What to Do in Sarasota Florida

Sarasota is well-known for its beaches – but I want to show that there is a lot more to Sarasota than just Siesta Key! This is a quick guide if you happen to be passing through, for what to do in Sarasota Florida!

Ringling Museum

This is really such a cool museum. One of the famous Ringling Brothers lived in the house that’s a part of the museum. The entire estate is gorgeous, and art collection is actually probably my favorite “smaller” art collections that I’ve seen. If you can, catch a Ringling Underground – when the museum is open at night with live music and snacks. Lots of fun. I can see why people get married here often – even I would consider it.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

These are seriously some of the nicest gardens that I’ve ever seen – and I have actually seen quite a few. Their plant collection is both exotic and beautiful. It’s not contained to one section and they don’t rely on gimmicks or decorations. There’s a nice tea shop (although this isn’t real tea and it’s not the greatest but it is a nice refresher), butterfly garden, greenhouses, and another cafe. It’s a great place to sit in and read a book.

Sarasota Opera House

If you like music I recommend you catch an opera here. They’re surprisingly good for a smaller city. Sarasota is very dedicated to traditional arts and modern interpretations of them. They’ll even put on lesser known pieces and I saw the Golden Cockerel here a few years ago that was excellent. They had great props and voices.

Lido Beach

While Siesta Key is the most famous beach in America – and well worth a visit – if you only have a short amount of time I would recommend Lido Beach instead. It has a more “wild” appearance. There are tide-pools, large fish in the water, rocks and vines – I really loved Lido. If you want a more “real” beach experience I’d head to Lido. Siesta Key imports all that perfect white sand anyways.

Toasted Mango Cafe

This is a cute little cafe that has a lot of delicious options that me and my college friends would eat when we could splurge. Their signature dishes involve their mango butter – which is actually seriously delicious so give it a try!

Check out some other small towns you might pass through!

Deland, Florida