Founded in 1565 by the Spanish Empire, St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States. Spanish Explorer Ponce de Leon first landed here in 1513, becoming one of the first European explorers to land in the New World, and the city was founded in 1565. That’s older than Plymouth, Jamestown or any of the colonial towns of the Northeast.
Coming here is like taking a trip waaay back in time. There’s really no other place like it in Florida. We recently had a chance to visit for a long weekend and do just about everything here there is to do.
For most people though, St. Augustine is usually a quick day trip, so if you only have a day in America’s Oldest City, here’s our top things to do in St. Augustine.
Take a Trolley Tour
We’re putting this on the list first because it’s really the most efficient way to move around town and see everything else. The historic district of St. Augustine is old. Really old. This is a city that was originally designed for horses and pedestrians, not cars, so the streets are narrow and parking can be really, really hard to find.
Instead of circling around looking for that elusive parking spot, hop on one of the trolley tours. There are two of them, Red Train Trolley Tours and Old Town Trolley tours. We rode them both, and found them both just as good. You can leave your car back at the ticket center, and take a guided tour that will take you all over town to all the major sites, with over 20 stops where you can hop off and hop on as much as you like, all day long. So it’s both a tour and really easy way to get around.
Depending on the company you choose it’s $22 to $24 for adults and $10 for kids, and they do have some combo deals that include tickets to some of the attractions all over town too.
Websites:
Red Train Trolley – https://www.ripleys.com/redtrains/
Old Train Trolley – https://www.trolleytours.com/st-augustine
Just walk around and explore
It’s kind of a shame how many people will just ride the trolley around town once, see the town from their seat on the train, and that’s about it. They get back in their car and go home without really seeing the city.
You’ll get a great tour of the highlights from one of the trolleys, but St. Augustine has a lot of little nook, crannys, narrow streets and paths that are best experienced on foot.
Every now and then hop off that trolley and take a walk around. See something you want a closer look at? Hop off and explore. Another trolley will be along shortly to pick you up, I promise. See the beautiful Flagler College building up close, check out the Lightner Museum if you’re into 19th century art and antiques., and the Cathedral of St. Augustine. Check out a local restaurant, have a beer, grab some ice cream and just enjoy the day. The trolley even makes stops at a local chocolate factory and a distillery, both with free samples!
Ripley’s Believe it Or Not Museum
Yeah, we admit that this is one of the more tourist trappy things on this list, and if you’ve been to any of the other Ripley’s Museums that are scattered around the country, you’ll have a pretty good idea what to expect. It’s a huge collection of oddities, weird exhibits and unusual artwork that’s actually a lot of fun to explore.
But while there are plenty of others like it, this is the very first Ripleys’ Believe it Or Not Museum in the world, opening in 1950 right here at what once was called the Castle Warden Hotel. The hotel was a favorite of cartoonist and curiosity collector Robert Ripley, so it’s only fitting that it was the first place to show off his collection.
Website: https://www.ripleys.com/staugustine/
Ponce De Leon’s Fountain of Youth
The legend says Spanish Explorer Ponce de Leon went looking for the Fountain of Youth, but found Florida instead. It’s believed by some historians that this is the likely landing spot of his expedition who took their first steps ashore at this location in 1513.
Today it’s an Archeological Park where you can visit a recreated native American village, a planetarium, and sip from a fresh water spring that was promoted as being “the real Fountain of Youth” as far back as 1868, making this the oldest tourist attraction in Florida. There’s also just some really nice grounds to explore here along with a lot of peacocks. Soo many peacocks. This is still an active dig site, were archaeologists have unearthed lots of clues to the areas past.
And just getting here means travelling down the famous oak and moss lined Magnolia Avenue – considered to be one of the most beautiful roads in the world.
Website: http://www.fountainofyouthflorida.com
Pirate & Treasure Museum
LorOk, I have to admit that I didn’t really have really high expectations for this place when we visited here. I was kind of expecting a cheesy little tourist trap, but the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum turned out to be a surprisingly cool place that I really enjoyed.
Here you can learn about the history of piracy in Florida and the Caribbean with some really well done interactive exhibits and lots of authentic artifacts. You can get a little taste of the pirates life by firing the cannons and exploring the cargo holds of a replica ship, and even see what they did to pirates who were brought to some 17th century style of justice.
The museum is a little on the smallish side, so take your time in the exhibits, but it’s very well done. It’s very kid friendly and hands on, but very little ones might get a little frightened by a couple of the exhibits.
Adults are $14 dollars, Children 5 to 12 are $7 dollars, and children 4 under 4 are free.
Website: http://thepiratemuseum.com
St. Augustine Lighthouse
If you saw our “Favorite Lighthouses in Florida” video you might know that this our number one pick.
It just has such a classic look to it, with that spiral wrapping around it all the way up.
The St. Augustine Light was built in 1871 and at 164 feet tall you can see this lighthouse from miles away. It’s worth visiting just to climb the spiral staircase inside for the best view in town, and especially if you just love lighthouses like so many people do. Right next to the lighthouse there’s also a maritime history museum here to explore with a focus on recovering artifacts from old shipwrecks.
It’s $12.95 for adults and $10.95 for kids, but I think that’s actually a little bit pricey for kids. Some kids might have a tough time with the long climb up the staircase, and then might just not be into the museum. I get that for a historical landmark like this, you should think of your admission fee as a donation, but I think they’d see more families come through if they just lowered the price for kids a bit. For the rest of you, though it’s worth the visit, but it’s not a stop on the tram tour, so you’ll need to make a special trip out here to see it.
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm is near here as well. I’m not sure i’d call that a must-see because there are other similar places around Florida, but it’s a fun place to visit if you’re in the area.
Website: http://www.staugustinelighthouse.com
Castillo de San Marcos
If you only have time to see one thing in St. Augustine, this is it. The famous Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, and is what most people think of when they think of St. Augustine, Florida. Construction of the fort began in 1672, a full 107 years after the city’s founding when Florida was still a part of the Spanish Empire. The fort was built to defend the city from attacks by pirates and the rival British Empire. The fortress has seen plenty of action as it was attacked by British invaders twice and changed ownership a number of times as different Empires occupied the city.
Today it’s just a fascinating place to visit and explore, while you picture how it might have been to live and work here over 300 years ago. You can visit old barracks and living quarters, and see the old cannons and mortars that once fired on invading British ships.
The fort is operated by the National Park Service and is really reasonably priced. It’s $10.00 for a seven day pass, and kids under 15 are free.
Website: https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm
Well that wraps up our list of best things to see in St. Augustine. If you have your own favorites, let us know in the comments!