Daytona Beach Drive-In Church

First Coast

　　At Daytona Beach Drive-In Church you can get your daily dose of (Protestant) religion from the comfort of your car. Pull in to the former drive-in movie theater, hook up a speaker or tune your radio to 680AM or 88.5FM and behold the word of…the Reverend. He and the choir...

Southeast Museum of Photography

First Coast

　　We love this hidden treasure in Daytona, a service of the Daytona State College: it's the only museum in Florida dedicated solely to photography. This vibrant modern gallery with excellent lighting and facilities doesn't shy away from provocative subjects in its rotating exhibitions. Best of all, it's free (though donations...

Daytona International Speedway

First Coast

　　The Holy Grail of raceways has a diverse race schedule. Ticket prices skyrocket for good seats at big races, headlined by the Daytona 500 in February. It's worth wandering the massive stands for free on non-race days. First-come, first-served tram tours take in the track, pits and behind-the-scenes areas, while...

University of Florida

First Coast

　　The city is dominated by the UF campus, the second largest in the country. Pop in to the Welcome Center for tips on where best to wander around to check out the student vibe. ...

Las Olas Riverfront

First Coast

　　A giant alfresco boardwalk area with stores, restaurants and live entertainment nightly; it's also the place to catch many river cruises. ...

Manatee Viewing Center

First Coast

　　One of Florida's more surreal wildlife encounters is spotting manatees in the warm-water discharge canals of coal-fired power plants. Yet these placid mammals show up here so reliably from November through April that this is now a protected sanctuary. Tarpon and sharks can be spotted as well, and a new...

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

First Coast

　　This Mediterranean-style monster provides everything you'd ever need under one massive roof. In this case, it's casinos, eateries, theaters, a day spa, 500 swanky guestrooms and some of the most alluring concert bills in the state. It's all very Vegas and, well, Hard Rock-ish. Except for the 4.5-acre lagoon-style pool...

National Naval Aviation Museum

First Coast

　　A visit to Pensacola is not complete without a trip to this enormous collection of military aircraft muscle and artifacts. Adults and children alike will be fascinated by the range of planes on display: more than 150! That's before we even get to the high-tech stuff like flight simulators and...

Pier 60

First Coast

　　In high season, Clearwater's long stretch of smooth, white sand becomes a scrum of sun-baked coeds and extended families. Hotels, resorts and raucous beach bars line the sand, particularly near Pier 60, where sunset is 'celebrated' each night with a festive menagerie of musicians, magicians, performers and trinket stands hawking...

Florida Museum of Natural History

First Coast

　　The highlight of this excellent natural-history museum is the expansive Butterfly Rainforest (adult/child $13/6). Hundreds of butterflies from 55 to 65 species flutter freely in the soaring, screened vivarium. As you stroll among waterfalls and tropical foliage, peek at scientists preparing specimens in the rearing lab of this, the world's...

Mallory Square

First Coast

　　Take all those energies, subcultures and oddities of Keys life and focus them into one torchlit, family-friendly (but playfully edgy), sunset-enriched street party. The result of all these raucous forces is Mallory Sq, one of the greatest shows on earth that starts in the hours leading up to dusk, the...

Disney's BoardWalk Inn

First Coast

　　This resort embodies the seaside charm of the 1930s Atlantic City Boardwalk in its heyday, with a waterfront the color of saltwater taffy, tandem bicycles with candy-striped awnings, and even a splintery boardwalk. The lovely lobby features sea-green walls, hardwood floors and vintage seating areas. Elegant rooms have a terrace...

Southernmost Point

First Coast

　　The most-photographed spot on the island, this red-and-black buoy isn’t even the southernmost point in the USA (that’s in the off-limits naval base around the corner). This is the most-overrated attraction in Key West. ...

Florida State University

First Coast

　　A liberal-arts school of more than 35,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Florida State University specializes in sciences, computing and performing arts (and football). From September to April, free campus tours depart from Visitor Services (850-644-3246; 100 S Woodward Ave) Monday to Friday. Call for a schedule. ...

Disney Springs

First Coast

　　The primary entertainment district in Walt Disney World® – with shops, restaurants and bars, live music and a movie theater – stretches along the waterfront. You can take buses from Disney resorts to Disney Springs, and a few hotels offer boat transport to the area, but you cannot take Disney...

Museum of Florida History

First Coast

　　Florida's history is splayed out in fun, crisp exhibits, from mastodon skeletons to Florida's Paleo-Indians and Spanish shipwrecks, the Civil War to 'tin-can tourism'. ...

Disney’s BoardWalk

First Coast

　　Far less harried and crowded than Disney Springs, the very small Disney's BoardWalk area across from Epcot and along Crescent Lake echoes waterfront boardwalks of turn-of-the-century New England seaside resorts. On Thursday to Saturday evenings magicians, jugglers and musicians give a festive vibe, and there are a handful of good...

Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve

First Coast

　　Hidden south of Orlando’s sprawl, this undeveloped and little-visited 11,500-acre preserve is the result of laws that required Walt Disney World® to compensate for the company’s impact on (and devastation of) wetlands and sensitive natural habitats. The park's scrub, fields and woods are home to gopher tortoises, bald eagles, Florida...

Walt Disney World®

First Coast

　　This mega-scale park, with its own monorail, sections of eight-lane highway, and thousands of acres of rides, amusements, parks, and hotels, is larger than a good sized international airport...and about as easy to navigate. Disney World is in fact an unfenced 40-sq-mile area. But within this, although several miles apart...

Lion Country Safari

First Coast

　　The first cageless drive-through safari in the country, this incredible animal park puts you in the cage (ie your car) as 900 creatures roam freely, staring at you. Equal parts conservation area and safari, the park's 500 acres are home to bison, zebra, white rhinos, chimpanzees and, of course, lions....

Bayside Marketplace

First Coast

　　Just north of Bayfront Park, this touristy shopping and entertainment hub on the waterfront has chain stores like the Gap, Victoria's Secret, Crocs and the Disney Store, as well as stalls selling kitschy souvenirs (Miami T-shirts, mermaid dolls, Florida license plates and other essentials). ...

Wynwood Walls

First Coast

　　In the midst of rusted warehouses and concrete blah, there's a pastel-and-graffiti explosion of urban art. Wynwood Walls is a collection of murals and paintings laid out over an open courtyard that invariably bowls people over with its sheer color profile and unexpected location. What’s on offer tends to change...

Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens

First Coast

　　Japanese immigrant and pineapple farmer Sukeji 'George' Morikami, a member of the original Yamato settlement of Delray, donated his spectacularly landscaped 200-acre property for the establishment of a museum showcasing Japanese culture. Today you can wander more than a mile of pine-lined nature trails around koi-filled ponds, experiencing different Japanese...

Ginnie Springs

First Coast

　　Of the two springs in High Springs, Ginnie Springs is a little older and more developed than Poe Springs, with a handful of campsites ($22) on hand and scuba divers plying its clear waters. Closes a couple of hours earlier in winter. ...

Universal Studios

First Coast

　　Why you should goDivided geographically by region-specific architecture and ambience and fabulously themed as a Hollywood backlot, Universal Studios' simulation-heavy rides and shows are dedicated to silver screen and TV icons. Drink Duff beer, a Homer favorite, in Springville; ride the Hogwarts Express into Diagon Alley; and sidle up to...

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

First Coast

　　Why you should goYou don't have to be a huge Harry Potter fan to appreciate the genius of the magnificently whimsical Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which invites muggles to lose themselves in JK Rowling's imagination. First opened in 2010 and expanded in 2014, this is theme park development at...

Legoland

First Coast

　　Legoland is a joy. With manageable crowds and lines, and no bells and whistles, this lakeside theme park maintains an old-school vibe – you don't have to plan like a general to enjoy a day here, and it's strikingly stress-free and relaxed. This is about fun (and yes, education) in...

Kennedy Space Center

First Coast

　　Why you should visitWithin this 140,000-acre campus, the dreams of some of the greatest scientific minds of the 20th century took flight all the way to the moon and back...and then were defunded and grounded on earth. But the sense of potential that always informed Kennedy Space Center – indeed,...