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Pensacola Beach Florida |
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The city's Southern heritage and Gulf beaches
provide a scenic setting for visitors seeking rest and relaxation, while its rich history
— Pensacola has been the property of five nations — and its vibrant happenings
today will appeal to people seeking more than just fun in the sun.
Adding to the pleasure: Dollar for dollar, Pensacola gives visitors more value than just about any other part of Florida. Surveys regularly show Pensacola's costs are below the Florida average.
The mixture of past and present promises a delightful future for people visiting Pensacola. Most of the beaches are protected by federal and state programs that keep them pristine and easily accessible to the public. Historic programs are educational and entertaining, while a potpourri of restaurants, shops and nightclubs spice up any visitor's days and nights.
Start in Pensacola's restored downtown and you will find a city with a past — more than 400 years of past. Pensacola has changed hands more than a dozen times in actions involving Spain, France, England, the United States and the Confederacy.
Yesteryear is on display at several sites in
and around Historic Pensacola Village. They include museums, historic homes, and a
Colonial Archaeological Trail which leads you through different eras of Pensacola history
and highlights an ongoing program of excavation by local archaeologists.
The tour offers a combination of guided and self-directed tours, and architecture buffs can marvel at the restored old homes in both the Seville and North Hill historic districts. The downtown area also offers the Pensacola Museum of Art, housed in the old city jail; the Pensacola Cultural Center, housed in the old county jail; Quayside, the South's largest cooperative art gallery; The Wall South, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.; and the beautifully restored Saenger Theatre, where local and national musical groups perform frequently.
The Civil War Soldiers Museum, at 108 S. Palafox St., houses a vast assortment of items.The core of the muse- um follows the war chronologically, while its Pensacola Room focuses on Pensacola's role in the Civil War. The museum also has one of the largest displays of items involving medicine in the Civil War, which claimed the lives of 620,000 Americans. The museum was founded by a local gastroenterologist, Dr. Norman Haines, who has been collecting Civil War memorabilia for more than 40 years. The museum has over 700 titles in its collection, making it one of the South's largest collections of Civil War books.
Children will especially want to stop at the
three-story TT Wentworth Museum, where they will find the hands-on Discovery! museum and
an eclectic collection of items ranging from shrunken heads to political mementos.
One of the biggest and best air-and-space museums is a few miles to the west, at Pensacola Naval Air Station, known as the cradle of naval aviation for its role in the development of aviators, aircraft and the military.
It also houses an IMAX® Theatre, which shows aviation in all its breath-taking glory and excitement. The vivid sounds make spectators feel they are in the cockpit as aircraft of all eras burst across the screen.
Displays at the National Museum of Naval Aviation cover the age of aviation from the first flight in a wood-and-fabric biplane to travels in space with a Skylab Command Module.
There is plenty of room to roam: the museum
has more than 250,000 feet of exhibit space inside, plus acres of aircraft parked
outside.The displays include a look at the Blue Angels, the Navy's aerial aces, whose A-4
Skyhawks cut a diving diamond formation from the top of the museum's seven-story atrium.
This museum allows more than looking; visitors can strap themselves into cockpit trainers
for a pretend test flight.
To the west, Pensacola Greyhound Track packs a fall slate of live greyhound racing and frequent simulcast horse racing, while Perdido Key boasts acres of unspoiled beaches and a one-of-a-kind music fest. Perdido Key, an island linked to Florida and Alabama by bridges, offers all sorts of entertainment.The line- up ranges from top-notch golf to a lighthearted mullet-tossing contest to an international songwriters festival, a 10-day event every November which draws up to 150 songwriters of the best-known blues, country, gospel and rock music who perform their music in various venues around Pensacola.
East of Pensacola, The ZOO near Gulf Breeze is
home to more than 700 animals and an eye-catching botanical garden.The "more to
do" 200 is built to give children, photographers and other visitors a close- up look
at many animals, including numerous endangered species. Windows in the commissary show
foods being prepared for the animals, and a tall platform gives visitors a perch for
face-to-face meetings and hand-to-mouth feedings of the giraffes. The gift shop features a
simulated rain forest, environmental gifts and African art.
All this touring, from aviation to zoo, is sure to build your appetite, but you don't have to go hungry.
Pensacola's plentiful restaurants offer a wide
range of menus, featuring everything from ethnic cuisine to fish that slept in the Gulf of
Mexico only hours earlier. The variety of restaurants is evident from the franchise
establishments that surround Pensacola's two major malls and the mom-and-pop places that
include local color with their meals. In Pensacola, food and entertainment often go
hand-in-hand, and dress styles range from tuxedos to tank tops.
Pensacola is a town of festivals that follow the seasons. Among the annual events: the Pensacola Interstate Fair, which draws almost 700,000 people in October; the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival on the first weekend of every November; the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show at Pensacola Naval Air Station in mid-November. Come spring, you will want to enjoy the Crawfish Festival, the Fiesta of Five Flags and SpringFest, a musical extravaganza. In the fall you can enjoy the Seafood Fest, Emerald Coast Classic golf tournament, and JazzFest.
Pensacola, Florida - Located on Florida’s Panhandle, close to the Alabama border, Pensacola draws visitors looking for the ideal seaside vacation to play or relax on the sugar-white sand beaches next to the soothing Gulf of Mexico surf. Visitors enjoy fun in the sun and all its inherent activities, from wind-surfing to fishing, to exploring a plethora of historic sites and taking in the show-stopping Navy Blue Angels precision flying team.
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Pensacola Beach, Florida Area Information:
