I’ve lived on the Sun Coast for over four and a half years now but I only recently started to explore outside of my little area in Sarasota/Bradenton. There is so much to see in the Tampa Bay area from downtown Tampa to St Pete Beach!
With Super Bowl XLIII being held here this weekend, the area has been flooded with visitors. Figured I should make a little informal Tampa Bay visitor’s guide. Although I will admit, it’s more like a guide to my favorite places! I’ll keep updating it as I keep exploring. But not this weekend! Me + massive amounts of people = NOT GOOD. I do not do well with crowds. I hit.
Click on the Map to see an interactive map of the Tampa Bay area!
My favorite things to do in:
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TAMPA:
YBOR CITY & CENTRO YBOR (pronounced E-Bore, not Y-bar)
There is something for everyone here. From trendy boutiques and great culture, to fantastic restaurants and amazing nightlife, Ybor has it all! There are over 60 restaurants, bars and nightclubs all within walking distance of each other. My personal faves are:
Food: Columbia Restaurant (above. That’s just one room. There are like 10 total!) To die for! And I’ve only been to the one here in Sarasota. The one in Ybor is supposed to be even more amazing!
Nightlife: Coyote Ugly! Castle, Amphitheater, Fat Tuesdays. I’ve been to them all and had a blast at each. On a weekend like this one, I don’t think you can go wrong anywhere in Ybor! It’s going to be nuts!
For a complete list of things to do in Ybor and how-to-get-there check out Ybor Times
Another great site, with a video about the area is Tampa Bay Wingman
CHANNELSIDE
I’m going to be totally honest here and say I really don’t know what the big draw is to Channelside except you do get to see big cruise boats. We were in Ybor one day and shot over to Channelside because I had never seen it before and my reaction was “That was it ? Oh.” Followed immediately by “Oooooh a big boat! Let’s go look!”
However, I have been told it’s fantastic and I’ve never been up there at night! Like I said about Ybor, I doubt any place will be boring this weekend! Channelside is also home to an IMAX theater and….
the Florida Aquarium! That is really cool!
INTERNATIONAL PLAZA/BAY STREET
International Plaza is the elite mall in the area and Bay Street is the outdoor dining/nightlife area attached to it. The Plaza is great! Full of stores like Tiffany, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Diesel, and Betsey Johnson! And Ruehl no.925 is really fun!
Bay Street
Food: Cheesecake Factory! Yum!
Bars: Bar Louie, Blue Martini. And The Grape is a great wine bar!
They will also be having a live music series this weekend! For a full schedule check International Plaza.
SEMINOLE HARD ROCK CASINO
Gambling, food, nightlife. You can’t go wrong! Plus they have a lot going on for the big game weekend. Full Hard Rock Casino Schedule
BUSCH GARDENS
I don’t really see how you’ll have time to fit a full African Safari adventure into your busy game weekend. But just in case you are staying longer and do have time, here is the Busch Gardens website
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The Pier & Downtown
The Pier is one of the coolest things I’ve seen. It’s an inverted pyramid of fun! Definiely worth checking out and wandering around, especially on a gorgeous sunny day or at sunset! Great food and fun little shops inside too. There is also a Columbia restauran—like the one in Ybor— inside.
Downtown if full of great restuarants and fascinating shops. My favorite is Ceviche, a tapas restuarant! Been there abotu five times now and everything is delicious! And they have a flamenco lounge.
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THE BEACHES: ST PETE –CLEARWATER
I love driving up the coast. I like to start at the bottom in St Pete Beach and drive north. There are tons of fun places like Treasure Island and the wonderful St John’s Pass to wander through. And Clearwater Beach is full of bars, restaurants, shops and miles of beautiful beaches!
And there is nothing like a Florida sunset on the west coast! Clearwater Beach celebrates every night with Sunsets at Pier 60.
Or…….you can shoot down the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and come see me down in Sarasota! There’s done to see! Shoot me and email or a Tweet on Twitter and let me know if you will be in town!
About the author: Jennifer Taglione is the owner of this fabulous website Stiletto Sports. Despite writing well over 500 posts, she still maintains that she is not a sports writer! She is however a huge fan of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Sanchez, the Celtics, and totally kicks butt on March Madness brackets! Connect with her by following her on Twitter @StilettoSportsJ and subscribing to her weekly newsletter. For more info check out the About the Editor page!Now Available!
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