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Tampa Bay’s treasures & tourism
25
items Tampa is a pretty large city, filled with nooks and crannies many people just aren’t aware of, so today we will make a list of my home’s must-see spots
Sections
6
Outdoor Activities
Restaurants
Arts & Entertainment
Local Favorites
Other Food & Drink
Theme Parks & Tourist Traps
Outdoor Activities
There are plenty of awesome places to see in Tampa that don’t cost an arm and a leg or require standing in busy tourist lines all day for one ride… here are some ideas for you
This gorgeous park offers beautiful nature trails to hike, swimming in a fresh, all-natural (clear) spring water pool, and just a wonderful way to commune with the nature that only Florida can provide
Hillsborough River State Park
Lowry Park is a classic, in the center of Tampa proper, it offers a full zoo, rides, but also private park areas complete with pavilions that also have electricity and grills ready to go
ZooTampa at Lowry Park
Ahhh Lithia Springs is a beautiful secluded spot right near Tampa that conserves Nature, including—you guessed it, natural springs
Lithia Springs Conservation Park
Restaurants
Tampa has something for every foodie… we shall start with Ybor City & work outward
A must-see experience, the Columbia offers delicious food and beautiful scenery in the heart of Ybor City of course
Columbia Restaurant
This is highly recommended as simply the best restaurant in Tampa Bay area for 2025 by Creative Loafing. Located in Dunedin, so make sure to visit after a sunny day at the beach!
The Black Pearl
This is the premiere steakhouse od Tampa, and has kept that ranking for over half a century
Bern's Steak House
This is our busy downtown area with Riverwalk, many things to do all in one place, so many restaurants… very fun for a visit to Tampa
Channel District / Islands
Arts & Entertainment
I’m listing from the entire greater Tampa Bay Area but it should be noted, if you want entertainment, there’s no better place than Ybor City… our oldest District from the cigar-rolling days and some “shanghai’d” piracy before that; there is a LOT of ...
If you’re in the Tampa Bay area, and want some art and culture, our Dali museum is a MUST see! It just gets bigger and more filled out every time I go; experience Salvador Dali and surrealism the way it’s supposed to be… they usually have a fellow ar...
Dali Museum
Ok, this theater is a century old, no joke, it is GORGEOUS, has a special original organ built into it, and is just breathtaking
Tampa Theatre
The Tampa Museum of Art is a must-see full of classic art in the historic downtown area
Tampa Museum of Art
This is where many of our events are staged, they keep updating and adding to it, it’s a must when you visit Tampa
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park
Ahh our Straz Center—formerly known as the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center—houses thr largest performances that visit, it is a gorgeous arena/theater, and def should be on your list
Straz Center for the Performing Arts
Local Favorites
These are CLASSICS we locals love 💗
Our yearly Halloween celebration in Ybor City is crazy, it’s basically a kid-friendly bead fest by day and pub crawl by night
Guavaween
Ah, MOSI; a field-trip favorite, you’re never too old to experience this museum of advancement. There are usually exhibits in town, an IMAX theatre in the next building usually showing awesome astronomy docs—though I also saw a Pink Floyd laser light...
MOSI
Ybor City will always be so special to me, I can hardly express the gratitude
Historic Ybor City, Tampa, FL
Other Food & Drink
This awesome Italian Market has taken off, winning the top rating in various categories in our Creative Loafing paper, located in St. Pete, it’s a Bay Area Italian fave
Mazzaro's Italian Market
One of the best Italian bakeries ever, and an old fave of the Tampa area they’ve been around forever—make sure to pop in and try some delicious pastry or bread
Alessi Bakery
Getting rave reviews this bar hits the spot and located in St. Petersburg
Cocktail St Pete
Theme Parks & Tourist Traps
Another Tampa Bay original, Gasparilla celebrates our pirate heritage with a bead-tossing family fun parade by day, and by the night, you’ll be pub crawling Ybor City… the parade moves from downtown and Channelside to Ybor City and is very fun, the c...
Gasparilla - Tampa's Signature Events
If you find yourself in TampaBay near the end of Winter, you may want to check out the fair, which is HUGE and has plenty of attractions, rides, exhibits, and junk food you’ll wish you never saw
Florida State Fairgrounds
My fave waterpark growing up, and where I used to work, Adventure Island 🏝️ is so much fun 🤩 only open seasonally but very worth it
Adventure Island
Of course we have theme parks if you’re more interested in rides and the tourist attractions of Tampa. Busch Gardens is the mainstay; they’ve been here for years—in fact this was my job as a teen. Awesome roller coasters and actually not that expensi...
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
This is THE Beach of the Tampa Bay area, so be warned: there are ALWAYS tourists… it is going od to see at least once though, it is SO true to it’s name—Bahama-like beach of the Gulf
City of Clearwater: Home
Along our west coast beaches is Treasure Island, south of Clearwater on the way to St. Pete they have a little carnival-type atmosphere; Tampa’s version of Santa Monica
City of Treasure Island
If you’re willing to go south of the Bay, you will find Sarasota and Sand Key beaches which are hust GORGEOUS
Visit Sarasota County