8 Best Sights in The Panhandle, Florida

From January to April (and especially in March), the grounds at this 1,200-acre estate, one of Florida's most stunning ornamental gardens, are abloom with azaleas, dogwood, magnolias, spring bulbs of tulips and irises, banana shrubs, honeysuckle, silverbell trees, pansies, and camellias. Wander along the brick path lined with oaks draped in moss to a reflecting pool and a tiny walled garden and around the lakes and woodlands. See if you can find the secret garden. Once the winter home of Alfred Maclay, a banker and financier from New York, the Maclay residence (open January through April) is furnished as it was in the 1920s. Picnic areas and a playground, as well as swimming, kayaking, and boating facilities on Lake Hall are open to the public. Outer portions of the park include 11 miles of trails used for walking, running, bicycling, and horseback riding.

Known for having one of the world's largest and deepest springs, this very picturesque park retains the wild and exotic look it had in the mid-20th century, when two Tarzan movies and Creature from the Black Lagoon were shot here. Beyond the 1930s-era Spanish Mediterranean-style lodge (with 27 guest rooms) is the spring where Jungle Cruise boats (reservations required) set off deep into the vegetation-lined waterway to catch glimpses of alligators, snakes, and waterfowl. There's a swimming area and an observation tower that offers the daring a chance to plunge 20 feet into the springs' heart-stopping 69-degree water. In winter, a climb to the top of the tower also affords a great opportunity to see visiting manatees. In the dining room, you can enjoy spring views and a shake at the classic soda fountain.

Natural salt marshes, tidal flats, and freshwater pools used by early Indigenous peoples set the stage for the once-powerful Ft. San Marcos de Apalache, which was built nearby in 1639. Stones salvaged from it were used to construct the lighthouse. In winter, the refuge on the shores of Apalachee Bay is the resting place for thousands of migratory birds of more than 270 species, but the alligators seem to like it year-round (keep your eyes open and your camera ready). Fishing is allowed, and the visitor center has information on more than 75 miles of marked trails. One of the most popular times to visit is in October, when Monarch butterflies flock to the refuge for a little R&R during their winter migration to Mexico. The refuge is 25 miles south of Tallahassee via Route 363.

Visitors of all ages can't help but get excited about math and science at this "edutainment" center, featuring a space-mission simulator and an IMAX 3-D theater that shows popular movies as well as documentaries. Also on-site is the Downtown Digital Dome Theatre & Planetarium, where the high-definition, 50-foot-high theater's booming surround sound and state-of-the-art projectors make educational films and musical odysseys thrilling.

In front of the modern, 22-story tower that serves as Florida's new state capitol sits the "old" circa-1902 capitol. The domed, classical-styled building with whimsical candy-striped awnings now houses a museum, and its stained-glass interior dome, hallways, governor's suite, and chambers of the state legislature and supreme court have been restored. Other rooms have been filled with artifacts that trace Florida's political history from territorial days to the present as well as revolving exhibits. Docents will provide information for self-guided tours, and you can download a free audio tour from the museum's website.

On the site of a 17th-century Spanish mission and Apalachee town, this 63-acre living-history museum and archaeological research project showcases life in the late 1600s, when this and three nearby villages had a population of more than 1,400. Several buildings have been reconstructed to give a sense of how the Spaniards and Apalachee coexisted. Particularly impressive is the Native American Council House, a five-story, 120-foot-diameter, palm-thatched structure. Guides in period dress act as the mission's 17th-century residents, and the state-of-the-art visitor center displays artifacts from the site and has a gift shop.

Although it's known as the "New Capitol," the 22-story skyscraper flanked by lower-slung House and Senate offices actually dates from the 1970s. In the 1960s, when there was talk of relocating the state's seat of government to a more central location like Orlando, Panhandle legislators quickly approved the construction of a sorely needed new complex that would keep the capital in Tallahassee. This New Capitol is prominently placed at the crest of a hill directly behind the classical-style historic capitol.

After going through security, pick up a self-guided-tour brochure at the plaza-level Florida Visitor Center. The governor's office is on the first floor, as is the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, where plaques honor native Floridians and other notable figures associated with the state such as Ray Charles, Burt Reynolds, Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. The Italian marble–lined rotunda is abuzz when the legislature is in session (January and February in even years, March through April in odd years) and the head-count goes from 1,500 to 5,000 people. You can watch lawmaking in action from galleries overlooking the fifth-floor House and Senate chambers. For a few contemplative moments away from the crowds, visit the Heritage Chapel, featuring coquina, cypress, and other construction materials typically used in Florida.

Located about 20 minutes from downtown, this expansive, bucolic park has a lot to see and do. A village of 19th-century buildings—including a pioneer farm, a one-room schoolhouse, and a Southern manor—showcases Old Florida and has weekend living-history demonstrations on cooking, blacksmithing, quilting, and other period activities. A boardwalk meanders through 52 acres of a natural-habitat zoo with panthers, bobcats, white-tailed deer, bald eagles, red wolves, hawks, owls, otters, and black bears. Guest animals drop in for visits, and animal encounters are scheduled daily. Don't miss the nature walk, which has colorful dinosaur sculptures created entirely from recycled car parts. For an extra charge, you can get a bird's-eye view everything at Tree-to-Tree Adventures, which features sky-high zip lines and an aerial obstacle course.