Best Things to Do in Key West

Key West packs two centuries of eccentric island history, literary landmarks and Caribbean-blue marine parks into a walkable four-mile island. Here are the ten experiences that define a visit.

1. Tour the 1851 Ernest Hemingway Home & climb the 1848 Lighthouse. Peek into the second-floor studio where Hemingway wrote To Have and Have Not, meet the 60 polydactyl cats, and climb 88 iron steps up the Lighthouse directly across the street.
2. Experience the nightly Mallory Square Sunset Celebration & stroll Duval Street. Watch tightrope walkers, jugglers and tall-ship schooners as the sun sinks into the Gulf of Mexico, then walk the 1.25-mile length of Duval Street from Gulf to Atlantic.
3. Take the ferry or seaplane 70 miles west to Dry Tortugas National Park (Fort Jefferson). Walk the 16-million-brick moat wall of America's largest coastal fortress and snorkel among sea turtles and tropical coral.
4. Swim and snorkel at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Explore a pre-Civil War brick fortress and snorkel right off the rock jetties where the Atlantic meets the Gulf.

5. Snap a photo at the Southernmost Point Buoy & tour the Harry S. Truman Little White House. Stand 90 miles from Cuba at the painted concrete buoy, then tour the naval residence where President Truman spent 175 days of his presidency.
6. Lift a real 1622 sunken Spanish gold bar at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum & walk through the Butterfly Conservatory. See priceless emeralds and silver salvaged from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha and walk among 60 species of butterflies and two pink flamingos.
7. Sail out to Snorkel the Living Florida Coral Reef or Relax on a Backcountry Sandbar. Board a catamaran at the Historic Seaport to snorkel over brain coral and parrotfish.
8. Drive across the Seven Mile Bridge & walk Old Bahia Honda Bridge. Stop at Bahia Honda State Park and spot miniature Key Deer on Big Pine Key.

9. Taste authentic Key Lime Pie, Key West Pink Shrimp & Cuban Coffee. Compare meringue-topped and graham-cracker Key Lime pies at Kermit's and Blue Heaven.
10. Visit the 1847 Key West Cemetery & Robert the Doll at Fort East Martello. Read witty tombstones and see America's most famous haunted 1904 sailor doll.