722 Best Sights in Florida, USA

By day this historic pier is a good place to stroll—if you don't mind weatherworn wood and sandy, watery paths—and watch surf competitions, as the water here is a popular surf spot. By night visitors and locals—beach bums and surfers among them—head here to party. Weekends see live music.  The pier is also a great place to view launches from Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral.

Late millionaire Naomi Wilzig's collection of some 4,000 erotic items is on display at this unique museum. Expect sexy art of varying quality—fertility statues from around the globe and historic Japanese shunga books (erotic art offered as gifts to new brides on their wedding night) share the space with some kitschy knickknacks. If this is your thing, an original phallic prop from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and an over-the-top Kama Sutra bed are worth the price of admission. Kids 17 and under are not admitted.

Originally two islets, this area was first inhabited by Native Americans, who left behind a few traces of their dwellings, and then by farmers and fishermen who built their homes here in the mid-1800s. Henry Flagler bought the land from homesteaders in 1908 for his Florida East Coast Railway, filling in the inlet between what were then called the Umbrella Keys. Today, this is where you'll find Theater of the Sea, the famous Holiday Isle (now Postcard Inn), and Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park.

The fossilized-coral reef, dating back about 125,000 years, demonstrates that the Florida Keys were once beneath the ocean. Excavation of Windley Key's limestone bed by the Florida East Coast Railway exposed the petrified reef, full of beautifully fossilized brain coral and sea ferns. You can see the fossils along a 300-foot quarry wall when hiking the park's three trails.

Opened in 1936 by two retired moonshiners from Detroit, this was one of the state's first roadside attractions and remained little changed until 2013, when the family decided to close its doors—and, thus, ending a rich chapter of Florida tourism history—forever. In stepped Florida landscape photographer John Brady, who negotiated a lease with the founding family and transformed the old-style cramped zoological gardens (that once featured Florida panthers, black bears, crocodiles, alligators, and tame Florida deer) into a botanical garden by conserving the flora and fauna following contemporary standards. Now in focus are diverse gardens that include old-growth trees like kapok, banyan, candle nut, egg fruit, plumeria, jaboticaba, mahogany, cashew, avocado, and mango, as well as integrated animal exhibits with tortoises, turtles, smaller alligators, flamingos, and a butterfly garden. The original buildings have been preserved and made into a modern gallery that showcases Brady's photography.

The building seems to be sinking into the ground—at a precarious angle and upside down. Many people stop to take pictures in front of the topsy-turvy facade, complete with upended palm trees and broken sidewalks. Inside, the upside-down theme continues only as far as the lobby. After that it's a playground of 100 interactive experiences—some incorporating virtual reality, others educational (similar to those at a science museum), and still others pure entertainment. You can experience an earthquake or a hurricane, land a space shuttle using simulator controls, make giant bubbles in the Bubble Lab, play laser tag in the enormous arena and arcade, design and ride your own roller coaster, lie on a bed of real nails, and play baseball with a virtual Major League batter.

Tampa's Latin quarter is one of only a few National Historic Landmark districts in Florida. Bordered by I–4 to the north, 22nd Street to the east, Adamo Drive to the south, and Nebraska Avenue to the west, it has brick-paved streets and wrought-iron balconies. Cubans brought their cigar-making industry to Ybor (pronounced EE-bore) City in 1886, and the smell of cigars—hand-rolled by Cuban immigrants—still wafts through the heart of this east Tampa area, along with the strong aroma of roasting coffee. Former cigar factories and social clubs have been transformed into boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, and nightclubs. Nevertheless, it can also be seedy and rowdy at times.

This park provides a look at the history of the 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. Tours are held every hour between 10 am and 3 pm.

This state park has the remains of a circa-1851 sugar mill and other remnants of a 5,100-acre sugar plantation owned by Florida's first U.S. senator, David Levy Yulee. Interpretive panels spaced throughout the mill ruins describe early methods of the sugar-making process, the plantation's role in the Civil War, and the harsh conditions endured by the 1,000 enslaved people who worked here.

Don't miss a visit to this top-notch zoo, 14 miles southwest of Coral Gables in the Miami suburbs. The only subtropical zoo in the continental United States, it has 320-plus acres that are home to more than 2,000 animals, including 40 endangered species, which roam on islands surrounded by moats. Amazon & Beyond encompasses 27 acres of simulated tropical rain forests showcasing 600 animals indigenous to the region, such as giant river otters, harpy eagles, anacondas, and jaguars. The Wings of Asia aviary has about 300 exotic birds representing 70 species flying free within the junglelike enclosure. Kids love visiting the meerkats and participating in the thrice-daily camel feedings at the Critter Connection exhibit.

Natural-habitat exhibits such as Safari Africa, where a herd of elephants roams, make the 56-acre ZooTampa one of the country's best midsize facilities. Visit the Asia Gardens to see Komodo dragons and Indian rhinos. Stars of Primate World range from cat-size lemurs to heavyweight Bornean orangutans that love to ham for the camera. The free-flight Main Aviary features up-close looks at myriad winged creatures, as well as a resident sloth.

ZooTampa also emphasizes rehabilitation. The Florida Wilds area offers unobstructed views of panthers, black bears, owls, skunks, and other rescued animals. The David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Critical Care Center, the world's first nonprofit manatee hospital, cares for critically injured, sick, or orphaned Florida manatees.

This museum, just a few minutes west of Maitland, is in Eatonville, the first African-American town to be incorporated after the Civil War. It showcases works by artists of African descent during five six-week-long exhibitions each year, with one reserved for up-and-comers. The museum is named after former resident Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960), a writer, folklorist, and anthropologist best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. This is the home of ZORA!—a three-day cultural, arts, and music festival that's held in late January to celebrate Hurston's life. The museum also has a roster of other events throughout the year.

SeaWorld never holds back when it comes to stage shows, and this one, similar in style and feel to Cirque du Soleil, is no exception. It is framed by the story of a fisherman who falls overboard into a new world beneath the waves. The colorful, costumed inhabitants of this underwater kingdom astound the fisherman with their amazing talents on the trampoline, rocket themselves through hoops, and leap onto towering poles and stick to them like chameleons. Acrobats march into the audience with festive Chinese dragons, find wonderful new uses for hula hoops, and perform impressive feats with hanging strips of silk. You might want to see this show twice—there's so much taking place you're likely to miss some wonderful moments. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs have reserved seating at the rear of the theater. Assisted-listening devices are available. Although the auditorium seats more than 1,000 and you won't feel packed in, arrive at least 15 minutes early for a wider choice of seats. Reserved seats can be arranged through Signature Show Seating.

SeaWorld's four-acre "continent" centers around an attraction that's a fun-filled Arctic trek. After walking through a realistic ice floe, you leave the preshow and board a circular vehicle that glides, track-free, on a polar journey. Choose mild (no extra motion) or wild (a low-grade virtual-reality ride) as you follow the life of Puck the penguin as he travels through blizzards, past hungry sea lions, and through an ice cave. Eventually, you leave this virtual world and arrive in a massive real-life room where Puck's relations, a colony of approximately 250 always-entertaining Adélie, gentoo, king, and rock hopper penguins, are diving, waddling, and swimming like darts. Unlike the former attraction where the penguins lived behind Plexiglas, now you can step up to a low wall and watch them cavort in their private empire. All in all, this is a thoroughly entertaining educational experience. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer into the ride vehicle; a separate line is available if you'd prefer to bypass the ride and just visit the penguin exhibit.

Lined with swaying palms, tropical foliage, quaint thatched huts, and speckled with shady umbrellas, hammocks, lounges, and beach chairs, this is where you claim your own private spot in the sand. Since the park's biggest selling point is its limited guest capacity, the most seductive aspect is lying in the sun and leaving the real world behind. For the most privacy, head to the far west end of Discovery Cove, where the beach chairs are more plentiful and private cabanas (from $60) are available. For people with disabilities: Modified beach wheelchairs are available. With attendance limited to 1,000 guests, and plenty of sand to share, you should be fine. Just arrive early for the best spot.

For this program (starting from $119 and up, depending on season) you don a wet suit and assist a trainer in feeding Beluga whales, which average about 15 feet and 2,000 pounds. They're good-natured and well trained enough to respond to hand signals you learn from the trainer. FYI: The wet suits help protect guests from the frigid 55-degree water. Must be 10 or older; 14 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

These two side-by-side lagoons (aka wave pools) are perhaps the centerpiece of the park. Although the names suggest waves that surfers would fear, the large pool has only modest swells, and the small pool may even be closed if crowds are light. Still, both edge the park's popular white-sand beach and both are exceedingly pleasant locations where you can laze the day away. If you plan on spending a lot of time in the park and need to keep an eye on the kids, the wave pools make great bases of operation. If you're establishing base camp here, arrive as early as possible and stake your claim on the beach.

The story is a fairytale of sorts, starting with a young girl's fantasy of life in the sea, which is enough to lead off a high-energy, crowd-pleasing show that features high dives, dazzling dolphins, and astounding feats of “aquabatics.” Dolphins execute perfectly coordinated leaps, arcs, and splashes. Performers ski atop the backs of two dolphins while another performer in a feathery bird costume performs an aerial ballet. Divers repeatedly leap from two high towers as two acrobats portraying the story's villains perform impressive and repeated synchronized jumps on bungee cords. It's active, it's exciting, it's beautiful, and it's a show that blends everything SeaWorld does best above and below the water. For people with disabilities: Ask an attendant about seating for wheelchair users toward the front. Arrive 20 minutes before showtime for the best seats, or invest in Signature Show Seating.

This 12-acre beach park is popular with local families who enjoy the lovely Brazilian-walnut hardwood boardwalk, plethora of parking spots, and sail-shade canopy-covered walkways and benches. Kids will get a kick out of the playground and adorable large sea turtle sculpture (grown-ups will appreciate that it was made of repossessed metal from an oil rig by a local artist). Free beach wheelchairs are available, as are umbrellas and lounge chair rentals for a small fee, and a concession dishes up sandwiches, salads, and snacks like ice cream. Divers love the four sunken ships off the coast as part of Florida's artificial reefs program. Amenities: lifeguards; food and drink; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; sunrise; sunset; swimming.

Dolphin Cove is a huge freeform pool where a few dozen Atlantic bottlenose dolphins skim around and nose up to the edge to be fed fish ($5 a tray) by generous guests. Once or twice a day, trainers will come out to host a scheduled feeding. Often a SeaWorld guide will offer a commentary about the dolphins' behaviors and remind everyone that the pool's residents enjoy having their sides rubbed and petted. Who doesn't? Be sure to walk to the far end of the lagoon where the walkway descends to a grotto to reveal an underwater view of the dolphins, providing an entirely new perspective that is both fascinating and entertaining—it's almost as if you're diving with the dolphins. For people with disabilities: This attraction is completely accessible to guests using wheelchairs. On your way to or from a show, come see the dolphins. If it's crowded, go shopping until the crowds disperse.

Although largely overshadowed by the more magnificent attractions, this large pool, which has been here since the park opened in 1973, continues to please guests by allowing them to watch dolphin moms and babies (with birth dates posted on signs) play and leap and splash. They say you can even observe the dolphin calves learning to communicate with their moms through clicks and vocalizations. Although you can't get close enough to pet or feed them, you can see them from just a few feet away. A host is usually on hand to answer questions. A popular answer? "No, you can't take one home." Hint: if you just have to touch a dolphin, head over to Dolphin Cove in the Key West section. For people with disabilities: Fully wheelchair accessible. Get ready to lift up small kids so they can see into the pool.

They're amazing animals, of course, and on this hour-long tour you'll be able to participate in a training session, touch a dolphin, and use hand gestures to prompt behaviors. From $59 adults, $39 children.

There are several entrances to this 12,000-square-foot birdhouse—three of which access the aviary from beneath waterfalls falling beside the Wind-Away River (otherwise, you can walk in from the beach). However you arrive, you will enter a sanctuary populated with more than 250 small exotic birds, including darting hummingbirds, tiny finches, and honeycreepers. In the large-bird sanctuary, you get up close to perched toucans and wandering peacocks, red-legged seriema, and other colorful winged creatures that stand as tall as 4 feet. Look for attendants who have carts filled with complimentary fruit and feed that you can use to attract the birds. It's a beautiful experience—especially when a bird hops onto your shoulder to say hello. Get the camera ready. For people with disabilities: A pathway through the aviary accommodates wheelchairs. Come early in the morning when the birds are most active.

To look at a marvelous Venetian Renaissance–style structure, head to this church, built by Flagler in 1889 as a memorial to his daughter Jenny, who died during childbirth. In addition to Jenny, this is the final resting place for Flagler himself; his first wife, Mary; and their granddaughter Marjorie. The dome of this stunning sanctuary towers more than 100 feet and is topped by a 20-foot Greek cross.

This once-dated attraction continues to undergo a major rejuvenation. There are still fun elements from the original "Old Florida" (admittedly somewhat kitschy), but there's much that's new and exciting, too. The timing is appropriate—in 2013, the park celebrated the 500th anniversary of Ponce de León's arrival. The 15-acre waterfront site is also the location where Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, in 1565, established the first and oldest continuous European settlement in what's now the United States. Excavations have also shown it was the site of a Franciscan mission to the Timucuan Indians. The park includes a replica of the mission, a Timucuan village and burial grounds, a boatyard in which a 16th-century-style boat is being constructed, and a three-story watchtower with broad, panoramic vistas of the bay, inlet, and Mendez Settlement field. Other highlights include cannon firings; a working blacksmith shop; Navigators Planetarium; a gift shop; a small, elegant café; and the springhouse where you can still quench your thirst from "the fountain of youth."

The oasis has a tropical theme and its lush landscaping is akin to a rain forest. Part of the experience is wading through a crystal-clear spring to reach an island populated by some outrageously cute marmosets (which are contained on the island thanks to a convenient moat). Swim a little farther and come nose-to-nose with otters, which frolic behind a nearly invisible wall of acrylic. Beyond the menagerie and beneath a canopy of cooling vegetation, there are watery trails to explore. It truly is a seductive setting and effortlessly evokes that soothing Discovery Cove experience.

This historical building has been a hospital, a courthouse, a customs house, a post office, and, during the American Revolution, the home of the British governors. And it was from here, in 1821, that the Spanish governor ceded control of East Florida to the United States to conclude 256 years of colonial control. After a major renovation, the building reopened in 2013 and features revolving exhibits. A shop on-site sells history-related souvenirs and a wide selection of books.

You can follow thousands of butterfly fish, angelfish, parrot fish, and a few dozen other species as you snorkel through this authentic-looking coral reef. Stingrays sail slowly and gracefully past and curious fish often come within touching distance—though when you reach out they scatter in nanoseconds. There's even an artificial shipwreck that, through a hole in its hull, reveals a separate pool filled with barracudas and sharks (they're out of reach, thanks to panels of Plexiglas). Even though you're hundreds of miles from the Caribbean, this is a wonderful, accessible substitute. If the sun is shining bright, good for you. The brighter the day, the more brilliant the underwater colors. For people with disabilities: Guests with mobility issues who can readily maneuver themselves with limited assistance can experience the reef. It's easy to monitor crowds; come when they're light. It's suitable for all ages, but teens and adults enjoy it most.

One tower leads to these two attractions, each of which banks on the fact that, after climbing about 10 stories, you'd rather face your fears and slide back down than have to climb back down. At the top is a string of yellow rafts that can hold two adults and a child, though some passengers go solo. Walhalla is on your right, HooRoo on your left. After selecting a side, you and your fellow passengers slip into a raft and are pushed into the current by an attendant. Walhalla sends you circling around corners and banking to the edges of tight curves before sliding you into an enclosed tunnel. HooRoo keeps you out in the open, bouncing you down, down, down over a series of mogul-like slides. Either way you go, you'll want to go again and again and again.... Come early or late—or be patient.

New in 2014, this is billed as Orlando’s “tallest, steepest, and only multi-drop tower.” What’s a multi-drop? Well, once you reach the top (80 feet up) there are four capsules to choose from, but no matter which one you select, you’ll step inside and, as at Wet ’n Wild’s Bomb Bay, you’ll cross your arms and legs before a countdown of “3, 2, 1…” signals it’s time for the floor to "break away"—and for you to plunge straight down and into a nearly vertical 40-foot drop reaching speeds of 24 feet per second before you’re pitched into a series of snaking, watery turns. Tips: At 420 feet, the orange tube is the longest.