caladesi Island State Park, which is dog friendly also family friendly, Clearwater offers a cornucopia of prime-rated sandy destinations including the Number one beach in 2005, Fort De Soto Park. For a high energy beach excursion attempt Clearwater Beach, with hotels, beachwear boutiques, a marina and the infamous Pier sixty. Relaxing on the beach, with no high-rises in sight, Pass-A-Grill on the lower end of St. Petersburg Beach offers a tranquil respite, or for those seeking a more "secluded" approach strive Shell Key Preserve, no structures, just palms, dunes, white sandy beaches and resident wildlife.
Ambient Accommodations
From modest to magnificent, the accommodations on the Sun Coast are as unique because the communities themselves. Five-star resorts, boutique hotels, or bed and breakfasts supply a restful atmosphere to assuage the senses. One in every of the foremost famous, situated on a 22-acre bluff overlooking Clearwater Bay, the Belleview Biltmore, designed in 1897, is a private, waterside, full-service resort offering golf, tennis, spa and beach club. Discover distinctive personal service and heartwarming ambience at the Quorum Westshore Tampa, or loose yourself at the highly acclaimed Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbor, a 900-acre impeccable resort providing high ranked golf courses, tennis, a bunch of restaurants, lakes and trails. Don't miss Ybor City's fantastically restored boutique hotel, The Vincente de Ybor Historic Inn, engineered in 1895, and also the true centerpiece of Ybor City's historic district.
Days on the Green
There are plentiful manicured greens during this Golfer's Paradise, with over three hundred semi-personal and public golf courses, along with an average of 346 days of sunshine. Host to major golfing events, you will notice difficult courses readily accessible, along with golf academies to assist you sharpen your skills. TPC Tampa Bay has recently received the quantity eighteen ranking of the prime 50 public facilities in the country, by Golf World Magazine in their annual 'Reader's Selection: Best Places To Play' edition.
