Sarasota

Sarasota is a popular city on the Gulf Coast of Southwest Florida. It is known for its vibrant arts community, excellent restaurants, unique shopping, and beautiful beaches. Sarasota, although a mid-sized city, is considered to be the cultural center of West Central Florida. The city has a metropolitan flavor unique to cities of its size and to cities in Florida.

Understand
The Asolo Theater, Florida West Coast Symphony, Sarasota Opera, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, and frequent art shows add to the cultural theme of the city, rivaling the facilities of Florida's largest cities. Sarasota is also home to the Ringling Museum of Art, the Selby Botanical Gardens, New College (Florida's public honors college), a USF branch, and the Ringling School of Art and Design.

Sarasota's downtown cityscape features office buildings and several upscale downtown condominiums. It is complemented by Saint Armands Circle, on Saint Armands Key, which is surrounded by Lido Key, across Sarasota Bay from downtown via the Ringling Causeway (with sweeping views of Sarasota Bay.) Saint Armands Circle is an upscale outdoor shopping area, with several cafes, reminiscent of Europe. The idea for Saint Armands was from John Ringling who also intended to build a Ritz hotel on Longboat Key. Today, Sarasota has a Ritz hotel downtown, and the Longboat Key Club on Ringling's original site. The Longboat Key Club includes two golf courses, tennis, and all other resort facilities and is located just north of Saint Armands on Longboat Key.

The fine white-sand beaches are a major draw to the area. Siesta Key Beach is consistently ranked among the most beautiful beaches on Earth. (Siesta Key was also the site chosen for the marriage of Chrissy and Brian, of Home Today fame.) Crescent Beach, Turtle Beach, Lido Beach, and the beach running the 15-mile (25-km) span of Longboat Key are equally beautiful and accessible. Indeed, much of Sarasota's charm comes from the fact that the beaches are so plentiful and accessible.

By car

 * Sarasota has one primary expressway, Interstate 75, which runs north to south.
 * The major roads in Sarasota include the Tamiami Trail (which is the name given to US 41 between Tampa and Miami), US Route 301, Beneva Rd., Tuttle Ave/Swift Rd., Honore Avenue and Cattlemen Rd., all running north-to-south, and Clark Rd., Proctor Rd., Bee Ridge Rd., Fruitville Rd. and University Pkwy., all running east-to-west.

Get around
The city includes the mainland downtown as well as three islands, called "keys." These are Longboat Key, Lido Key, and Siesta Key. Causeways to all these keys are free and very picturesque. Downtown Sarasota is very vibrant with a healthy mix of businesses, residences, restaurants, and city services.

Do

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Buy
Main Street in downtown also has several shops.
 * Historic Palm Avenue. Downtown Sarasota's "Best Walk in Town" one block from Sarasota's Bayfront, between the Ritz Carlton and Selby Gardens. Stroll the Galleries, Restaurants, Antique and Specialty Shops. "Palm Avenue's First Friday Art Walks" are held the first Friday of every month from 6PM-9PM. Enjoy gallery openings, live performances and hors d'oeuvres as Palm Avenue Merchants serenade the Avenue and its guests.
 * St. Armands Circle. Removed from the intensity of downtown Sarasota, St. Armands Circle has a great selection of original shops, galleries and restaurants. It is designed in a charming circular pattern that makes for a breathtaking shopping or afternoon strolling or evening dining experience. Take Tamiami Trail (US 41) to SR 780 W to St. Armands Key, travel over the Ringling Causeway and Sarasota Bay and you will run right into lovely St. Armands Circle.

Stay safe
Sarasota is a rather safe city, although regular precautions should be taken just to be safe. The only real place a tourist should avoid is Newtown. Located right near downtown, Newtown is rather small and is normally fine to drive through during the day. However vigilance is required if traveling through Newtown at night.

There is a nice downtown park at the Five Points intersection of Main Street,Pineapple and Central Avenues. Some homeless people congregate there but there is a city ordinance against panhandling and sleeping outdoors.

The northern end of Tamiami Trail near University Parkway is also known for run-down motels and some prostitution arrests. However there are also college campuses nearby and several coffee shops and a comedy club so people do safely walk around the area.

Go next

 * Myakka River State Park – 9 miles (14 km) east of Sarasota on SR 72. One of the oldest and largest state parks, Myakka protects one of the state's most diverse natural areas. The Myakka River, designated as a Florida Wild and Scenic River, flows through 58 square miles (150 square kilometers) of wetlands, prairies, hammocks, and pinelands. Visitors can enjoy wildlife viewing from a boardwalk that stretches out over the Upper Myakka Lake, then take to the treetops with a stroll along the canopy walkway. The park's river and two lakes provide ample opportunities for boating, freshwater fishing, canoeing, and kayaking; a boat ramp provides access to Upper Myakka Lake. Hikers can explore trails that cross large expanses of rare Florida dry prairie. Scenic lake tours are offered daily on the world's two largest airboats. Safari tram tours of the park's backcountry are offered from mid-December through May.
 * Tampa and St. Petersburg are an easy drive North via I-75 and the Sunshine Skyway. Professional Football, baseball, NHL, and most other sports venues can be found there.  Tampa also has more shopping at International Plaza and Westshore malls.  Ybor City and the University of South Florida are also in Tampa, as is a Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and Busch Gardens.
 * Disney World