If you’re a Harry Potter fan like myself, then you already know what the image above features! Here is my list of fun and interesting places to see in the sunshine state!
1. Universal Studios, Orlando
I personally love universal out of all the theme parks Florida has to offer. It could possibly be because of my love for Harry Potter and simulation rides (not a big roller coaster fan!) but honestly – Universal is awesome. I definitely recommend getting the tickets to see both Islands of Adventure and Universal and make an entire weekend out of it. What I love MOST, is that the parks are connected by the Hogwarts Train!! Universal has the Diagon Alley side of Harry Potter World and Islands of Adventure features the famous Hogsmeade where Harry and his friends go for a bit of fun during school. The park goes all out on all of its themed rides and it’s a really good time. It does get super hot, so the months of January – Early March would probably be the best time to go and the crowds will be as minimal as they could possibly be. Avoid holiday weekends and have a great time!
2. The Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral
The Kennedy Space Center really should be on everybody’s list whenever you’re in the area. I will admit – Cape Canaveral really is in the middle of nowhere and for good reason. Rockets get launched into space from here!! The center features all kinds of train rides where they give you all the info you could possibly want about the space center. Fun Fact: The Kennedy Space Centre is where the NASA rockets are launched and the Houston Centre in Texas is where the NASA Space capsules are controlled once in orbit. You can get your entire fill on space knowledge here at the center and it’s worth spending a full day! You can get lost here for hours – trust me, I’ve done it! Experience the “race to space” for yourself!
3. Enjoy the Hemingway Home In Key West
American novelist and short story writers most famous home lies in the sunny island of Key West FL. The home itself features old charm Florida and it just a beautiful property in general to walk and take pictures. You can also meet Hemingway’s famous 6 toed cats that roam the inside and outside of the home! So here’s the story to that. Ernest Hemingway was given a white six-toed cat by a ship’s captain and some of the cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that original cat, named Snow White. Fun fact: for about $3500 you can get married here!
4. The St. Augustine Lighthouse
The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum has some of the most breathtaking views of Northeast Florida and it comes loaded with a variety of artifacts from a simpler time. The lighthouse itself is also one of the most haunted places in America! If you’re up for it the “All Ghosts, No Gimmicks” Dark of the Moon paranormal tour will give you the creeps which comes included on Saturday tickets. Fun Fact: The St. Augustine Lighthouse is the oldest working lighthouse in the country.
5. Take an Airboat Ride over the Everglades
Honestly, where else can you take an airboat ride? The Everglades is one of the most unique landscapes that exist on planet Earth. Fun Fact: The Everglades is a unique treasure found in South Florida. The Everglades is the largest remaining subtropical wilderness in the United States. Therefore, it consists of 1.5 million acres of saw grass marshes, mangrove forests, and hardwood hammocks dominated by wetlands.
6. Explore the Many Crystal Clear Springs That Florida has to Offer
I have spent many a day – floating down the river. This is another unique way to escape the humidity and enjoy the Florida outdoors. There are so many river to choose from – but my favorite has been Weeki Wachee River. If you Google Weeki Wachee you’ll see the State Park which is pretty cool – especially if you have kids. They have mermaid shows and small water slides that can keep little ones entertained for hours. I prefer to head toward the end of the spring to Rogers Park. It’s a small park where you can rent kayaks and they drive you a few miles upstream and you spend the day floating and kayaking back. You can see manatees, otters and sometimes even gators but not usually. I do have another article on The Florida Springs that you can read here —> Jaw Dropping Springs of Florida
My biggest advice if you plan on kayaking the springs, is go on a weekday where it will be less crowded and make your kayak reservation before you make the drive. They fill up quickly!
7. Visit The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Personally, I am not a huge fan of the Ringling Brothers but I do have to admit their home – now museum – is a great place to admire. Of course it was all earned from the backs of animals – butttt I’ll keep this light and slightly sarcastic! The home is beautiful and if you’re in the Sarasota area and you absolutely love taking Instagram worthy shots – this would be the place! Guaranteed to make you feel like you’re in a palace in a far off place!
8. The Venetian Pool, Coral Gables
THE LARGEST FRESHWATER SWIMMING POOL in the U.S., the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables is a one-of-a-kind water feature that is emptied and refilled every day during the summer just to keep the waters fresh and clean.
Built in 1923 out of the remains of an abandoned coral rock quarry, the public pool was modeled after a Venetian grotto with the intention of bringing a piece of Mediterranean style to the States. A scenic bridge was built overlooking the pool, along with mooring posts for gondolas that were to be able to pull right up to the pool, although this feature was later scrapped. The pool also connects to a number of natural grotto caves that swimmers can explore.
9. Visit The Cloisters of the Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach
THESE SPANISH CLOISTERS BUILT IN Spain between 1133-1141 AD almost never made it to their current home in Miami, Florida to gain fame as the oldest built structure in the Western Hemisphere. For 700 years, the cloisters were part of a Cistercian monastery. In the mid-1830s, the First Carlist War in Spain led to the seizure of the cloisters, which were then sold and turned into a granary. The cloisters were sold to the US in the late 1800’s but it wasn’t until much later that they found their way to Florida.
William Randolph Hearst took an interest in the Cloisters and decided it would make a nice addition to the United States. In 1925 he bought the cloisters, which were taken apart stone by stone and shipped to the U.S. in 11,000 separate, numbered boxes. Perhaps he wanted to add them to Hearst Castle, his mansion in California. Unfortunately for Mr. Hearst, the cloister stones had been shipped with hay that was possibly contaminated with Hoof-and-Mouth Disease, which had just broken out in Spain. The boxes were quarantined and emptied, the hay was burned, and the stones were returned randomly to the boxes. This was only the beginning of Heart’s problems, however, as his dire financial situation soon forced him to sell most of his belongings. The cloisters remained in boxes in a warehouse in Brooklyn until Hearst’s death in 1952.
The boxes were purchased by Mr. W. Edgemon and Mr. R. Moss for $1.5 million. They had the idea to reconstruct the cloisters as a tourist attraction. After 19 months of puzzling over how the blocks fit together, they succeeded.
10. Visit The Christ of the Abyss in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Key Largo
ON AUGUST 25, 1965, A nine-foot-tall bronze statue of Christ was lowered into 25 feet of water off the coast of Key Largo, Florida. Known as the Christ of the Abyss, this submerged statue in John Pennekamp State Park was actually the third of its kind cast from the original Italian mold.
The original Il Cristo degli Abissi, or Christ of the Abyss, was lowered into the Mediterranean Sea on August 22, 1954, just off San Fruttuoso on the Italian Riviera. The bronze statue was the work of Guido Galletti, inspired by a concept by Italian diver Duilio Marcante. It was to represent Christ in the new world below the waves, a memorial for all those who had lost their lives at sea and a monument to those who continued to dive beneath it.
