Getting around Key West on Foot
Aug 12th, 2009 | 09:18 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Getting around Key West on Foot
Hello Fellow Travelers,
I was wonder if I should book a hop-on-off trolley tour in Key West (stop locations below)vs. just walking to these locations myself? I am not familiar with the layout of Key West and was not sure if these locations were in walking distance or required a ride. To see the main attractions do you need a car? Duval st, Hemingway home, Sloppy Joe's ect. We are not traveling with children and will be in the area this August. We will be arriving via a cruise ship.
Any advice would be great!
The trolley stops at the following stops:
Mac's Sea Garden
La Concha
Angela and Duval
Bahama Village Market place
Key West welcome center
Casa Marina
Southernmost
Duval and Truman ave
Mallory square
I was wonder if I should book a hop-on-off trolley tour in Key West (stop locations below)vs. just walking to these locations myself? I am not familiar with the layout of Key West and was not sure if these locations were in walking distance or required a ride. To see the main attractions do you need a car? Duval st, Hemingway home, Sloppy Joe's ect. We are not traveling with children and will be in the area this August. We will be arriving via a cruise ship.
Any advice would be great!
The trolley stops at the following stops:
Mac's Sea Garden
La Concha
Angela and Duval
Bahama Village Market place
Key West welcome center
Casa Marina
Southernmost
Duval and Truman ave
Mallory square
Aug 12th, 2009 | 09:53 AM
#2
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 540
Likes: 0
Three things.
1. Key West is about 1.25 by 4 miles so which a map or a little fore-knowledge you can get around on foot easily.
2. If you GOOGLE (Key West Walking Tours) you will get a couple of good ones.
3. And I like this one. It's two miles and will take about 2 - 3 hours and takes you to a lot of places in Key West. Have lunch at #2...
Follow in Papa's footsteps: a 2-mile Hemingway hike:
1. Start at the Hemingway House, 907 Whitehead St. Now a registered National Historic Landmark, the two-story Spanish Colonial mansion was home to Ernest and Pauline (Pfeiffer) Hemingway from 1931-1939. See the studio where Hemingway wrote Death in the Afternoon and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. The house is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and includes a gift shop. Admission is $11 for adults ($1 off to AAA members), $6 for kids 6-12, free to kids under 6. Guided tours are available. (305) 294-1136. www.hemingwayhome.com.
Next, head north on Whitehead to Petronia Street. Turn left. Walk 2 blocks to the intersection with Thomas Street.
2. Blue Heaven Restaurant, 729 Thomas St. During Hemingway's time here, the quirky cafe with yummy granola and a whole lot more was the site of an open-air boxing arena. He was referee for Friday-night fights. Boxers were paid 50 cents a round. The building once housed a bordello. These days the eatery is a tourist favorite. Be prepared for dirt floors and good food. And beware of long lines and roaming roosters.
Go east on Petronia to Duval Street. Turn left and continue to the northwest corner of Duval and Fleming.
3. Crowne Plaza La Concha Resort, formerly the Colonial Hotel, 430 Duval St. Back in 1928, when Hemingway made his inaugural visit to Key West sailing aboard a steamship from Cuba, this seven-story hotel was the first thing he saw. That's because it is and was the city's tallest building. The Hemingways booked rooms there for friends and relatives. While you're there, take the elevator to the roof-top bar for a magnificent view of the city.
Go east on Fleming to Elizabeth Street. Turn right at the Monroe County Library to Windsor Lane. Turn left on Windsor until you reach the church at the intersection with Truman Avenue.
4. St. Mary, Star of the Sea, 1010 Windsor Lane. Hemingway, who converted to Catholicism when he married Pauline Pfeiffer, belonged and donated an altar to this church.
Walk southwest on Windsor to Margaret Street. Take Margaret to Fleming.
5. Electric Kitchen, 830 Fleming. The only thing electric here in Hemingway's time was a few bare lightbulbs strung from the ceiling. The food was cheap (20 to 40 cents for breakfast) and good and the place, operated by Rhoda Baker (aka Rutabaga) was a favorite Hemingway hangout.
Continue north on Margaret to the waterfront, Land's End Village.
6. Land's End Village and Marina (formerly Thompson's Docks), 1 Lands End Village. An avid fisherman and boater, Hemingway often visited and took charter boats from the docks owned by his friend Charles Thompson. Thompson and his two brothers controlled the sea turtle industry in the Keys and Central America. The site of the cannery is now a restaurant, bar and museum called Turtle Kraals.
Go south on Caroline Street. Take Caroline west to the southwest corner at the intersection with Simonton.
7. Casa Antigua, Papa's first pad, 314 Simonton St. The apartment/auto dealership complex where Hemingway first lived is a private home today. The couple stayed in a drab set of rooms in an apartment above the garage. Hemingway worked on A Farewell to Arms here. The home has a magnificent atrium garden, and a Caribbean gift shop. The garden is open for tours and visitors can glimpse the apartment where Hemingway stayed. Casa Antigua is the site of the annual awards presentation for the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition directed by Ernest's granddaughter, an author, too.
Go north on Simonton to Greene Street, past Duval to Captain Tony's.
8. Captain Tony's Saloon, the first Sloppy Joe's, 428 Greene St. Hemingway was a silent partner to boat captain and rum runner Joe Russell, who opened this speakeasy when Prohibition ended in 1933. Hemingway convinced Joe to call the place "Sloppy Joe's" rather than the "Blind Pig," a term used for illegal bars. In 1937, Sloppy Joe's moved to its current location on Duval Street.
Take Greene Street east to the northeast corner of Greene and Duval.
9. Sloppy Joe's, 201 Duval St. Hemingway met his third wife Martha Gellhorn at this Sloppy Joe's. A number of his belongings, including uncashed royalty checks and sections of the original manuscript of To Have and Have Not, were found stored there after his death. Before it was the most popular bar on Duval, this building housed a fine restaurant called Victoria. The Spanish man who owned it had an unfortunate name ��� Farto. Thousands of tourists come to Sloppy Joes each year to toast the author and look at all the Hemingway memorabilia, including news clippings and art work depicting Hemingway.
Source: Hemingway's Key West by Stuart B. McIver (Pineapple Press, $10.95)
Pjk
Pjk
1. Key West is about 1.25 by 4 miles so which a map or a little fore-knowledge you can get around on foot easily.
2. If you GOOGLE (Key West Walking Tours) you will get a couple of good ones.
3. And I like this one. It's two miles and will take about 2 - 3 hours and takes you to a lot of places in Key West. Have lunch at #2...
Follow in Papa's footsteps: a 2-mile Hemingway hike:
1. Start at the Hemingway House, 907 Whitehead St. Now a registered National Historic Landmark, the two-story Spanish Colonial mansion was home to Ernest and Pauline (Pfeiffer) Hemingway from 1931-1939. See the studio where Hemingway wrote Death in the Afternoon and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. The house is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and includes a gift shop. Admission is $11 for adults ($1 off to AAA members), $6 for kids 6-12, free to kids under 6. Guided tours are available. (305) 294-1136. www.hemingwayhome.com.
Next, head north on Whitehead to Petronia Street. Turn left. Walk 2 blocks to the intersection with Thomas Street.
2. Blue Heaven Restaurant, 729 Thomas St. During Hemingway's time here, the quirky cafe with yummy granola and a whole lot more was the site of an open-air boxing arena. He was referee for Friday-night fights. Boxers were paid 50 cents a round. The building once housed a bordello. These days the eatery is a tourist favorite. Be prepared for dirt floors and good food. And beware of long lines and roaming roosters.
Go east on Petronia to Duval Street. Turn left and continue to the northwest corner of Duval and Fleming.
3. Crowne Plaza La Concha Resort, formerly the Colonial Hotel, 430 Duval St. Back in 1928, when Hemingway made his inaugural visit to Key West sailing aboard a steamship from Cuba, this seven-story hotel was the first thing he saw. That's because it is and was the city's tallest building. The Hemingways booked rooms there for friends and relatives. While you're there, take the elevator to the roof-top bar for a magnificent view of the city.
Go east on Fleming to Elizabeth Street. Turn right at the Monroe County Library to Windsor Lane. Turn left on Windsor until you reach the church at the intersection with Truman Avenue.
4. St. Mary, Star of the Sea, 1010 Windsor Lane. Hemingway, who converted to Catholicism when he married Pauline Pfeiffer, belonged and donated an altar to this church.
Walk southwest on Windsor to Margaret Street. Take Margaret to Fleming.
5. Electric Kitchen, 830 Fleming. The only thing electric here in Hemingway's time was a few bare lightbulbs strung from the ceiling. The food was cheap (20 to 40 cents for breakfast) and good and the place, operated by Rhoda Baker (aka Rutabaga) was a favorite Hemingway hangout.
Continue north on Margaret to the waterfront, Land's End Village.
6. Land's End Village and Marina (formerly Thompson's Docks), 1 Lands End Village. An avid fisherman and boater, Hemingway often visited and took charter boats from the docks owned by his friend Charles Thompson. Thompson and his two brothers controlled the sea turtle industry in the Keys and Central America. The site of the cannery is now a restaurant, bar and museum called Turtle Kraals.
Go south on Caroline Street. Take Caroline west to the southwest corner at the intersection with Simonton.
7. Casa Antigua, Papa's first pad, 314 Simonton St. The apartment/auto dealership complex where Hemingway first lived is a private home today. The couple stayed in a drab set of rooms in an apartment above the garage. Hemingway worked on A Farewell to Arms here. The home has a magnificent atrium garden, and a Caribbean gift shop. The garden is open for tours and visitors can glimpse the apartment where Hemingway stayed. Casa Antigua is the site of the annual awards presentation for the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition directed by Ernest's granddaughter, an author, too.
Go north on Simonton to Greene Street, past Duval to Captain Tony's.
8. Captain Tony's Saloon, the first Sloppy Joe's, 428 Greene St. Hemingway was a silent partner to boat captain and rum runner Joe Russell, who opened this speakeasy when Prohibition ended in 1933. Hemingway convinced Joe to call the place "Sloppy Joe's" rather than the "Blind Pig," a term used for illegal bars. In 1937, Sloppy Joe's moved to its current location on Duval Street.
Take Greene Street east to the northeast corner of Greene and Duval.
9. Sloppy Joe's, 201 Duval St. Hemingway met his third wife Martha Gellhorn at this Sloppy Joe's. A number of his belongings, including uncashed royalty checks and sections of the original manuscript of To Have and Have Not, were found stored there after his death. Before it was the most popular bar on Duval, this building housed a fine restaurant called Victoria. The Spanish man who owned it had an unfortunate name ��� Farto. Thousands of tourists come to Sloppy Joes each year to toast the author and look at all the Hemingway memorabilia, including news clippings and art work depicting Hemingway.
Source: Hemingway's Key West by Stuart B. McIver (Pineapple Press, $10.95)
Pjk
Pjk
Aug 12th, 2009 | 11:16 AM
#4
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Thank you both Peter and SAnParis2 I will look for a good map and do some reserach on what I want to see and walk to the locations. The trolley tour sounds nice but I will save my 30 bucks for a nice cold one *smile*. I don't think the walking will be bad as I run 4 miles currently. Your the best
NeoTraveler
NeoTraveler
Aug 12th, 2009 | 11:22 AM
#5
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,597
Likes: 0
The 3 things you listed to see are all within walking distance----no need for a trolley for those. We took the trolley last time we were there and to me the walking was much more fun. The trolley takes you not only through the historic district (which you can easily walk) but a large part of the ride is through the non-historic parts of Key West which is a lot of strip malls and other uninteresting things. So if it were me, I'd skip the trolley and just walk.
Aug 13th, 2009 | 07:20 AM
#6
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 540
Likes: 0
There is a very good map available for free at most of the conceierges at the hotels and also at the so-called Bob-in-a-box, people in kiosks along Duval who try to sign you up for sunset cruises, snorkel trips, etc. It's about 1 x 2 feet and folds up nicely.
Have fun
Pjk
Have fun
Pjk
