Top Sights-Key West

Top Sights-Key West
Duval Street

Duval Street

Duval Street is a famous downtown commercial zoned street in Key West, Florida, running north and south from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. From shore to shore, the street is just over 1.25 miles in length.

Audubon House & Tropical Gardens

A visit to the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens is a step back in time to the world of a maritime pilot and master wrecker in mid-19th century Key West.

The grand home that is now known as the Audubon House was built by Captain John Huling Geiger in the 1840s as a residence for his family, who lived there for more than a century. Slated for destruction in 1958, the Geiger mansion was saved by the Mitchell Wolfson Family Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization. The home’s large scale restoration was the first of its kind in Key West and sparked Key West’s restoration movement.

Today, the home and its furnishings reflect the elegance and comfortable living enjoyed by a wealthy family in Key West in an era when frequent shipwrecks on the offshore reef created a flourishing ship wrecking industry.

Audubon House & Tropical Gardens

Mallory Square

Bustling plaza with famous sunsets.  

Waterfront square with restaurants & shops, known for its nightly gatherings to watch the sunset.

Top Sights-Key West
Top Sights-Key West

Smathers Beach

Smathers Beach is the largest public beach in Key West, Florida, United States. It is approximately a half mile long. Public beach is a spring break favorite with showers & volleyball plus windsurfer & Jet Ski rentals.

Ernest Hemingway House

The Ernest Hemingway House, officially known as the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, was the residence of author Ernest Hemingway in Key West, Florida, 

Ernest Hemingway House
Southernmost point buoy

Southernmost point buoy

The Southernmost Point Buoy is an anchored concrete buoy in Key West, Florida marking the southernmost point in the continental United States.

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

The Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, better known simply as Fort Taylor is a Florida State Park and National Historic Landmark centered on a Civil War-era fort located near the southern tip of Key West, Florida. 

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory

Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory

The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory located at 1316 Duval StreetKey WestFlorida, United States is a butterfly park that houses from 50 to 60 different species of live butterflies from around the world in a climate-controlled, glass-enclosed habitat.

The conservatory includes flowering plants, cascading waterfalls and trees. There are also several species of free flying "butterfly friendly" birds, such as red-factor canarieszebra finches, cordon-blue finches and "button" or Chinese painted quail.[1]

There is a learning center where guests can get a close up view of a variety of live caterpillars feeding and developing on their host plants.[2]

Key West lighthouse

The current lighthouse opened in 1848 with a woman as its Keeper; nearly unheard of during the 19th century. In the years following, the Key West Lighthouse underwent a number of upgrades including the installation of a Third Order Fresnel Lens, an extension to the tower which allowed the light to be seen from a greater distance, the addition of Keeper’s Quarters, and finally the electrification of the light.

In 1969, the U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the Key West Lighthouse since there was no longer a need for a full-time Keeper due to technological advancements. Today, this sentinel of the sea stands as a museum dedicated to Key West’s maritime heritage and to the men and women who bravely kept the light burning through the threats of war and weather.

Today, visitors can walk up the 88 steps to the top of the light as well as explore the belongings, photographs, and words of the lighthouse Keepers and their families who lived a now obsolete, yet never forgotten, way of life.

The Key West lighthouse is located in Key West, Florida. The first Key West lighthouse was a 65-foot tower completed in 1825. It had 15 lamps in 15-inch reflectors. 

Key West lighthouse
Harry S. Truman Little White House

Harry S. Truman Little White House

The Harry S Truman Little White House in Key West, Florida was the winter White House for President Harry S Truman for 175 days during 11 visits. The house is located in the Truman Annex neighborhood of Old Town, Key West. 

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