Conquering Key West, Florida
Where can you find a conch train, conch fritters, conch shells, and the Conch Republic (pronounced "konk")? They're all located in the same two-by-four-mile island community of Key West, Florida.
Although it's true that touristy Key West is overflowing with bars and boutiques, this remarkable port city also offers plenty of other fun-in-the-sun family options- city tours, historic homes, museums, and of course, sampling key lime pie. It's easy to get acquainted with Old Town Key West's real character, because much of its entertaining history and highlights are within walking distance of each other.
Conch Tour Train
Does riding an open-air train through the charming streets of Old Town while listening to stories of bone-bleaching Indians, Spanish explorers, and cigar barons sound like your idea of exploring? Take the 90-minute Conch Tour Train. To say it's fully narrated is an understatement. Knowledgeable train drivers expertly tell the tales and lively legends of Key West as the train passes more than 100 points of interest. Learn what gingerbread has to do with architecture and which former U.S. president wanted to move the U.S. capital to Key West.
Hemingway Home & Museum
Need literary inspiration for writing the next best seller? Visit the tropical home and gardens where Ernest Hemingway penned a good number of his greatest stories. Built in 1851, the mansion still contains original antique furnishings used by "Papa" Hemingway and his family. Guided tours are as entertaining as the six-toed felines that inhabit the place. Over sixty cats, descendants of Hemingway's original furry friends, make this National Historic Landmark their home.
Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society and Museum
Intrigued by thoughts of gleaming shipwreck treasure once lost for centuries at sea? You'll find gold doubloons, dazzling jewels, bars of silver, cannons, and much more at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Take a self-guided tour and learn the long and sometimes tragic story of the Fisher family's struggle to locate and surface one-of-a-kind artifacts and riches. Collections from the 1700's English merchant slave ship Henrietta Marie and the 1600's Spanish galleon Nuestra Seora de Atocha are on display in this maritime museum. Jewelry and coin replicas are on sale in the Trade Goods museum store, along with nautical-themed books and videos.
Flagler Station Over-Sea Railway Historeum
Would a walk through an early 1900s railroad car filled with historic Floridian photographs, railroading memorabilia, and rare film footage pique your interest? Board the Flagler Station Over-Sea Railway Historeum and discover how the arrival of Henry Flagler's railroad in 1912 forever changed Key West. Hear recorded accounts from some of the first passengers as they retell the eight-year struggle to build a railway from Miami to Key West. Sometimes called "Flagler's Folly" the railway is also known as one of the greatest engineering and construction feats of the 20th century. Although the railway was destroyed by a 1935 hurricane, the original train route is actually the road that today links mainland Florida to the Keys.
Mallory Square
How about a little souvenir shopping and nautical entertainment at the same time? You'll find it at Mallory Square- the center of Key West's historic waterfront. Peruse the unique Sponge Market and pick up a conch at the Shell Warehouse. Pet a live shark and other "touch tank" sea creatures at the Key West Aquarium. Watch history come to life at the Key West Shipwreck Historeum and Museum. Actors, films, and laser technology tell the story of the recently rediscovered wrecked vessel Isaac Allerton, which sank in 1856 on the treacherous Florida Keys reef.
Mallory Square is best known as the place "where the sun sets and the fun begins." The pier comes to life at the end of each day as locals and tourists alike gather on with craftsmen, street entertainers, musicians, and lots of pelicans for the famous Sunset Celebration. Come hungry to Mallory Square and try the fried conch fritters. And save room for key lime pie, Florida's official dessert. There's just no better place to watch the sun sink into the horizon than from the southernmost city in the Sunshine State!