ANNA MARIA ISLAND
ANNA MARIA
Laid-back and natural, Anna Maria Island presents three unique beach areas in one barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast. At the northern tip is the quietest part of AMI: Anna Maria and Pine Avenue, lined with shops, galleries and restaurants. Good luck finding a parking spot at Bean Point. To the south is Holmes Beach, AMI’s business district and Manatee Beach. To the south is Bradenton Beach’s Historic Bridge Street, featuring quaint shops, boutiques, casual dining, iconic clock tower, and Cortez Beach. Lo and behold, Coquina Beach rounds out AMI, arguably the Island’s best beach for the most authentic beach vibes. By the way, you must check out the entire Island and its two piers.
BAYFRONT PARK
SARASOTA
Sarasota’s best public park offers boats, Bayfront, Banyan trees, and bountiful family fun. A shaded playground and splash fountains await your children with a vintage tiki bar & restaurant tempting you with tropical drinks, live music, and Florida vibes. Take a stroll around the park, enjoying the gorgeous Bay waters as boats bob in the mooring field. For adventure seekers, walk, jog, or bike around the Bayfront Park to the Ringling Causeway and nearby Bird Key Park.
BURNS SQUARE
SARASOTA
Historic Burns Court, tucked away just off Main Street & Downtown and exuding a classic European vibe, is one of Sarasota’s unique and eclectic neighborhoods, featuring exquisite dining, art galleries, and boutiques. Nearby Laurel Park, once comprising small classic cottages with porches, has quickly transformed, gentrified due to convenient proximity to Main Street. Burns Court is worth a visit. You might even stumble across a trading company, a vintage cinema, and a unique restaurant off a side street in Burns Square.
CORTEZ VILLAGE
CORTEZ
Stroll back in time at the historic fishing village of Cortez. You can’t help but notice the history. At Star Fish Dockside Restaurant, you’ll see real fishing boats moored and moving to and from a morning catch. Cortez Village maintains a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation Cortez fights daily to preserve as the pressures from developers press to transform old-time Florida. Hurry! Experience Cortez. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. If seek vintage vibes and traditional life on the Gulf Coast, you’ll enjoy (and more importantly appreciate) Cortez.
ED SMITH STADIUM
SARASOTA
Welcome to the Baltimore Orioles’ Spring Training stadium. Seating 8,500 people, the Ed Smith Stadium serves as a wonderful venue for concerts and special events throughout the year. On a bright, sunny Spring day, you may want to grab a seat in the shade on the 1st base side. In Florida during winter for a game, the sun can cook a person. Convincingly, this stadium is regularly voted the best stadium in the Grapefruit League. Whether you’re a baseball fan or from Maryland feeling compelled to support your Orioles, the stadium tends to fill during spring training games. “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” -Rogers Hornsby
MAIN STREET
SARASOTA
Sarasota’s Main Street has been a throwback to the 50s when a town’s Main Street served as the pulse of a community…a hub for dining, entertainment, night life. As towering condo buildings replace vintage buildings, Sarasota’s Main Street “hub” finds itself at a crossroads: to serve wealthy condo owners with paid street parking and restricted night life or to welcome locals and visitors. Entertainment includes unique restaurants, theatre, opera, art galleries, expanding Downtown Sarasota to Burns Court, Palm Avenue, The Rosemary District, Towles Court, and Gillespie Park. While Sarasota battles a growing homeless issue, the downtown area merchants and stakeholders scramble to define its role.
NATIONAL CEMETERY
SARASOTA
Sarasota’s National Cemetery, a 295-acre cemetery built in 2009, serves US military families, is located off SR72 and approximately four miles east of Interstate 75. More than a final resting place, this cemetery remembers its heroes with a 2,800-seat ceremonial amphitheater called the “Patriot Plaza,” comprising an outdoor museum featuring 5 large public works of art by nationally known artists and documentary photography on stone placards presenting the themes of service, patriotism, and freedom. Sarasota’s National Cemetery joins an esteemed group of 126 national cemeteries.
RIVERWALK
BRADENTON
What’s so special about Bradenton’s Riverwalk? Great question. First, the Riverwalk appeals to all ages. It’s a wide, winding sidewalk through a tree canopy & bordering the Manatee River. It’s a 5-acre park that includes a skate park, a 400-seat amphitheater boasting live entertainment throughout the year, a playground and splash pad. It’s a destination, featuring stunning sunsets and outdoor concerts throughout the year. Can you imagine kicking back on a chilly Friday evening during the winter in Florida (bundled in your windbreaker), enjoying a frosty adult beverage, listening to great music, & cherishing a fiery sunset in the background? To the south is Historic Downtown with myriad dining choices along with nearby The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature and the Manatee Performing Arts Center. No doubt, Bradenton hit a grand slam with its Riverwalk.
SIESTA VILLAGE
SIESTA KEY
The “Village” exudes the laid-back beach vibes you recall from 1950s beach movies. Located approximately one mile from the #1-rated Siesta Public Beach off Ocean Boulevard, Siesta Key’s Village offers beachy shops, restaurants, nightlife, grocery, donuts, lodging, and nearby Sunset Point Beach for your afterdinner stroll. No dressing to the 9s in the Village where fun-in-the-sun, flip-flips & beachwear rule the day. Dine. Do. Shop at the Village.
ST ARMANDS CIRCLE
LIDO KEY
Lido Key’s St Armands Circle exudes a European vibe, steps to Lido Beach. Restaurants and cafes exist for every palette surround the Circle, many offering outdoor dining, complete with unique shops, boutiques, and spas. The Circle offers the best window shopping in Sarasota. A favorite pastime is strolling the Circle, grabbing a bite to eat, and then strolling more, adding dessert from one of the many scrumptous shops before admiring the window displays, while music – some live music – accentuates your visit. You will not be disappointed with a visit to St Armands Circle at any time of year but especially once the weather cools and the Christmas decorations appear.
UNIVERSITY TOWN CENTER
SARASOTA
You won’t find better shopping anywhere than at the “UTC” (aka University Town Center region) off I-75 and University Parkway in East Sarasota. The hub comprises a 900,000 square foot, 2-level, enclosed shopping mall, featuring world-class shopping that includes Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Free People, Lily Pulitzer, Lululemon, Hollister, Anthropologie, and more than 150 retailers. Top dining options include The Cheesecake Factory, Season’s 52, The Capital Grille, Brio Tuscan Grille and others. If this is not enough, the UTC continues to expand north across University with The Shoppes @ UTC and The District @ UTC, two additional open-air shopping centers. At Christmas, the UTC transforms into an amazing Winter Wonderland, the best light display in Sarasota.
VENICE ISLAND
VENICE
Venice Island, separated from Mainland Venice by the Intracoastal Waterway, remains one of a handful of small Florida coastal towns. No other town around Sarasota compares. It’s a fully functioning town laid out on a grid with a Main Street and a short stroll along a tree-lined meandering sidewalk to the iconic Venice Beach Pavilion and Gulf of Mexico. At the south end of the Island, check out the Venice Pier, hunt shark’s teeth, check out boats coming and going at the Venice Jetties, and enjoy the Island’s amazing arts in a real walkable town in what Coastal Living has named one of the top 10 Happiest Seaside Towns. You won’t be disappointed.
MORE TO EXPLORE
BEACHES
BEST OF SARASOTA
7 DAYS TRIP
THINGS TO DO
WATER FUN
CASUAL DINING
EVENTS & FESTIVALS
LIFESTYLE GEAR
TIKI BARS
ROAD TRIPS
FESTIVALS
PLACES TO SEE
14 local beaches you must experience
Sarasota Lifestyle’s Mike Payne shares top picks
Experience the “best of” the Sarasota area
All ages will love this “to-do” list
Sarasota’s best water fun hotspots
Best casual dining around Sarasota
You’ll bookmark this growing events calendar
Secret to good beach vibes in frozen tundra
8 local bucket list tiki “bars”
BEST one-tank Florida road trips
You MUST experience these festivals
Discover Sarasota’s off-the-beaten path
MORE TO EXPLORE
BEACHES
BEST OF SARASOTA
7 DAYS TRIP
THINGS TO DO
WATER FUN
CASUAL DINING
EVENTS & FESTIVALS
LIFESTYLE GEAR
TIKI BARS
ROAD TRIPS
FESTIVALS
PLACES TO SEE
14 local beaches you must experience
Sarasota Lifestyle’s Mike Payne shares
top picks
Experience the “best of” the Sarasota area
All ages will love this “to-do” list
Sarasota’s best water fun hotspots
Best casual dining around Sarasota
You’ll bookmark this growing events
calendar
Secret to good beach vibes in frozen
tundra
8 local bucket list tiki “bars”
BEST one-tank Florida road trips
You MUST experience these festivals
Discover Sarasota’s off-the-beaten path
MORE TO EXPLORE
BEACHES
BEST OF SARASOTA
7 DAYS TRIP
THINGS TO DO
WATER FUN
CASUAL DINING
EVENTS & FESTIVALS
LIFESTYLE GEAR
TIKI BARS
ROAD TRIPS
FESTIVALS
PLACES TO SEE
14 local beaches you must
experience
Sarasota Lifestyle’s Mike Payne
shares top picks
Experience the “best of” the
Sarasota area
All ages will love this “to-do”
list
Sarasota’s best water fun
hotspots
Best casual dining around
Sarasota
You’ll bookmark this growing
events calendar
Secret to good beach vibes in
frozen tundra
8 local bucket list tiki “bars”
BEST one-tank Florida road
trips
You MUST experience these
festivals
Discover Sarasota’s off-the-
beaten path
Sarasota US
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