SARASOTA, Fla. —
For many locals in Tampa Bay, Sarasota is a hidden gem because it’s home to the best things about Florida, and not yet commercialized or made mainstream by tourists like St. Pete or Clearwater.
After the New York Times sent a travel reporter who grew up in Florida to Sarasota for the weekend, they seemed to think the same.
“Often overlooked in favor of Tampa to the north and Maimi to the south, Sarasota, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, is a laid-back city that seems content to keep its white-sand beaches out of the spotlight,” Valeriya Safronova wrote in the article for the publication's "36 Hours" series.
The area’s nature – its beaches and state parks – took center stage as the review recommends a walk through the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a stay in a luxury tent at Timberline Glamping Co., kayaking in Sarasota Bay and bar crawls in Siesta Key Village.
Besides the coastal atmosphere that finds its way into all attractions, the report highlights the other icon of Sarasota: The Ringling and its museums.
The complex itself has a whole day’s worth of experiences. There’s a Museum of Art and Circus Museum with artifacts from the Ringlings’ prime in the early 1900s. John and Mable Ringling’s 36,000 square-foot winter mansion at the Ca’ d’Zan gives visitors a glimpse into their opulent 1920s lifestyle. Mable Ringling’s rose garden, completed in 1913, is one part of the property’s Bayfront Gardens.
During Safronova’s 36 hours in the city, she only got to visit the Circus Museum. As locals, perhaps we’re lucky we don’t have to try to fit the whole Ringling estate into one visit, because we can save the parts we don’t get to for the next day trip to Sarasota.
There’s more to Sarasota’s history than the Ringling. The black community in Newtown helped bring the city to where it is today, and historical records have been preserved at Newtown Alive to share that story.
You can take a ride through the Newtown neighborhood on your way into the city or beaches from the north.
If you keep heading south past downtown Sarasota, Siesta Key Village awaits a community of beachgoers, soaking in the sand all day long before heading to the restaurants and bars that transform the streets into a buzzing nightlife scene.
Health, wellness and being outdoors were common themes throughout Safronova’s 36 hours. She visited rooftop bars, tasted uniquely Floridian flavors at the Meliora restaurant, strolled through the Lakewood Ranch Farmer’s Market and noted all the wildlife she spotted while kayaking through mangroves in Lido Key.
Not only is tourism in Sarasota growing, but so is the number of people moving there. PODS, a moving company that offers services nationwide, reported Sarasota had the second-highest number of move-ins in 2023.
The reason why could be quality of life. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Sarasota as the fifth-best city in the country to live in. It was the highest ranking for any Florida city.
