Also known as the Sunshine State, because there is sun most of the time all year round. Having visited many of Florida during my University exchange program, here’s a quick tour of the most essential towns and secondary cities where I suggest you to go.

TOP CITIES IN FLORIDA

MIAMI

For its beach, nightlife and art deco style. Visit our page to get all our tips for visiting Miami. 

THE EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK

I have not visited, unfortunately, but this must be on your TO DO list in Florida too.

THE KEYS

The Keys are a chain of islands in Florida. There is a route through the islands with bridges of several kilometers above the ocean. It takes about 4 hours to get to Key West, the last and most famous of the Keys islands. This is not necessarily worth it. There is a very uninteresting and a beautiful beach there. We have had no time to see the city itself. We also visited Key Largo and Islamorada, which have great beaches and clear water.

Local specialties are the Keys Key Lime Pie (a delicious lemon tart ) and ConhSoup (spicy soup with seafood).

ORLANDO

Do not miss the parks with roller coasters and the largest shopping mall in Orlando. Visit our page for more information about Orlando.

CAPE CANAVERAL AND KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

Try to go there when there is a shuttle taking off ! It is here that the first rockets and shuttles were launched, including the shuttle Apollo XI which brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin take the first steps of man on the moon. You must spend at least one whole day at the Kennedy Space center !

• A bus will show you the house where are built spacial shuttles and rockets, the “Vehicle Assembly building”, the sky ramps that you can see by far at the top of the observatory. At the second stop, you can see a real space shuttle, Saturn V, which is set in a huge building that also houses the Moon Rock Cafe where you can eat a burger (there is few choice).
• You can watch a film that traces the race between Russians and Americans to conquer space.
• There is also a reconstruction of the control center in 1968 , where we are seeing the launch of a rocket as if you were there, in this case the one of the Apollo VIII mission.
• There is also a short film about the last moments of Apollo VI before entering the legend and its landing on July 21, 1969 .
• The last stop of the tour takes you to discover an exhibition of the International Space Station, which allows you to get an idea of living in space.
• You can then experience a rocket launch in a simulator. The introduction is quite nice .
• Do not miss the film in IMAX 3D of 40 minutes about life on the International Space Shuttle, which is absolutely worth it!

OTHER interesting CITIES OF FLORIDA

PENSACOLA

One of the oldest cities in the United States, on the border with Louisiana, Pensacola will immerse you in the colonial era of the United States with its beautiful colonial buildings. Visit this page to get our best tips for visiting Pensacola. 

SAINT AUGUSTINE

St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. This is a very cute town worth to be seen , although it is very touristy. All colonial buildings have been restored and now house small shops. You can also go around the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest fort in the United States, whose walls are made ??from compressed  coquina shells !

CLEARWATER

Clearwater is described in guidebooks as one of the most beautiful beaches in the United States and named after its turquoie water and white sand. One of the most famous beaches is Honeymoon Island  which is absolutely beautiful. It is also the city that holds the world record for the highest number of sunny days per year. No luck, we came on the only rainy day, and in these cases, there is absolutely nothing to do in Clearwater. You can take a short cruise to see dolphins. They give you tickets for a second round if you don’t see them. We did not see the first time and the second time we barely saw some dolphins.

We visited “one of the largest science museums in the southern United States where you can spend a whole day without getting bored” ( see The Lonely Planet ) but honestly, it was pretty bad.

TAMPA

The city is famous for its ice hockey team : the Tampa Bay Lightnings , so this is an opportunity to go see a game, especially as it is a very impressive sport.

Also spend a day at Busch Gardens, a quite original park since the roller coasters are installed in a kind of giant zoo, where you can admire more than 3000 animals : elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, rhinos, zebras, monkeys, flamingos, alligators, lots of other animals that I do not even know the name and full of birds ! You will remember the Sheikra, a roller coaster that goes very high (so you get a nice view of the city) and down with a slope of 90 ° ! There are many thrill rides, some with water when you come out literally soaked. There is also a safari where you embark on a car with a driver and you can see animals in the wild in their space “natural”. The natural scenery was also beautiful !

SARASOTA

Have a rest on Siesta Key, the most beautiful beach in Sarasota! White sand, delicious water, beautiful sunset and many birds.

Visit the port of Sarasota, which is reminiscent of St. Tropez. Then, just as “Southern France”, go to the city center where we came upon a nice market with fruit, cookies, soaps and plenty of other handicrafts. We were fortunate to get there the day of a costume contest for dogs!

PALM BEACH

Palm Beach is the richest city of the United States . We went through the Worth Avenue, where there are more than 200 antique shops , art galleries and overpriced boutiques and galleries. The city’s name comes from the many palm trees you will find everywhere. The points of interest are the Society of the Four Arts and its beautiful chinese garden, the Royal Poinciana Chapel , the Flagler Museum, the oldest building in Palm Beach, City Hall and the memorial park.

FORT LAUDERDALE

You will find there the Swap Shop, known as the largest flea market in Florida .

HOLLYWOOD

Hollywood (founded by a Californian) is a favorite of French Canadians for winter destination, and sure enough, we heard the famous French Quebecois accent on the beach …