Planning your Florida getaway and want to know all the best things to do in St Pete? We’ve got you covered!

For young Brits in search of winter sun, the 'Sunshine State' of Florida makes perfect sense.

Destinations like Miami and Orlando, with their nightlife, film studios, and mouse-ears, may be the best-known choices for families, but in St Pete, labelled the 'Sunshine City' after a record-breaking streak of 768 days of sunshine, there's a new kid in town.

And it's perfect for avocado-and-sourdough eatin' millennials like us.

For a long time, St Petersburg (to give the city its full name), was known more as a place for the older generation of Americans looking to retire in the sun. The demographic shift was so sustained and ingrained that St Pete picked up another nickname in the States - 'God's Waiting Room'.

Yet, in the last decade or so, things began to change.

Artists set up homes and studios in vacated downtown neighbourhoods, cultural festivals were established, and forward-thinking restaurants, microbreweries, and businesses began to change the reputation. A younger generation of Floridians decided to stay, or move, here and give St Pete a laid-back, colourful, community-led rebrand.

The city became a lot less hip-replacement, and a lot more hipster.

On our little winter road trip on the west coast of Florida, we spent three days exploring in and around St Pete. In this post, we've shared all our favourite things to do in St Pete to help you make the most of your visit in a city where it’s easy to have a lot of fun in the sun.

Take a Tour of the Street Art

Our travels across South America taught us to love and appreciate what street art can do to both transform a city's aesthetics, and engender an international reputation for art. With 500 murals and counting, some on an exceptionally large-scale, have transformed parts of St Pete into a permanent open-air art exhibit.

A large reason for this is the two-week Shine Mural Festival, created by the non-profit St. Petersburg Arts Alliance. Held every October, it brings local and international artists together to lead the way in the colourful makeover of wide-open public spaces and hidden darks corners of St Pete.

However, one doesn’t have to be in town for the festival to enjoy the fruits of its labours.

Plan | Much for the best work is found in the EDGE District, the Warehouse Arts District, and along the Pinellas Trail. You can view a great overview of the street art in St Pete here and plan your own route to discover the works. Alternatively, Florida CraftArt run two popular walking and bicycles mural tours on Saturdays - find out more here.

For an alternative art gallery experience, consider visiting Fairgrounds St Pete, a permanent, immersive art and technology experience showcasing the works of 60 different artists, of all different mediums (including, of course, street art).

You can find Frairgrounds in downtown St Pete, here on Google Maps. Tickets can be bought on arrival however it is encouraged to book ahead online. The exhibit is open Thursday to Sunday, and costs $27 per adult.

Get Your Foodie On

Given that St Pete is surrounded on all sides by water, it should come as little surprise that this is a city that that takes seafood very seriously, with countless ocean side eateries claiming to serve up the country’s best grouper (this area is known as the ‘Grouper Capital of the World’) in hefty US portions.

In many places we have travelled, this would likely mean that us, as two vegetarians, would be left out in the cold. However, we were delighted to discover that downtown St Pete - specifically the central Arts and Edge District - are teeming with all manner of veggie and vegan delights.

From the life-changing tempeh Cuban sandwich at Bodega, the ‘probably the best’ vegan ice cream we’ve ever tasted at Plant Love, and delicious tofu tacos at Red Mesa Cantina (spice addicts simply have to try the super spicy hot sauce), to grilled cheese served in iconic red baskets at Central Melt, soul-soothing bowls of ramen at Ichicoro, and vegan poke bowls at the achingly cool Pacific Counter.

You’re going to want to pack those fat pants!

For foodies short on time, the Eat St Pete food tours are a great way to get to know the local favourites and hidden gems of the city’s burgeoning food scene.

Keep Reading | Discover our favourite hipster foodie hangouts in St Pete in our short guide.

Enjoy the Saturday Market

Speaking of fat pants…

A weekend really is the best time to visit St Pete, as the city’s culture, community, and social events come to the fore under the blue skies. After a Friday night under the floodlights (you’ll find out later), sop up any trace of a hangover with a big brunch and then make your way to the Saturday morning market, the largest of its kind in the southeast US. Taking over several central streets, it brings together all ages who call St Pete home to eat out, buy fresh farm produce, dance to live music, and support local artisans + crafts from typewriter poets to homemade hot sauce families.

Its dog game is also damn strong.

The Details

Cost | Free. But you better believe you’ll want to leave with a bunch of different stuff!

Where | The market is located in the Al Lang Field parking lot on the corner of 1st Street and 1st Avenue S (Google Maps)

When | The main market is open 9 am - 2 pm every Saturday from early October to late May, in tune with the mid-Florida growing season. However, there is a smaller Summer Market in Williams Park from June to August. Find out more details on the Market’s website.

Get Your Culture on at the Dali Museum

We were genuinely surprised that this museum calls the fifth largest city in Florida home, rather than some metropolitan hub up-state.

However, the story behind the creation of the Salvador Dali Museum's is quite wonderful. It starts with Mr. and Mrs. A. Reynolds Morse, a Cleveland couple who first purchased a small Dali piece in 1943. That painting - 'Daddy Longlegs of the Evening ... Hope!' - started an obsession. Over the next three decades, the couple developed a sort of 'opposites attract' friendship with the Spanish artist and his wife, patronising and purchasing many more of his works. Their collection was housed and displayed in their Ohio home first, but they eventually realised it deserved a more suitable, permanent space.

And so began a nationwide beauty content, with an old marine warehouse in St Pete coming out on top At the time, it was heralded as ‘the greatest gift to the City of St. Petersburg since sunshine.’

And that is how the largest collection of Dalí's works outside Spain, including eight out of eighteen of his masterworks, came to be housed by the palm trees of the St Pete waterfront! The permanent exhibition, comprehensively charting Dalí's evolution as an artist with traditional beginnings into his subsequent surrealist masterpieces, is complemented by regular temporary exhibitions.

Personally, we hadn't actually appreciated the meaning, depth, and religious layers of his surrealist art beyond the famous melting clocks and his personal quirks: we left the museum with a completely new perspective on his talent.

The museum was redeveloped in 2011 with a bold, modern hurricane-proof concrete design, which is itself worthy of your attention (particularly the spiral staircase and pillar inside).

The Details

Cost | Entry is $24 for adults, with a small discounts available. Tickets for teenagers aged 13+ and students are $17, whilst tickets for children between 6 and 12 are $10. There are also daily guide-led tours of the exhibition.

Where | Open 10 am - 5.30 pm (Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun), and until 8 pm on Thursdays.

When | One Dali Blvd (Google Maps)

Plan | If you're with your rental car, note that the parking lot here is quite pricey ($10 per vehicle), but there are a few cheaper parking lots within walking distance

Other Museums and Galleries To Consider Visiting in St Pete

The Chihuly Collection

The Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Centre is an incredible, permanent collection of world-renowned artist Dale Chihuly’s unique artwork - he works with glass, creating dreamy and abstract interpretations of sea creatures, submerged landscapes and floating tumbleweeds - all housed within in an impressive space designed by the architect Albert Alfonso.

Full details and how to plan your visit can be found on their official website

Imagine Museum

Whilst we’re on the subject of glass…

The Imagine Museum is one of the first museums in the US focused solely on the contemporary glass art movement.

Full details and how to plan your visit can be found on their official website

The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art

Having opened in April 2018, the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art was created to house the extensive art collection of Tom and Mary James who have been collecting Western and wildlife art for years, amassing more than 3,000 pieces in a wide array of mediums and styles.

Full details and how to plan your visit can be found on their official website

Museum Of The American Arts & Crafts Movement

Founded by local philanthropist and collector Rudy Ciccarello, MAACM is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to the American Arts and Crafts movement (it’s also St Petersburg’s newest museum).

Featuring more than 800 works of art, it showcases the best of the Arts and Crafts Movement from 1890 to 1930. Aside from the that, the building itself is an modern architectural beauty!

Full details how to plan your visit can be found on their official website.

Museum of Fine Arts

Opening way back in 1965, the Museum of Fine Arts was St Pete’s very first museum.

Having amassed a huge collection (5,000 pieces and counting), the highlights include works by Monet, O’Keeffe, De Kooning, Wiley, a sculpture garden, and one of Florida’s most respected photography collections.

Full details and how to plan your visit can be found on their official website.

Dally Down by the Marina

If you come to St Pete and don’t have a pelican encounter, were you ever really in St Pete?

Endangered in the 1980s, the captivatingly unattractive brown pelican is now the official bird of the city and emblazoned on flags, caps, logos, and wheelie bins

It’s no wonder that they act like they own the place - and in no place more so than the local marina.

Although we enjoyed hanging out down in the downtown EDGE and Arts districts most, a walk in the sunshine along the waterfront areas of Bayshore Drive and Beach Drive brings a pleasant, quintessentially Floridian vacation vibe with yachts and weekend-fishing boats, several green spaces.

Note that the ‘St Pete Pier’ was undergoing redevelopment as part of a multi-million dollar regeneration project during our visit. It’s due to be completed later in 2020, so watch this space and adjust your itinerary accordingly.

If you’re keen to stretch your sea legs during your time in St Pete, we can recommend these highly rated tours:

Night Kayak Tour | A 1.5 hour unique glow-in-the-dark-tour of Shell Key! See more info here.

Clear Kayak Tour | Also within Shell Key, this day tour is enjoyed in sea-through kayaks providing a truly unique perspective to your water-based activities! See more here.

Mangrove Kayak Tour | Two hour kayak tour of Weedon Island Preserve, which includes dolphin, birds and manatee spotting - definitely one for the wildlife lovers. Find more info here.

SUP Tour | Another tour into Weedon Island Preserve, but this time on a stand-up paddle board. Find out more here.

Speed Boat Adventure | Experience the thrill of driving a F-13 mini speedboat across the crystal blue waters of Tampa Bay on this sightseeing tour. Find out more here.

Dolphin Spotting | Take a half-day cruise to Shell Key Island, a wildlife preserve where you can snorkel, swim and spot dolphins, manatees, rays, and a variety of seabirds. Find out more here.

Alternatively, if you’re not keen on a group dolphin spotting and snorkelling tour, this 2.5 hour private option has exceptional reviews.

Sunset Cruise | Watch the sun set aboard the elegant Starlite Sapphire yacht, enjoy a slow dance to live music, take a romantic stroll along the deck or opt for an in-board meal - a truly romantic evening. Find out more here.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer a more intimate experience, check out this small-group sunset boat tour.

Stay at the Stunning Don Cesar

Straight out of a Wes Anderson fever dream, this flamingo pink hotel by the beach is an icon of St Pete, and we were very fortunate to stay at the pink palace for three nights during our little west Florida winter road trip.

It. Is. GORGEOUS.

Over the years, presidents, film stars, and gangsters has tucked themselves in at 'The Don', and a decadent Gatsby style with modern touches still defines the experience to be had here. There’s also two pools, a spa, watersports equipment, a couple of restaurants and bars (including fine-dining at the award-winning Maritana), and beach access only a short walk from the entrance.

The Details

Where | Dominating the skyline on 3400 Gulf Blvd, St Pete Beach (Google Maps), which is a 15-minute drive from downtown St Pete.

Plan | Find out more, or make a reservation, see here.

If Airbnbs are more your thing, we’ve out together this post ‘22 Wonderful Airbnbs in St Pete’, which covers condos and houses in the city as well as at one of the several popular beaches within the area.

For the Nature Lovers

Egmont Key National Wildlife Reserve

Besides its crystal clear waters and miles of white sand beaches, this protected 280-acre island is haven for wildlife.

The southern section of the island is a dedicated bird sanctuary, offering a home to nearly 120 species of nesting, migratory and wintering birds (including osprey, brown pelicans, royal and sandwich terns, laughing gulls and black skimmers), making it the ideal place for a bit of bird watching - especially between the months of April and August.

There is also a hefty number (between 1000 and 1500) of gopher tortoises that roam the island, as well as nesting loggerhead sea turtles.

You can find full details on how to access the reserve and plan your visit on their website.

Sunken Gardens

St. Pete’s oldest living museum, the 100-year old Sunken Gardens is home to an impressive collection of more than 50,000 tropical plants and flowers - indeed, some of the oldest in the region.

Visitors can follow a trail through the botanical gardens which also includes waterfalls, a butterfly encounter and even a flock of flamingos! It’s hard to believe that this nature-based escape is in the heart of downtown St Pete.

You can find further details, including opening hours and ticket prices, here.

Pinellas Trail

Stretching 37 miles along a section of abandoned railway, all the way from St Petersburg to Tarpon Springs, The Pinellas Trail (or ‘The Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail’ to give it its proper name) provides a protected green space for walking, jogging, skating and biking.

You can find maps and a full details of the various trails here.

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve

Beginning its life as a zoo, the Boyd Hill Nature Reserve has evolved to become a 245 acre space showcasing a variety of tropical landscapes along the shores of Lake Maggiore.

Features 6 miles of trails and boardwalks (including a section of paved bike path) through several different habitats, including hardwood hammocks, sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, willow marsh, swamp woodlands and lake shore.

All trails are accessible, and there are kayak and canoe rentals available.

You can find full details here.

Fort DeSoto County Park

Located on the southern tip of Tierra Verde (maps), and so named for the late 19th century fort at its centre, the Fort DeSoto Park is a fantastic spot for fishing, kayaking and bike riding.

The largest park within the Pinellas County Park System, it consists of more than a thousand acres across five interconnected islands, each home to beach plants, mangroves, wetlands, palm hammocks, hardwoods and scores of native plants. There’s also 328 different species of birds and loggerhead turtles between April and September.

It’s also possible to camp on one of the Park’s 238 sites, but do note that it’s difficult to get a reservation in high season.

Admission to the park by car is $5, but free if you arrive by bike, foot, or have a handicapped sticker.

And Enjoy St Pete Beach

Of course, if you’re coming on holiday to Florida, then the beach is going to figure highly in any itinerary: thankfully, the St Pete area (along with its 361 days of sunshine per year) has access to some of the state’s best!

One of America’s best and most popular beaches is just a 45 minute drive away in Clearwater, and we actually moved there for a few nights after our time in St Pete. It could also be easily be added on as a day-trip - find out more in our post all about the best experiences to have in Clearwater.

However, for something a little closer, locals make a beeline for the windswept dunes of St Pete Beach. It’s less developed than Clearwater as a tourist beach, meaning it’s a little quieter, a bit more wild and windswept, but will still give a perfectly lovely sand-and-sun day. At around 4 miles long, you can always find a spot to call your own too, or to enjoy long beach walks or runs (which may be necessary after the amount of eating you’ll do in the city!)

The Details

Where | The main stretch of beach (Google Maps) is a 20 minute drive from downtown St Pete, and you can access it at various points. If you’re staying at the Don Cesar, this is the beach that’s right on your doorstep! You can find out more about the ‘beaches for every mood’ in the St Pete/Clearwater area in this post.

Idea | If you’re looking for a unique way to experience St Pete Beach, consider this amazing helicopter tour which flies right over this incredible stretch of sand. Definitely a unique thing to do in St Pete!

Brewery & Bar Hopping Along Central Avenue

Our two favourite areas in St Pete were undoubtedly the EDGE District and neighbouring Grand Central District - and for those of you already familiar with our travel style, it won’t come as any surprise that a big part of this favouritism was due to the presence of several great little bars and microbreweries!

Although the little town of Dunedin just under an hour away is the undoubted king of the craft beer movement in Florida, St Pete is developing quite a reputation for its own scene.

From a BudLight dearth of good beer a decade ago, St Pete is now home to around 30 craft breweries pumping out the good stuff. As we were driving in and out of the town each day, we weren’t able to make the most of all of them, but we’d highly recommend popping into any of Green Bench Brewing Company (the first microbrewery in the city), Three Daughters Brewing, Cage Brewing, and Cycle Brewing.

A couple other bars that we enjoyed were No Vacancy, and Iberian Rooster (which does a Drag Queen Bottomless Brunch every Saturday).

Spend a Friday Evening at the Shuffleboard Club

Now, like us, you may think that this is surely not something for anyone under 60.

But if any one place sums up the rejuvenation and rehabilitation of this city, it's the Shuffleboard Club.

Shuffleboard, for the unacquainted, is a little like bowls and curling had a love child to create a sport for the sedentary. With cue sticks and discs, one uses the former to slide the latter into a pyramid at the other side of the lane, scoring points for where the discs lie. The St Pete Club, the oldest shuffleboard club in the world, went from 5,000 members in the 1950s, to just 35 members in 2000.

In a last-gasp effort for survive, the members opened their doors in 2005 to the public for free on Friday nights - and the results took everyone by surprise. Today, spending a Friday night under the lights of the St Pete Shuffleboard Club is the way to start the weekend with your friends or family, with young and old choosing to shuffle, and the membership is now 1,200 strong and counting!

The Details

Cost | Free, but a $2 donation per person is recommended.

Where | 559 Mirror Lake Dr N (Google Maps)

When | Every Friday night, 7 - 10 pm

Plan | Park up outside and make your way to the clubhouse to donate (suggested $2 per person) and get your equipment. If you have no idea how to play, there are volunteers there to help! Find out more on the Friday night shuffle, including a video on how to play, here.

Where to Stay in St Pete

Where you choose to stay will very much depend upon what your want out of your time in St Pete.

Prefer a beach holiday? You’ll want stay to the west of the city, next to the famous St Pete beach. If however you’d prefer to be close to the action, with all that makes a city, well, a city, we’d recommend picking an accommodation within walking distance to downtown.

We’ve just put together a post ‘22 Wonderful Airbnbs in St Pete’, which includes a selection of excellent accommodations both in the city and by the ocean. So if you haven’t got your accommodation sorted yet, we’d highly recommend checking it out as the best really do get booked up quick in high season.

If hotels are more your thing, you’ll be pleased to know that a guide to our pick of the best hotels in St Petersburg is one its way shortly! Until then, be sure to take a look at a selection here.

Plan Your Visit To St Pete

To visit the St. Pete/Clearwater area, you can opt for a flight to one of two airports, which serve international flights and domestic US flight transfers. The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is a 20-minute drive to downtown St Pete, whilst the larger and more connected Tampa International Airport (TPA) over the water is an easy 25-minute drive away.

Renting a car is the best way to make the most of your time in St Pete / Clearwater, and our Jeep Wrangler was from the American Collection by Hertz which contains iconic cars perfect for a great American road trip.