St Augustine Florida destination for beach lovers, art lovers and history buffs.

St Augustine Florida is not your typical beach town and it has a more complicated personality depending on whether you are visiting the beaches, the historic city or the inter coastal waterway.

On one side is Anastasia Island, which is a barrier island where you will find white sandy beaches, lots of funky beach restaurants and stores. The island is separated from the mainland by the Inter coastal waterway.     The town stretches from the beach across the Inter Coastal Waterway and the uniquely historical Bridge of Lions  to the narrow cobbled streets with horse drawn carriages, and sidewalks lined with art galleries and artists.

The Inter-coastal waterway is a haven for boaters and wildlife.  Birds, alligators and numerous wildlife species love the protected marshes and parks that dot the landscape and as you drive along the main highway each day you get to enjoy not just the scenery but the local wildlife.  Flocks of egrets and birds perch on the tall sea grass waiting for their daily catch of fish to swim past them. The tides ebb and flow changing the scenery depending on the hour of the day.  All the elements blend together to form the experience that is St Augustine.

Once you reach the city, or rather the historical center,  the atmosphere changes. You are surrounded by the history that was created by Henry Flagler, partner with Rockefeller,  when he decided to develop St Augustine into a top tourist destination and cultivated artists to come to St Augustine and they formed an art colony mainly for the entertainment of the tourists.  However, St Augustine history does not begin with Flagler as the city is surrounded with remnants from when the Spanish first colonized the region and established a fort on the inlet. And so today, St Augustine has the moniker of being  the” oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement” .

Need a place to stay in St Augustine, check our numerous beach properties