A tidy museum dedicated to how Florida's coast has defined its past and will shape the future, including a shell collection from the Gulf of Mexico, an exhibit on Native Americans and their dugout canoes, and fishing tools like navigational equipment and wooden duck decoys. On the second Saturday of each month, performers play 'Music on the Porch' from 2pm to 4pm.
Florida Maritime Museum
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
28.78 MILES
Where W Venice Ave dead-ends you'll find a covered beach pavilion with restrooms and a snack bar. Further south beyond the pier is Casperson Beach.
9.52 MILES
The 66-acre winter estate of railroad, real-estate and circus baron John Ringling and his wife, Mable, is one of the Gulf Coast’s premier attractions and…
20.76 MILES
The theatrical exterior of the Salvador Dalí Museum speaks of great things: out of a wound in the towering white shoe box oozes a 75ft geodesic glass…
10.61 MILES
With 1136 acres of unspoiled wilderness, Fort DeSoto is one of Florida’s premier beach parks. It includes 7 miles of beaches (including a dog beach), two…
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3.92 MILES
The perfect antidote to party-loving Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island appears beached in a 1950s time warp, with sun-faded clapboard houses, teenagers…
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26.55 MILES
Like a patchwork quilt of variegated greens tossed out over Tampa Bay, this 3700-acre preserve protects a diverse aquatic and wetland ecosystem. At the…
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15.91 MILES
The epic sliver of sand that is Pass-a-Grille Beach is the most idyllic barrier-island beach, backed only by beach houses and a long stretch of metered…
28.29 MILES
Florida's oldest resident – the 200-million-year-old American alligator – is the star of this 39,000-acre wildlife preserve. Between 500 and 1000…
Nearby attractions
3.92 MILES
The perfect antidote to party-loving Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island appears beached in a 1950s time warp, with sun-faded clapboard houses, teenagers…
4.23 MILES
Once a quiet fishing village, the 12 long miles of Longboat Key are now lined with upscale resorts and condos. A few teeny-tiny public parking lots don't…
5.39 MILES
Headed up by former Florida governor Lawton Chiles' son Ed, the restoration of Anna Maria's 'historic boutique business district' has the island abuzz…
9.52 MILES
The 66-acre winter estate of railroad, real-estate and circus baron John Ringling and his wife, Mable, is one of the Gulf Coast’s premier attractions and…
9.77 MILES
Union troops were stationed on uninhabited Egmont Key during the Civil War, and you can visit Egmont’s ruined Fort Dade by ferry from Fort DeSoto Park…
10.61 MILES
With 1136 acres of unspoiled wilderness, Fort DeSoto is one of Florida’s premier beach parks. It includes 7 miles of beaches (including a dog beach), two…
7. Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy
11.23 MILES
Dedicated to all things whimsical, this bright pink museum and its adjacent outdoor sculpture garden do not fail to inspire. Although exhibits rotate…
11.25 MILES
The Mote bills itself as a research facility and aquarium, and has a large department dedicated to the study of sharks. Exhibits include a preserved giant…