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Whatever your choice...there's a
lifestyle
for you.
A beautiful
bay awaits where dolphins play and swaying palm trees line quiet
streets lead to many options: live theater, world-class shopping and
dining, and the
world-famous white sandy beaches of sun-drenched islands that stretch along the
beautiful azure waters of the
Gulf of Mexico.
Sarasota is a
European-style city where you can walk around, take in the water views, visit
interesting boutiques and galleries, see a show or play, chat over a cup of
Espresso, sail around the bay, or stroll through your favorite park.
There's far more to
Sarasota than white sandy
beaches.
Stroll through an art museum where the
architecture is as much as art form as the masterpieces within. Gaze upon
rare exotic orchids. Find the perfect gift in one of the most renowned
shopping areas in the world. Paddle through lush tropical forests.
Listen to a full orchestra ensemble. Make a tee time, or if you prefer,
make time for tea. No matter what your distraction from the beach, the
Sarasota area has a multitude of
activities.
FLORIDA'S
"CULTURAL
COAST"
With its professional theaters, symphonies, ballet and opera, Sarasota County is
known as Florida's "Cultural Coast." We're home to more than 30 art galleries,
artist communities, the
Ringling Museum of Art
and the
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.
The arts community here surpasses that found in counties five or six times the
size of Sarasota.
OUT
AND ABOUT
You'll be amazed at the diversity of natural beauty you'll discover
canoeing or kayaking South Lido Park's watery trail through a tunnel
of mangroves, or examining marine life on a bay cruise. View
bromeliads growing in the wild along the new Canopy Walk at
Myakka River
State Park
and picnic by a lazy creek at Oscar Scherer State
Park. Make it a day to stretch yourself with windsurfing lessons,
parasailing, or fishing for the big ones. There are plenty of great
courts serving up
tennis
and don't miss the opportunity for an
autograph when Major League Baseball begins spring training.
DAYS
ON THE GREENS
Every Sarasota day is a golfer's dream with more than 30
golf
courses
sprinkled throughout the county, challenging all levels of play and
budgets. Of the Top 20 Southwest regional courses voted by the
readers of Florida Golf News, nine are in the Sarasota area;
four local courses are in the top 100 places to play in the whole
state. Always looking to improve your game? Top instructors can show
you how to trim a slice and get to the green in two. So grab your
clubs and make the most difficult decision of the day — which
fairway to play.
BOATING
With 17,000
pleasure boats -- sailboats to speedboats
-- registered in Sarasota County, boaters discover an aquatic bliss
on area waterways. Public boat ramps are located all through
the county, often
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serving as the
launching spot for boat parades and sail boarding. The annual Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix Festival attracts thousands of
speedboat racing enthusiasts to the area each July.
FISHING SARASOTA
Sarasota is home to some of the best
fishing
-- game or otherwise --
in the state of Florida. Snook, redfish, kingfish, trout,
amberjack, mahi-mahi, and grouper can be found lurking in the
backcountry mangroves. Past the sandbars, big-game tarpons
cruise the deep waters of the ocean. Anglers can find a bounty
of fish whether they drop their lines from a dock, boat, bridge,
jetty, beach, or public pier. Snook, Florida's official game
fish, is the most sought-after catch in the state.
EVEN MORE
TO
EXPLORE
Number One Family Beach. Kids of all ages love getting up close and personal with sea
critters at Mote Aquarium or the flocks of shrimp-pink flamingos and
entertaining reptile and bird shows at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.
Be "wowed" by the interactive science exhibits at G.WIZ.
Relive local history at Historic Spanish Point with its
4,000-year-old ancient Indian settlement. Or lose yourself in the
world-class Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a wonderland of tropical
plants and over 6,000 orchids.
SAVOR
THE FLAVORS
Sarasota is known for its
restaurants
and their extensive menus of flavors are
sure to satisfy. Rub elbows with locals while downing cold brews and munching
big juicy burgers in the '50s feel of open-air diners. Amish restaurants serve
heaping portions of comfort food, and French bakeries tempt with delicate
pastries. Elegant dining is always in vogue, and the region overflows in award
winners famous in gourmet circles. Seafood reigns supreme and there's no better
taste in the world than Sarasota's delicacy -- Florida stone crab claws plunged
into dipping sauces.
THE ART OF
SHOPPING
Explore the uniqueness of St. Armands Circle with its collection of upscale
shops
and specialty stores. Downtown Sarasota offers small-town Americana on
Main Street, while the art galleries on Palm Avenue remind you of New York and
L.A. Turn the corner onto Pineapple Avenue and you'll find fine antiques to true
1950s Florida kitsch. A little further south into Venice and you'll be standing
among shops that look out onto one of the best-planned downtowns in America. If
you like your shopping action packed, enjoy the variety of several indoor malls
or the bargain bonanzas at the nearby outlet mall.
THE WEATHER
With an average annual temperature of 74 degrees,
Sarasota has near perfect weather all year long. The
temperature of the gulf water ranges from 60 degrees in the
winter months to the low 90's at, its warmest, in the summer.
Florida Weather Links
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