Sarasota is located in Southwest Florida, along the Gulf of Mexico. The city is between Tampa to the North and Fort Meyers to the South. There are various things to do throughout Sarasota, including shopping, dining, water sports, outdoor activities, beaches and various attractions. Downtown Sarasota offers a small town America feel on Main Street, and Palm Avenue has a New York feel with all of the art galleries located there. On Pineapple Avenue there are antiques true to a 1950s Florida. In Sarasota there is bound to be something for everyone to do during their stay.
The Sarasota Classic Car Museum features a collection of more than100 automobiles, including a Cadillac station wagon that is one of only five ever made. Also included in the display are the Beatles' Psychedelic Bentley, John Lennon's Mercedes Roadster and a dragster that belonged to Don Garlits, the father of drag racing. In addition to the vast collection of automobiles, the Sarasota Classic Car Museum offers a classic game arcade for their visitors to enjoy.
The Sarasota Jungle Gardens is one of the oldest attractions in the state of Florida. The gates opened to the public in December,1940, and have remained open ever since. Featuring 10 acres of tropical vegetation, educational reptile and bird shows, and a Kiddie Jungle that features a tree house with tiger swings and a custom wooden train for children to play on. At the Sarasota Jungle Gardens, the visitors can also feed the free roaming Flamingos.
John Ringling was one of the five original circus kings from the Ringling Bros. Circus. John Ringling and his wife Mable purchased 20 acres of property on the waterfront of Sarasota in 1911. This would be their winter home, when the circus wasn't operating. At the time of his death in 1936, John Ringling gave his mansion, art collection and estate to the state of Florida. As of July 2009 the estate is now a vast museum and tourist attraction in Sarasota. The mansion, museum of art, circus museums and the grounds are all open for the public. There are also various performances in the courtyard that visitors can attend.
The Gulf Coast Wonder and Imagination Zone (G.Wiz) is a museum for all ages. Along with touring exhibits that vary, the museum offers permanent exhibits as well. Visitors can play a game of Mindball to see who can move matter with their mind, explore Habitat to see some of the native inhabitants of Florida and visit four different "zones" where they can learn about different things. In ExploraZone visitors can learn about sound, light, electricity and magnetism. In Tech Zone visitors learn to use different tools and their imagination to create various things. In Wave Zone visitors can experiment with sound and light waves, and in BodyZone visitors can test their own physical performance.
