Introduction to Florida

Florida cheerfully calls itself "The Sunshine State." Yet there's more than sunny skies to recommend a vacation here. You can visit remote little towns like Apalachicola or a multicultural megalopolis like Miami. You can devour fresh seafood and then work off the calories bicycling, golfing, kayaking or swimming. In St. Augustine, 17th-century history comes alive while space travel dominates in Cape Canaveral. Florida maintains thousands of acres of wilderness, from little Clam Pass County Park in downtown Naples to magnificent Everglades National Park, spanning the state's southern tip.

Cities

Florida's capital Tallahassee blends modernity with the Old South, a white, colonnaded capitol alongside Native American settlements and Southern plantations. Orlando draws families with its theme parks: Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld. The up-and-coming Sunbelt metropolis Jacksonville boasts miles of Atlantic beaches, while the glittering Gulf Coast seaport of Tampa marks one of the state's growing commercial centers. At Florida's southern tip, Miami draws vacationers with its spicy mix of Latin American and Caribbean culture and steamy nightlife.

Countryside

Miles of golden-sand beaches and weathered seaside cottages invite leisurely drives along the Gulf Coast of Florida's Panhandle. In central Florida, acres of citrus groves cover the hillsides, the trees' branches heavy with the weight of ripe oranges, lemons and grapefruits. Alligator Alley crosses southern Florida from Naples to Weston, leading cars and motorcycles past the saw grass, cypress and gumbo-limbo trees of the Everglades -- with an occasional alligator slumbering along the roadside.

Coast

Family-friendly beaches await visitors in the Panhandle, where long, sun-kissed days include swimming and building sandcastles. Beachcombers collect seashells on Sanibel and Captiva Islands, filling plastic buckets with ivory sand dollars, pink conchs and striped whelks. Drive Florida's surf-sprayed A1A expressway along the gleaming Atlantic coast, past towering lighthouses and bikini beaches from Daytona all the way to sizzling Miami. Palm trees and fruity cocktails keep the locals cool and relaxed in the southern islands of the Florida Keys.

Eating and Drinking

Florida dawns with local citrus fruit. Drink fresh-squeezed juice from the glass or stop at roadside stands for a bag of tangerines to go. From amberjack to Florida lobster, from mackerel to stone crabs and conch, fresh seafood rules in Florida thanks to 800 miles of oceanfront. Feast on platters of delicately sauced fish adorned with lemon, garlic and capers, or use your fingers to dip basketfuls of deep-fried seafood into cups of ketchup and tartar sauce at dockside picnic tables.