3 Best Sights in The Florida Keys, Florida

What was once a funky—in some places even seedy—part of town is now a 20-acre historic district with restored structures containing waterfront restaurants, open-air bars, museums, clothing stores, and water-sports concessions. It's all linked by the 2-mile waterfront Harborwalk, which runs between Front and Grinnell Streets, passing big ships, schooners, sunset cruises, fishing charters, and glass-bottom boats. This is where the locals go for great music and good drinks.

For cruise-ship passengers, this is the disembarkation point for an attack on Key West. For practically every visitor, it's the requisite venue for a nightly sunset celebration that includes street performers—human statues, sword swallowers, tightrope walkers, musicians, and more—plus craft vendors, conch-fritter fryers, and other regulars who defy classification. With all the activity, don't forget to watch the main show: a dazzling tropical sunset.

Silver-sided tarpon—huge, prehistoric-looking denizens of the not-so-deep—congregate around the docks at this authentic local marina. Children (and many adults) pay $4.50 for a bucket of sardines to feed them and $2.50 each for dock admission. You can also grab a bite to eat indoors or out; shop at a slew of artisans' booths; or charter a boat, kayak, or other watercraft.