Old Town history, tropical gardens, beaches, boats, and sunset
Things to do in Key West
Whitehead Street, Bahama Village, the Historic Seaport, tropical gardens, and maritime museums extend well beyond the busiest Duval Street blocks. Add a boat trip for the reef or backcountry, and treat every state-park stop as conditional on current official access.
Key West districts and landmarks
Walk Old Town by district, not as one long Duval crawl
Whitehead Street concentrates the Hemingway Home, lighthouse, and courthouse-era history. Bahama Village carries Black Bahamian and Caribbean heritage south of Truman Avenue. The Historic Seaport keeps schooners, fishing boats, restaurants, and working docks on the north side of Old Town. The Atlantic side adds gardens, beach, and military history when current access permits.
Whitehead Street history
The Hemingway Home preserves the writer's 1930s Key West setting. Across the street, the Key West Lighthouse and keeper's quarters document the island's navigation history. Truman Little White House adds the presidential chapter several blocks north.
Bahama Village
The blocks around Petronia Street carry Key West's Black Bahamian and Caribbean history through churches, food, cottages, and community landmarks. Walking these blocks adds a distinct neighborhood history to the better-known Whitehead Street sites.
Historic Seaport and maritime history
The harbor walk passes schooners, fishing boats, charter docks, and working waterfront activity. Nearby maritime collections explain shipwreck salvage and the seafaring economy that shaped Key West before modern tourism.
Gardens and indoor history
West Martello Tower holds the Key West Garden Club's tropical plantings inside a Civil War-era fortification. The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden focuses on native flora, while the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum interprets shipwreck archaeology and recovered objects.
Fort Zachary Taylor
When the park reports normal access, the Civil War-era fort, pine-shaded grounds, trails, and coral-rock beach combine military history with time beside the water. Swimming conditions vary, and water shoes can help on the rocky shore.
Pair the Hemingway Home with Whitehead Street
The house and its six-toed cats draw crowds, but the lighthouse across Whitehead Street and the surrounding residential blocks place Hemingway's years inside a broader Old Town history. Continue toward Bahama Village for a separate account of the island's Bahamian and Caribbean roots.
Check Fort Zachary Taylor before setting out
The state park combines fort history, shaded picnic areas, trails, and a coral-rock beach. Confirm current access, hours, water conditions, and construction notices with Florida State Parks before relying on the stop.
Bookable experiences
Bookable Key West experiences
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Official resources
Official sources for Key West access and current conditions
Hours, reservations, ferry and seaplane procedures, park notices, and weather can change.