62 Best Sights in The Florida Keys, Florida

If you can't make it out to see Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park, this is the next best thing. Opened in 2013 by the national park's official ferry commissioner, this free attraction in Key West's Historic Seaport has an impressive (1:87) scale model of the fort; life-size figures, including one of the fort's most famous prisoners, Dr. Samuel Mudd (who was involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln); and a Junior Ranger station for the little ones, with hands-on educational fun. The exhibits are housed in a historic site as well: the old Thompson Fish House, where local fishermen once brought their daily catch for processing.

On Monday, September 2, 1935, more than 400 people perished when the most intense hurricane to make landfall in the United States swept through this area of the Keys. Two years later, the Florida Keys Memorial was dedicated in their honor. Native coral rock, known as keystone, covers the 18-foot obelisk monument that marks the cremated remains of some 300 of the storm victims.

Have a nose-to-beak encounter with ospreys, hawks, herons, and other unreleasable birds at this bird rehabilitation center. The birds live in spacious screened enclosures along a boardwalk running through some of the best waterfront real estate in the Keys.

This redbrick Civil War fort never saw a lick of action during the war. Today it serves as a museum, operated by the Key West Art & Historical Society, with exhibits about the 19th and 20th centuries, including relics from the USS Maine, cigar factory and shipwrecking displays, and a collection of Stanley Papio's "junk art" sculptures and Cuban folk artist Mario Sanchez's chiseled and painted wooden carvings of historic Key West street scenes. You can climb to the top of the citadel tower.

Renovations to this circa-1890 landmark have restored the home and gardens to the Truman era, down to the wallpaper pattern. A free photographic review of visiting dignitaries and presidents—John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton are among the chief executives who passed through here—is on display in the back of the gift shop. Engaging 45-minute tours, conducted every 20 minutes, start with an excellent 10-minute video on the history of the property and Truman's visits. On the grounds of Truman Annex, a 103-acre former military parade grounds and barracks, the home served as a “winter White House” for Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy. Entry is cheaper when purchased in advance online; tickets bought on-site add sales tax.  The house tour does require climbing steps. Note that you can also do a free self-guided botanical tour of the grounds with a brochure from the museum store.

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.

Mystery surrounds 10-acre Indian Key, on the ocean side of the Matecumbe islands. It was a base for 19th-century shipwreck salvagers until an 1840 attack by Native Americans wiped out the settlement. Dr. Henry Perrine, a noted botanist, was killed in the raid. Today, his plants grow in the town's ruins. Most people kayak or canoe to the park or take a boat from Robbie's Marina to snorkel or explore nature trails and the town ruins.

Take the plunge at one of three swimming pools: an eight-lane, 25-meter lap pool with two diving boards; a 3- to 4-foot-deep pool accessible to people with mobility challenges; and an interactive children's play pool with a waterslide, pirate ship, waterfall, and sloping zero-entry instead of steps. Because so few of the motels in Key Largo have pools, it remains a popular destination for visiting families. 

Pet a nurse shark and explore the fascinating underwater realm of the Keys without getting wet at this historic aquarium. Hundreds of tropical fish and enormous sea creatures live here—all locals. A touch tank enables you to handle starfish, sea cucumbers, horseshoe and hermit crabs, and even horse and queen conchs—living totems of the Conch Republic. Built in 1934 by the Works Progress Administration as the world's first open-air aquarium, most of the building has been enclosed for all-weather viewing. Guided tours, included in the admission price, feature shark feedings. Tickets are cheaper when booked online.

This air-conditioned refuge for butterflies, birds, and humans gladdens the soul with hundreds of colorful wings—more than 45 species of butterflies alone—in a lovely glass-encased bubble. Waterfalls, artistic benches, paved pathways, birds, and lush, flowering vegetation elevate this above most butterfly attractions. The gift shop and gallery are worth a visit on their own.

You can learn almost as much about a town's history through its cemetery as through its historic houses. Key West's celebrated 20-acre burial place may leave you wanting more, with headstone epitaphs such as "I told you I was sick" and, for a wayward husband, "Now I know where he's sleeping at night." Among the interesting plots are a memorial to the sailors killed in the sinking of the battleship USS Maine, carved angels and lambs marking graves of children, and grand aboveground crypts that put to shame many of the town's dwellings for the living. There are separate plots for Catholics, Jews, and refugees from Cuba. You're free to walk around the cemetery on your own, but the best way to see it is on a 90-minute tour given by the staff and volunteers of the Historic Florida Keys Foundation. Tours leave from the main gate, and reservations are required.

For over 65 years, the Key West Garden Club has maintained lush gardens among the arches and ruins of this redbrick Civil War–era fort. You can see the impressive collection of native and tropical plants while meandering past fountains, sculptures, and a picture-perfect gazebo on a self-guided tour. The garden hosts art, orchid, and flower shows February through April, and volunteers lead private garden tours one weekend in March.

Check out the pretty palm garden next to the Key West Library, just off Duval Street. This leafy, outdoor reading area, with shaded benches, is the perfect place to escape the frenzy and crowds of Old Town. There's free Internet access in the library, too.

For the best view in town, climb the 88 steps to the top of this 1847 lighthouse. The 92-foot structure has a Fresnel lens, which was installed in the 1860s at a cost of $1 million. The keeper lived in the adjacent 1887 clapboard house, which now exhibits vintage photographs, ship models, nautical charts, and artifacts from all along Key West's reefs. A kids' room is stocked with books and toys.

Much of Key West's history, early prosperity, and interesting architecture come from ships that ran aground on its coral reef. Artifacts from the circa-1856 Isaac Allerton, which yielded $150,000 worth of wreckage, comprise the museum portion of this multifaceted attraction. Actors and films add a bit of Disneyesque drama. The final highlight is climbing to the top of the 65-foot lookout tower, a reproduction of the 20 or so towers used by Key West wreckers during the town's salvaging heyday.

Established in 1935, this unique habitat is the only frost-free botanical garden in the continental United States. You won't see fancy topiaries and exotic plants, but you will see an ecosystem that is unique to this area and the Caribbean. Paved walkways take you past butterfly gardens, mangroves, Cuban palms, and ponds where you can spy turtles and fish. There are herons, ibis, and other birds here, too. It's a natural slice of Keys paradise that offers a nice respite from sidewalks and shops.

Up the road about ½ mile from Long Key State Park, beginning at a close-to-the-ground marker, is a free trail that leads through a tropical-hardwood forest to a rocky Florida Bay shoreline overlooking shallow grass flats. It takes about 20 minutes to walk the ¼-mile route.

On the National Register of Historic Places, this 280-acre bayside island is the site of a virgin hardwood forest and the 1919 home of chemical magnate William Matheson. His caretaker's cottage serves as the park's visitor center. Access is by boat—your own, a rented vessel, or a tour operated from Robbie's Marina. The tour leaves at 8:30 am Friday through Sunday and takes in both Lignumvitae and Indian Key (reservations required).

What is sometimes called “the Oceanside Beach” offers an excellent view of Henry Flagler’s old railroad bridge. A small rock island not far from shore is easy enough to kayak around (rentals are available elsewhere in Bahia Honda State Park), and there are plenty of snorkeling opportunities in the clear waters. This beach doesn't have  picnic pavilions, and its comparative lack of amenities makes it less crowded and more rustic than other park beaches. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

As you cross the Long Key Channel, look beside you at the old viaduct. The second-longest bridge on the former rail line, this 2¼-mile-long structure has 222 reinforced-concrete arches. The old bridge is popular with cyclists and joggers. Anglers fish off the sides day and night.

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.

A few blocks from the parties of Duval Street lies a purely selfless labor of love: a backyard garden whose paths lead to colorful (and happily squawking) rescued parrots and macaws. Step inside the nondescript side gate, and you'll meet Nancy, an environmental artist, and her flock of feathered children (which you can hold and feed). At 10 am she personally gives a tour, or come between 11 and 3 and do the self-guided version. Bring a lunch and have a picnic in the shade, or just meander and learn. It's Parroting 101, and it might just be the most memorable day of your Key West vacation.

This 84,824-acre refuge was established in 1957 to protect the dwindling population of the Key deer, one of more than 22 animals and plants federally classified as endangered or threatened. The Key deer, which stands about 30 inches at the shoulders and is a subspecies of the Virginia white-tailed deer, once roamed throughout the Lower and Middle Keys, but hunting, destruction of their habitat, and a growing human population caused their numbers to decline to 27 by the middle of the last century. The deer have made a comeback, increasing their numbers to approximately 750. The best place to see them in the refuge is at the end of Key Deer Boulevard and on No Name Key, a sparsely populated island just east of Big Pine Key. Mornings and evenings are the best time to spot them. Deer may turn up along the road at any time of day, so drive slowly. They wander into nearby yards to nibble tender grass and bougainvillea blossoms, but locals do not appreciate tourists driving into their neighborhoods after them. Feeding them is against the law and puts them in danger.

A quarry left over from railroad days, Blue Hole is the largest body of fresh water in the Keys. From the observation platform and nearby walking trail, you might see the resident alligators, turtles, and other wildlife. There are two well-marked trails, recently revamped: the Jack Watson Nature Trail (0.6 miles), named after an environmentalist and the refuge's first warden, and the Fred C. Mannillo Wildlife Trail (0.2 miles), one of the most wheelchair-accessible places to see an unspoiled pine-rockland forest and wetlands. The visitor center has exhibits on Keys biology and ecology. The refuge also provides information on Key West National Wildlife Refuge and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge. Accessible only by water, both are popular with kayak outfitters.

There's much to like about this 5-acre island under the Old Seven Mile Bridge. You might even recognize it from a season finale of the TV show The Amazing Race. You can reach it via a restored train that departs from the gift shop, which is in a trailer at Mile Marker 47.5. Once there, tour the island on your own, or join a guided tour to explore the buildings that formed the early-20th-century work camp for the Overseas Railroad, which linked the mainland to Key West in 1912. Later, the island became a fish camp, a state park, and then government-administration headquarters. Exhibits in a small museum recall the history of the Keys, the railroad, and railroad baron Henry M. Flagler. The train ride with tour lasts two hours. Bring your own snorkel gear and dive flag and you can snorkel right from the shore; pack a picnic lunch, too.

This beach and park were named after Cornelius Bradford Harvey, former Key West mayor and commissioner. Adjacent to Higgs Beach, it has half a dozen picnic areas across the street, dunes, a pier, and a wheelchair and bike path. Amenities: none. Best for: walking.

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.

Possibly the most photographed site in Key West (even though the actual geographic southernmost point in the continental United States lies across the bay on a naval base, where you see a satellite dish), this is a must-see. Have your picture taken next to the big striped buoy that's been marking the southernmost point in the continental United States since 1983. A plaque next to it honors Cubans who lost their lives trying to escape to America, and other signs tell Key West history.

The second-oldest marine-mammal center in the world doesn't attempt to compete with more modern, more expensive parks. Even so, it's among the better attractions north of Key West, especially if you have kids in tow. In addition to seeing marine-life exhibits and shows, you can make reservations for up-close-and-personal encounters like a swim with a dolphin or sea lion or stingray and turtle feedings (which include general admission). Stop for lunch at the grill, shop in the extensive gift shop, or sunbathe and swim at the private beach.

Each year, more than 100 injured creatures are admitted to the world's first state-certified veterinary hospital for sea turtles. Guided 90-minute tours take you into recovery and surgical areas. In the "hospital bed" tanks, you can see recovering patients and others that are permanent residents due to their injuries. After the tour, you can feed some of the residents. Call ahead—space is limited and tours are sometimes canceled due to medical emergencies. The turtle ambulance out front makes for a memorable souvenir photo.

This was one of the first of the Upper Keys to be permanently settled. Early homesteaders were so successful at growing pineapples in the rocky soil that, at one time, the island yielded the country's largest annual crop. However, foreign competition and the hurricane of 1935 killed the industry. Today, life centers on fishing and tourism, and the island is filled with everything from bait shops and charter boats to eclectic galleries and fusion restaurants.