Clearwater:
Hotels/resorts
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Condos
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Car
rentals | Cruises
St. Petersburg:
Hotels/resorts
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Condos
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Car
rentals | Cruises
Clearwater/St. Pete: Culture and the beach
Cosmopolitan cities, beach-blanketed
islands and sunshine you can bank on: the St.
Petersburg/Clearwater area has all that and more.
 Big-city
St. Petersburg boasts a waterfront
downtown scene that pulses with energy. Center of attention, The
Pier takes the futuristic shape of an upside down pyramid with a
glass elevator to transport you from its ground-level
fishermen’s catwalks, boutiques and food court up to
restaurants, a marine aquarium attraction, and a five-story view
of Tampa Bay.
At the approach to The Pier sit two of St. Petersburg’s superlative museums: the St. Petersburg
Museum of History and Museum of Fine Arts. Other fascinating
museums include the Salvador Dali Museum, Florida International
Museum, Florida Holocaust Museum and Heritage Village.
Downtown boasts the domed Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay
Devil Rays, and BayWalk, an entertainment-shopping complex.
Hotels in the downtown area range from Victorian B&Bs to the
grand and historic Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club;
restaurants, from an outdoors purveyor of smoked fish and a
favorite breakfast joint marked by a giant chicken to houses of
haute fusion. Visit St. Petersburg’s charming waterfront
communities – Safety Harbor and
Gulfport – for more fun dining and shopping.
In its outreaches, St. Petersburg spreads an impressive blanket
of green for outdoor enthusiasts. Two of its most outstanding
recreational features include the 2.6-mile Friendship
TrailBridge, the nation’s longest over-the-water recreation
trail, and Weedon Island Preserve, home to the Native American
Cultural & Natural History Center.
 For the ultimate in nature and recreation, head to the islands
that make St. Petersburg and Clearwater famous. This string of
island pearls begins in the south with a couple of unhooked
islands: aptly named Shell Island and
Egmont Key, home to a wildlife refuge, a historic
lighthouse and fort ruins. Its sister fort went up across the
pass at today’s Fort DeSoto Park, occupying a handful of islands
popular with shellers, cyclists and campers.
The history timeline takes up again on
St. Pete Beach,
home to The Don CeSar Beach Resort, playground of 1920s
glitterati such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Al Capone. The pink
palace landmark welcomes travelers to the long island with its
family-friendly beaches and hotels. Beach accesses are
conveniently located and the action is always lively with
watersports rentals and charters. Here is where to catch a boat
to the un-bridged islands for a day of snorkeling and beach
picnicking.
Next on the island roll call, Treasure Island
is comparatively quiet and even more suited to family budgets.
John’s Pass separates Treasure Island from
Madeira Beach
and it’s here you’ll find the greatest concentration of fishing
and boating charters. On the Madeira Beach side, assembles the
salty shopping and dining district of John’s Pass Village &
Boardwalk. It’s a good place to hoist a beer and swap fish tales
or enjoy the fruits of John’s Pass’ reputation for grouper
catches. Clock in during October for the annual John’s Pass Seafood Festival.
 Communities in various degrees of casual and wealth string along
north of Madeira Beach, with beach accesses, a fishing pier,
miniature golf, hotels intimate to grand, and seafood houses to
welcome visitors. The island ends at Sand Key Park, consistently
named among the nation’s best for its green spaces and
extra-wide powdery sands.
From there a bridge takes you to
Clearwater Beach,
headquarters for beach volleyball competition and site of the
nightly upbeat sunset celebration on Pier 60 with entertainers
and crafts vendors.
Clearwater, across the causeway, hosts the
largest free-admission jazz festival in the Southeast every
October. The 47-mile Pinellas Trail, which begins in St.
Petersburg, gives cyclists an opportunity to two-wheel through
town, all the way through Dunedin and into Tarpon Springs. The
Scottish town of Dunedin is known for its
antiquing and twin island state parks of Honeymoon and Caladesi,
both beacher havens.
Tarpon Springs claims the highest percentage of
Greek residents in the U.S. Along Dodecanese Boulevard, sample
authentic baklava, visit the sponge docks, take a cultural boat
tour, and shop for sponges and real feta cheese. |
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