Florida’s Gulf Coast has a Dalí shrine, 600 murals, and a Greek sponge-diving town nearby

More than beaches on Florida’s Gulf Coast

You’ve probably heard about the beaches. What you maybe have heard about is the 14-story dome built to outlast a Category 5 hurricane, the 600-plus murals painted across one downtown, or the Greek fishing town 30 minutes up the road where divers still bring up sponges.

St. Pete-Clearwater packs a lot into one stretch of coast, and the sand is just where it starts. The rest sneaks up on you.

35 miles of powdered-sugar sand

The sand here doesn’t feel like regular beach sand. It feels like powdered sugar, and it runs for 35 miles along the Gulf of Mexico.

Clearwater Beach took the No. 2 spot in the U.S. in Tripadvisor’s 2026 Travelers’ Choice Awards. It also landed at No. 1 in Florida and broke into the top 20 worldwide.

The water is calm, clear, and a shade of green you won’t see on the Atlantic side. You can wade out a long way before it gets deep.

The Sunshine City and its Guinness record

People started coming to St. Petersburg in the late 1800s, mostly northerners trying to escape winter. The nickname stuck for a reason.

The city holds a Guinness World Record for 768 straight days of sunshine.

Pinellas County sits on a peninsula with Tampa Bay on one side and the Gulf on the other, with barrier island towns like St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, and Madeira Beach lining the coast.

Beach culture, art, and old Florida history all share the same stretch of sand.

The Dali Museum and its hurricane-proof dome

The Dali Museum sits right on the downtown waterfront and holds more than 2,400 works by Salvador Dali.

That includes 96 oil paintings and eight of his 18 large-scale masterworks, which is more than anywhere else on earth. The building itself is part of the show.

A geodesic dome called the Enigma rises out of one side, made of 1,062 triangular glass panels. The walls are 18 inches thick and built to take a Category 5 hurricane.

Architectural Digest put it on its list of the 10 most interesting museums in the world.

Five museums on one downtown stretch

The Dali isn’t the only stop downtown. The Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Center holds glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly that look like they’re growing out of the floor.

The James Museum covers Western and wildlife art. The Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement digs into decorative work from the early 1900s.

And the St. Petersburg Museum of History gets into a story most people don’t know.

Commercial aviation started right here, when pilot Tony Jannus flew the first scheduled airline flight on January 1, 1914.

The 26-acre pier that opened in 2020

The St. Pete Pier District opened on July 6, 2020, after a $92 million build, and it covers 26 acres of waterfront parkland. USA Today named it the No. 2 Best New Attraction in the country that same year.

You’ll find restaurants, a splash pad, a nautical-themed playground, a small beach with volleyball nets, and a marketplace full of local artisans.

The Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center runs hands-on exhibits about the bay. Overhead, artist Janet Echelman’s net sculpture “Bending Arc” shifts with the wind and the light.

600 murals turn the city into a gallery

More than 600 murals cover walls across St. Petersburg, which makes downtown one of the largest outdoor galleries in the Southeast.

Every fall, the SHINE Mural Festival brings in artists from around the world to paint new murals. Central Avenue is the main strip for street art, boutiques, and small galleries.

On Second Saturday ArtWalk, those galleries and studios open their doors across downtown. You don’t need a ticket or a tour.

Walk or bike through the neighborhoods and the art finds you.

Fort De Soto spreads across five islands

Fort De Soto Park covers 1,136 acres across five connected islands at the mouth of Tampa Bay, and 2.7 million people show up every year. TripAdvisor named it America’s Top Beach in 2009.

Dr. Beach gave it the No. 1 spot in 2005. The fort itself went up in 1898 for the Spanish-American War, but workers finished it after the war ended, so it never fired a shot.

Seven miles of waterfront, two fishing piers, and a seven-mile paved trail run through it. Birders have logged 328 species here over 60 years.

Take the ferry to Egmont Key

A ferry from Fort De Soto Park drops you on Egmont Key in about 20 minutes. Nobody lives on Egmont.

What you’ll find instead is a lighthouse, the ruins of Fort Dade from 1899, and stretches of beach that stay nearly empty. Bring a snorkel and a bag for shells.

Gopher tortoises wander across the island at their own pace. Dolphins often follow the ferry on the way over.

Back at Fort De Soto, there’s also a designated off-leash dog beach, which is hard to come by around here.

Nightly sunset celebrations at Pier 60

Every evening on Clearwater Beach, Pier 60 turns into a street fair as the sun starts to drop. Performers, craftspeople, and food vendors set up while crowds gather to watch the sun fall into the Gulf.

Just up the road, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium rescues and rehabilitates dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, and other marine animals. The place got famous around the world as the home of Winter the dolphin.

Clearwater Beach itself has wide sand and shallow water that stays calm, which makes it a favorite with families.

Sponge divers built Tarpon Springs

Drive about 30 minutes north of Clearwater and you’re in Tarpon Springs, home to the largest Greek community in the United States.

In 1905, John Cocoris recruited sponge divers from Greece’s Dodecanese Islands, and the sponge industry took off. The Sponge Docks along Dodecanese Boulevard still work as a real waterfront.

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, modeled after Hagia Sophia, glows through 23 stained glass windows.

Every January 6, the city throws the country’s largest Epiphany celebration, a tradition more than 100 years old, where young men dive into Spring Bayou for a cross.

Flamingos roam Sunken Gardens

Just north of downtown, Sunken Gardens has been growing for 100 years.

Winding paths cut through tropical plants and blooming trees, with waterfalls dropping along the way. The flamingos that live there tend to steal the show.

In nearby Largo, the Florida Botanical Gardens spread out into beds of orchids, roses, native plants, and fruit trees. Waterfront parks dot the rest of the area too.

Vinoy Park sits on Tampa Bay. Sand Key Park faces the Gulf.

The green spaces here add up faster than you’d expect.

Central Avenue and the Saturday market

Central Avenue is the spine that holds downtown St. Pete together, with galleries, shops, and murals lining the blocks.

On Saturday mornings, more than 100 vendors set up at one of the largest open-air markets in the Southeast, selling food, produce, and handmade goods.

The arts district keeps growing, with regular gallery walks and live performances. Condé Nast Traveler has named St. Petersburg one of the top cities in the country.

If you want to keep moving, the 38-mile Pinellas Trail runs all the way north to Tarpon Springs.

Visiting St. Pete-Clearwater, Florida

You’ll find St. Pete-Clearwater on Florida’s Gulf Coast, about 20 minutes from Tampa.

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) flies directly into the area, and Tampa International Airport (TPA) sits close by with more options.

Most attractions like the Dali Museum, the St. Pete Pier, and Sunken Gardens stay open year-round, though hours and admission shift by season, so check the official websites before you go. With about 361 sunny days a year, almost any week works.

Spring and fall bring the kindest weather and lighter crowds.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Why Tripadvisor’s No. 1 American beach is on Florida’s Gulf side, not the Atlantic
• This Florida town feels like a Greek island – and it’s an easy day trip from Tampa
• One of Florida’s Last True Beach Towns Just Finished the Comeback of a Lifetime