So I'm going to travel to Tampa and the surrounding areas sometime soon, just wondering if you think it's worthwhile or if I'm going to find myself bored out of my mind like I did in Orlando. I plan to cross the Sunshine Skyway but I don't know of anything else specific yet.
>>1123550
If you thought Orlando was boring, you'll probably kill yourself in Tampa.
>>1123556
Either way, any suggestions?
>>1123556
tampa>>>orlando
t. visited both last month
I was born in Tampa and have lived in the Tampa Bay area (Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater) continuously for the past 10 years. It's not one of the most well-known cities, but there are some cool spots, which I will outline below.
I'd say our most notable features are our beaches along the Gulf Coast (West of Downtown Tampa), as they are frequently rated among the top beaches in the continental US (Clearwater Beach in the pic is currently #1, iirc).
There is also Busch Gardens Tampa (North of Downtown Tampa), which is a theme park/zoo hybrid with an African theme. It has the best roller coaster assortment in Florida (it has seven total, along with a new one opening this Summer), and one of the best in the USA. They aren't carnival-tier junk ones either, but high-end, high-quality ones designed in Switzerland and Germany (basically, all of the giant ones are winners especially Montu).
If you like art, there is the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg (south of Downtown Tampa). It's the largest private collection of this guy's art in the world (his most famous work is the melting clocks painting).
There is also some cool stuff in Downtown Tampa itself, such as the Florida Aquarium and Ybor City. Ybor City is basically Tampa's version of Bourbon Street, with tons of old brick buildings occupied by various restaurants, bars, and clubs. One of the most famous restaurants is the Columbia Restaurant, which has Spanish food (get the 1905 salad, at minimum) and is actually the oldest-running business of any kind based in Florida. They have a dinner show with traditional Spanish dancing, as well. There are many other good places in this neighborhood, such as Carmine's, which serves great examples of street food invented in Tampa like the Cuban sandwich (meat, cheese, mustard, and pickle hot pressed between Cuban bread) and deviled crab (Spanish-style version of a crab cake). Also, there's a cool replica historic streetcar system running between Downtown and Ybor.
>>1123825
Did you see Tampa-anon's post?
Busch Gardens
Has OP bothered to check his thread yet?
>>1123595
I live in orlando. Can confirm its boring as fuck and really nothing to do besides the theme parks and clubs.
>>1125125
>really nothing to do
In your opinion, what are some things that should be added to Orlando, which would make that previous statement false?
There's some really nice beaches in the Tampa Bay area.
If you're into rollercoasters and stuff, obviously Busch Gardens, but be warned it's pretty much a tourist trap at this point.
Ybor City has good nightlife and there's some good strip clubs in Tampa.
Also some good trails/parks.
