Florida Keys, Florida — Attractions
Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
In the heart of Key West's old town is the house where Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway, one of America's most respected authors, lived and wrote for more than 10 years. The rooms and gardens are open to the public, enabling visitors to step back in time to Hemingway's most productive period, and to enjoy the lush garden where more than 60 cats have taken up residence. Entertaining guided tours are given.
- Region/City Name
- Florida Keys
- Address
- 907 Whitehead Street, Key West
- Phone Number
- (305) 294 1136
- Email Address
- hemingwy@bellsouth.net
- Website
- www.hemingwayhome.com
- Hours
- Daily 9am to 5pm
- Admission
- Adults $12; Children $6
Key West Lighthouse Museum
The landmark beacon of the Key West Lighthouse was built in 1847 to warn ships of the hazardous reefs lying off the lower Keys, and, having been taken out of commission in 1969, is now a popular tourist attraction. Visitors can climb the 86-foot (26m) high tower to marvel at the spectacular view. The clapboard bungalow that was the keeper's quarters has been restored and maintained as a museum, providing a glimpse of life in Key West in the 19th century.
- Region/City Name
- Florida Keys
- Address
- 938 Whitehead Street, Key West
- Phone Number
- (305) 295 6616 Ext. 16 for information
- Hours
- Daily 9.30am to 4.30pm. Closed Christmas Day
- Admission
- $10 (adults), $5 (children); under 6s free
Pigeon Key
Tiny Pigeon Key is an island west of Marathon on the Overseas Highway, which originally served as a construction camp for the original railroad built through the Keys. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and operated by the non-profit Pigeon Key Foundation as an historic preserve. Visitors can explore a railroad museum featuring artifacts and photographs about the original Flagler railroad and building of the old Seven Mile Bridge. Some of the cottages have been restored.
- Region/City Name
- Florida Keys
- Address
- Marathon
- Phone Number
- (305) 289 0025
- Transport
- A shuttle service runs from the Pigeon Key Visitor Center on Knight's Key at mile marker 47
- Admission
- $7 (adults), children are admitted free
Crane Point
In the downtown area of Marathon is a tropical oasis of nature trails and educational displays set among hardwood trees on a piece of land that was originally occupied by a Bahamian immigrant family in the early 20th century. Known as Crane Point Hammock, the Adderley's made a sparse and simple life here by selling sponges gathered from the sea and making charcoal. Their home has been restored and the grounds laid out with several miles of walking trails and wooden walkways through the botanic wonderland. One trail takes in the Marathon Wild Bird Center where injured Keys' birds are rehabilitated. There is also a natural history museum on site, dedicated to sea turtles, and a children's museum. Visitors can also witness fish feedings at a tropical saltwater lagoon, and an iguana enclosure.
- Region/City Name
- Florida Keys
- Address
- 5550 Overseas Highway, Marathon
- Phone Number
- (305) 743 9100
- Email Address
- info@cranepoint.net
- Website
- www.cranepoint.net
- Hours
- Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sundays 12pm to 5pm
- Admission
- Adults $11; Children $7; Concessions available
Butterfly Conservatory
The Key West Butterfly Conservatory is billed as a trip to paradise, and a walk through the tropical wonderland filled with free-flying butterflies and colorful birds is certainly a magical experience.
- Region/City Name
- Florida Keys
- Address
- 1316 Duval Street, Key West
- Phone Number
- (305) 296 2988
- Email Address
- info@keywestbutterfly.com
- Website
- www.keywestbutterfly.com
- Hours
- Daily 9am to 5pm; last entry 4.30pm
- Admission
- $12 (adults), $8.50 (children 4-12), under 4s free
Audubon House and Tropical Gardens
The restored homestead known as Audubon House contains the works of renowned ornithologist, John James Audubon, who visited the Florida Keys in 1832 and completed drawings of 18 new birds for his folio in the gardens of this house. The house was originally built in the 1840s by Captain John H. Geiger, harbor pilot and wrecker, who lived here with his wife and nine children. The house has been furnished in the typical comfortable style of a prosperous Key West home of its era. Entertaining audio tours are available. Visitors can enjoy wandering through the gorgeous gardens, planted with orchids, bromeliads and other tropical, exotic and native plants.
- Region/City Name
- Florida Keys
- Address
- 205 Whitehead Street, Key West
- Phone Number
- (305) 294 2116 or 1 877 294 2470 (toll free)
- Email Address
- audubonhouse@audubonhouse.org
- Website
- www.audubonhouse.com
- Hours
- Daily 9.30am to 5pm
- Admission
- $10 (adults), $5 (children 6-12), under 6s free
Dolphin Research Center
One of the most enjoyable activities on a visit to the Florida Keys is to get close to the friendly dolphins, which abound in the area. At the Dolphin Research Center visitors can enjoy half-day education programs, walking tours and a 'dolphin encounter', spending 20 minutes of structured swimming with the Atlantic bottlenose resident dolphins.
- Region/City Name
- Florida Keys
- Address
- 58901 Overseas Highway, Grassy Key
- Phone Number
- (305) 289 1121
- Email Address
- drc@dolphins.org
- Website
- www.dolphins.org
- Hours
- Daily 9am to 4.30pm
- Admission
- $19.50 (adults); $13.50 (children 4-12); other concessions available
National Key Deer Refuge
The endangered, attractive and unique tiny white-tailed Key deer have found a safe haven in their refuge at Big Pine Key, where they can roam in 14 square miles (36 sq km) of their natural threatened tropical hardwood hammock habitat. There were only 27 or so Key deer surviving in 1957 when the refuge was established; this number has now grown to about 800. The refuge is also home to 22 other federally listed endangered and threatened species of plants and animals, five of which are found nowhere else in the world. More than 90,000 visitors come to the refuge each year.
- Region/City Name
- Florida Keys
- Address
- 179 Key Deer Blvd, Big Pine Key
- Phone Number
- (305) 872 2239
- Email Address
- keydeer@fws.gov
- Website
- nationalkeydeer.fws.gov
