The warm climate and numerous attractions attract vacationers from the USA and around the world to the Sunshine State of Florida. The southeasternmost state of the USA is one of the largest states in the USA, both in terms of area and population. Part of the state is located on a headland jutting out into the sea, which offers visitors a wide variety of beaches and water sports.
In Florida, you are never more than 100 kilometers from the ocean. The state offers something for every visitor, if only through the cultural influences of numerous immigrants. Countless small and large cities attract tourists with their sights and museums. But many are also drawn to the beauties of nature – for example in the Everglades and the Florida Keys.
Miami – Cuban flair in the USA
Located directly on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, Miami scores with its beaches. The most famous beach is undoubtedly “Miami Beach” with its fine sand that stretches for kilometers. Miami is a melting pot of different cultures, with a particularly large number of inhabitants from South American countries such as Cuba. This is one of the reasons why “Little Havana” is one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions. The “Calle Ocho”, which is actually called SW 8th Street, leads through the middle of the district. Caribbean music wafts from the bars here and there are cigar shops everywhere. The Art Deco district of the city is home to the second most buildings of this style in the world. One of Miami’s landmarks and historic square is the 78-meter-high Freedom Tower, a symbol of Cuban immigration to the United States.
Diverse cities across the state
Florida has a large number of interesting and completely different cities. Jacksonville is the largest city in the state, but the capital is Tallahassee. In the Wakulla Springs Nature Park there is a freshwater spring that is one of the largest of its kind in the world. The famous Tarzan films with film star Johnny Weissmüller were once filmed there.
St. Augustine is the very first city in the USA and has been continuously inhabited ever since. With only 14,000 inhabitants, the small town has a lot to offer with the first, still existing Franciscan monastery outside the European continent and a great cultural diversity. The Spanish architecture is a jewel of the small town.
In Fort Lauderdale , the visitor feels as if he has landed in Venice, because the city is crisscrossed by 450 kilometers of island canals, which are crossed by a good 125 bridges.
If you are looking for real islands, however, you should go to the south of Florida. There are the Florida Keys. They are one of the most popular regions of the state and even the entire United States of America. The traveller reaches and crosses the 200 coral islands on US Highway No. 1, also known as the “Overseas Highway”. From Miami, it leads 290 kilometers to Key West, the westernmost town in the USA. The road crosses 42 impressive bridges. The Seven Mile Bridge with a length of almost 11 kilometers is one of the highlights of the route.
Orlando – the center of amusement parks
Orlando is home to well-known theme parks such as Disney World and Sea World. In the “Discovery Cove” vacationers can swim with manta rays and dolphins. In total, there are a good dozen different theme parks in Orlando, such as the one about the popular Harry Potter films. The film studios of “Universal” also invite you to visit. In Tampa you will find the “Busch Gardens”, a safari park that is home to “SheiKra”, the highest roller coaster in the sunshine state. Here, every adventure seeker can experience a fall from a height of 61 meters vertically into the depths in the bottomless vehicle.
Naples – Gateway to the Everglades
Naples is more tranquil than in the big cities. Many small canals run through the town with the picturesque district at the harbour and can be explored by boat. The sandy beach “Naples Beach” is one of the most beautiful beaches in the state. From here, dolphins can be observed in the sea almost all year round. The city is also the perfect starting point to visit the “Everglades” National Park.
However, it only makes up 20% of the actual area of the Everglades. They are the largest area with a subtropical climate in the USA. Alligators, crocodiles, turtles and countless endangered animal species gather on over 6,000 square kilometers in the world-famous swamp area. There are many points in the national park where you can see manatees, ospreys or the only wild flamingos in the country. Visitors can reach many places worth seeing via wooden walkways. Endless grassy areas and water often dominate the picture. Nevertheless, the flora is very diverse and large, as there are six different zones of vegetation. In addition to mangrove forests, there are also cacti and palm trees.
The museums in the Sunshine State
High up is Cape Canaveral, the world-famous spaceport from which the space shuttles took off for their space missions. Here it is worth visiting the “Kennedy Space Center”. Visitors with a penchant for art should visit the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg. The artist once came here himself for the opening. The Lightner Museum in the small town of St. Augustine exhibits numerous precious antique pieces as well as objects from the glass art of L.C. Tiffany.
