Top 10 Things to Do in Sarasota
I grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and although I no longer live there, I often go back to visit. Having been both a resident and a tourist, I’ve learned that Sarasota isn’t your typical Florida beach town. What makes it different? For one thing, it’s not all about the beach. Don’t get me wrong—the beaches are beautiful and ranked among the world’s best. But Sarasota also offers plenty of other fun activities for visitors, including museums, gardens, parks, and shopping. If you’re planning a trip to Sarasota, here are my top 10 favorite things to do.
1. Visit The Ringling
In 1924, circus owners John and Mable Ringling built Ca’ d’Zan, a 36,000-square-foot Venetian Gothic mansion overlooking Sarasota Bay. The Ringlings were avid art collectors, and two years after the completion of the home, they added a 21-gallery museum to the property, which was later opened to the public. Today, the museum houses the Ringlings’ original collection as well as the museum’s later-acquired works. The museum campus also features a circus museum, gardens, walking paths, and two restaurants.
I’ve been to the Ringling many times and I always enjoy it. We visited again just last month and saw the circus memorabilia and the 44,000-piece miniature circus model in the Tibbals Learning Center. We also wandered through several galleries of the art museum, had lunch at Muse, an upscale table-service restaurant, and admired the view of the bay from the terrace of Ca’ d’Zan.
Several options are available to see inside Ca’ d’Zan. You can take a self-guided tour of the first floor, a 40-minute docent-led tour of the first and second floors, or a 45-minute guided tour that includes the mansion’s Belvedere Tower. If you don’t think you’ll have time for a tour, you can view the outside of the home with your standard museum admission ticket.
2. Kayak the Mangrove Tunnels
John Ringling had an enormous impact on the fledgling town he chose for his winter home, including purchasing and naming Lido Key in the 1920s, the location of my next top 10 thing to do in Sarasota. Lido Key is a barrier island west of downtown Sarasota, accessible via the John Ringling Causeway. At the south end of the island, you’ll find an estuary with mangrove forests called Ted Sperling Park.
Mangroves are small trees that grow along the coastline, creating a network of roots above and below the water. The resulting mangrove forest is a rich habitat for fish and wildlife. At Ted Sperling Park, you can get an up-close view of this ecosystem by kayak or paddleboard, either by taking a guided tour or by renting equipment. We opted for kayak rentals a few years ago and had a great time exploring the dense maze of vegetation and paddling through nearby lagoons where we saw half a dozen manatees swimming peacefully below the surface.
3. Dine at St. Armands Circle
Just over the bridge from Lido Key is St. Armands Circle, an elegant boulevard ringed with boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants. I love to eat at the Columbia Restaurant, which offers Spanish and Cuban cuisine. The original Columbia Restaurant opened in 1905 in Tampa’s Ybor City and has the distinction of being Florida’s oldest restaurant.
While the Sarasota Columbia’s history isn’t as storied, its ambiance can’t be beat. It has a beautiful Mediterranean-style dining room with sliding floor-to-ceiling windows, giving the entire restaurant the feel of a sidewalk cafe. As for food, no matter what else I order, I always get the 1905 salad (an iceberg salad with ham, green olives, and a garlicky dressing) and a glass of sangria.
Other notable restaurants near the Circle are Blue Kouzina, a Greek restaurant specializing in whole baked fish; Café L’Europe, Sarasota’s longtime bastion of fine dining; and Shore, a casual restaurant with a sleek upstairs patio.
4. Relax at Siesta Beach
Sarasota has several beaches to choose from, but the premier beach—the one that wins awards and has spoiled me for every other beach in the world—is Siesta Beach. The thing that makes Siesta Beach so special is its wide expanse of fine quartz sand that feels soft and cool on your feet.
Undoubtedly, you’ll want to see Siesta Beach during your Sarasota visit. But so does everyone else. That means dealing with crowds. My advice is to either stay in a condo on Siesta Key or arrive early in the morning to find parking. Otherwise, you’ll need to drive around until a parking spot opens up.
Once you’ve scored parking, trek across the sweeping shoreline to the water, plant your multi-colored beach umbrella in the sand, and stretch out on your blanket alongside hundreds of your beach-going friends. When you’re tired of relaxing beneath the bright blue sky and fair winds of the Gulf of Mexico, head over to nearby Siesta Key Village for a low-key lunch or dinner.
5. Hike Myakka River State Park
Although relaxing at the beach is always nice, it’s good to get some exercise on vacation too. Sarasota’s Myakka River State Park is a great place for a hike. I don’t recommend hiking Myakka in the middle of July, but a pleasant day in October, December or March is perfect for it.
Myakka River State Park is one of the largest and oldest state parks in Florida and has almost 39 miles of loop trails. If you have small kids, the short .8-mile William Boylston Nature Trail and Canopy Walk is a good option. You can explore an oak and palm hammock and climb 100 stairs to cross a suspension walkway to an observation tower. At the top, you’ll get a birds-eye view of wetlands and a prairie.
Bike, canoe and kayak rentals are also available at the park, or you can take an hour-long flat-bottomed boat tour on Upper Myakka Lake, where you might see an alligator.
6. See the Flora at Selby Gardens
Another of my favorite things to do in Sarasota is to visit Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a lush 15-acre bayfront botanical garden filled with tropical plants and banyan trees. You can see bromeliads and orchids in the conservatory, walk through a bamboo garden, and spend time at a tidal lagoon. If you’re a member of your local botanical garden, check your membership privileges for free admission. Selby Gardens participates in the American Horticultural Society’s Reciprocal Membership Program.
7. Learn about the Fauna at Sarasota Jungle Gardens
If you’re interested in seeing both animals and plants, consider visiting Sarasota Jungle Gardens, which offers animal exhibits and shows in its 10-acre gardens. For more than 40 years, a cockatoo named Frosty would ride a unicycle across a high wire during the park’s Jungle Bird show. Although Frosty retired a few years ago, you can still catch tropical birds performing tricks such as roller-skating and riding a scooter. You can also feed the flamingos that roam freely around the property and learn about animals such as snakes, hawks and owls during the wildlife and reptile encounters.
8. Stroll at Bayfront Park
In the heart of downtown Sarasota is scenic Bayfront Park. Bayfront Park is perfectly situated for a great view, with the bay on one side, the marina on the other, and the Sarasota skyline behind it. For kids, there’s a Children’s Fountain and a playground with bathrooms and changing facilities. For adults, there are paved paths and two worthwhile stops for cocktails and live music, O’Leary’s Tiki Bar and the nearby Marina Jack. You’ll also find several dining or sightseeing cruises at the marina, including tours aboard the Marina Jack II and LeBarge.
9. Shop on Venice Avenue
Another fun thing to do while you’re in Sarasota is to spend time on Venice Avenue, the historic main street of the city of Venice. Through the years, Venice has been dedicated to improving its quaint downtown, with the addition of fountains, murals, and decorative streetlamps. It’s also committed to preserving the area’s Venetian-style architecture, which makes Venice Avenue a lovely place to spend a few hours doing some shopping.
My favorite shops on Venice Avenue are Sirene Coastal Interiors, Captain’s Landing Fine Men’s Fashion and Accessories, and Sea Pleasures and Treasures. At Sirene Coastal Interiors, you’ll find women’s clothing, jewelry, and home goods with nautical and natural themes, while Captain’s Landing specializes in upscale resort wear for men. I can never resist buying a shell or two at Sea Pleasures and Treasures, a large souvenir store that has been a staple of Venice for as long as I can remember.
If you need a drink or a snack while you’re there, stop in at Ciao Gelato, where they have more than 30 flavors of artisan gelato and sorbet made fresh daily, or the Venice Wine & Coffee Company, which has a wine and coffee bar with indoor and outdoor seating, as well as gourmet gift baskets for sale.
10. Boat a Sarasota Waterway
I think my parents will be surprised to see this on my list of top 10 things to do in Sarasota because boating was not one of my favorite activities as a kid. I thought it was hot and boring, and people always seemed to be yelling about something—grab that rope, tie that bumper, throw that anchor, starboard-this, port-that, blah, blah, blah.
But now that I’m older, I have more of an appreciation for being on the water. Sarasota is a great place to boat because it offers several different experiences, from the calm waters of the Intracoastal Waterway and Big and Little Sarasota bays to the wide-open expanse of the Gulf of Mexico. If you’re interested in captaining your own vessel, full- and half-day boat rentals are available from CB’s Saltwater Outfitters or Siesta Key Marina.
You can also find numerous fishing charters out of Sarasota, Nokomis or Venice. We reserved a charter through FishingBooker.com two summers ago and had a blast catching almost five dozen Key West and red snapper less than 10 miles offshore.
Most of my top 10 favorite things to do when visiting Sarasota aren’t new or off-the-beaten path. In fact, some have been attracting visitors since before my family moved to Sarasota almost 70 years ago. But there’s a reason these activities rose to the top. Take it from a former resident and frequent visitor, these are the typical activities that make Sarasota a not-so-typical beach town.
Special thanks to my family for helping me locate various pictures used in this post from the past 15 years of visits!
