5 Best Sights in The Tampa Bay Area, Florida

Downtown St. Petersburg's Florida Holocaust Museum is one of the largest of its kind in the United States. In addition to hosting rotating exhibits, it has the permanent History, Heritage, and Hope exhibit; an original boxcar; and an extensive collection of photographs, art, and artifacts. One compelling display includes portraits and biographies of Holocaust survivors. Its newest artifact, the Thor, is a Danish fishing boat that was used to rescue more than 7,000 Jews in 1943. It was also recently entrusted with the Elie Wiesel Collection. The museum was conceived as a learning center for children, so many of the displays avoid overly graphic content. Signs are posted outside galleries where the subject matter might be too intense for kids.

This colorful museum is dedicated to preserving the heritage of American traveling shows and carnivals. Located in the winter home of many performers and circus employees, the more than 52,000-square-foot facility houses old-time artifacts—glittery burlesque costumes, historic photographs and posters, refurbished railway cars and antique wagons, and a working vintage Ferris wheel—that transport you to a bygone era.

Learn about the history of the Tampa Bay region, from indigenous Tocobaga people to St. Pete's spring training history to America's first commercial airline, at the St. Petersburg Museum of History. Exhibits include those on Native American primitive shell tools and thousands of baseballs signed by the likes of Babe Ruth. There's also a full-size replica of the Benoist Airboat flown by pioneer aviator Tony Jannus.

From the early civilizations that once flourished on its shores to the 2000 presidential vote recount, the Tampa Bay region has long played integral roles in the history of Florida and the rest of the nation. The interactive exhibits here let you peer back in time at the people and events that helped shape the area. You'll learn about the Tocobaga and other coastal peoples, as well as the Spanish explorers who encountered them. You'll get insight on pirates with the help of a massive replica ship.

Information and artifacts also highlight the Seminole Wars, Ybor City's cigar industry, and the Florida crackers who once drove their cattle in areas now saturated with busy roads and shopping centers. Exhibits also cover sports teams that have called Tampa Bay home, not to mention the war heroes and politicians of the 20th and 21st centuries. When it's time for a bite to eat, you're in for a treat: the café here is a branch of Columbia, Tampa's most famous and historic restaurant.

This urban park housed in the historic Ferlita Bakery building provides a look at Tampa's cigar industry. Admission includes a tour of La Casita, one of the shotgun houses occupied by cigar workers and their families in the late 1890s, and a chance to stroll through the Mediterranean-style garden. Self-guided tours are also available.