Naples

The southernmost city along Florida's Gulf Coast is Naples, an upscale area with a quaint city center and lovely stretch of beach. A mix of elegant houses and tall condo towers line the ocean, but the downtown has maintained a small-town feel. Naples' Third St. South and 5th Avenue South are home to its trendiest restaurants, art galleries, and boutiques. A visit to Naples Pier, the city's most beloved historic landmark, is a must for tourists and the perfect place for spotting dolphins without getting on a boat. Despite its reputation as a high-end golf resort town, Naples has several historic attractions, as well as unique nature parks. The historic Smallwood Store trading post is now a museum that remembers the days of fur trading, and the Museum of the Everglades explores 2,000 years of the region's history back to the Calusa Indians. Both properties are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Gulf Coast Everglades Visitor Center is the park's only admission-free center, and visitors can take a boat tour or rent a canoe or kayak to explore the mangrove estuaries and see the region's amazing wildlife. Other nearby parks are the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, known for its ancient cypress forest, and Fakahatchee Strand State Park, home to the ghost orchid and other rare and endangered plants and animals.