The sand at Lido Beach in Sarasota runs a close second to that at Siesta Beach. But the crowds here can be a bit thinner (though the word is getting out). Lido gets frequent praise from parents for its year-round lifeguards, easy access to clean restrooms, and above-average snack bar. Cool down after a day of sun and surf with a Pop Craft popsicle, available right at the beach or stroll to nearby St. Armands Circle and visit one of the many ice cream shops located in the shopping zone!
Ranked the #1 Beach in the U.S. in 2020 by TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards™, you will quickly understand why when you feel the quartz-crystal powdery sand between your toes, and experience the soft waves and the abundance of sun & fun at gorgeous Siesta Beach. Thanks to the large parking area, concession stands, the free trolley to get around on the island, and nearby fun Siesta Key Village, you can plan your whole trip centered around this gorgeous Key without getting bored.
Unique in concept, history, and beauty, St. Armands Circle is an unforgettable destination for visitors worldwide. This enchanting circle of more than 140 upscale shops and restaurants is set within an island tropical paradise. Renowned for it's continental flavor, lush courtyards, antique statuary, and the Circus Ring of Fame, the Circle is a graceful blend of past and present. Shop, Dine, & Relax!
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens provides 45 acres of bayfront sanctuaries connecting people with air plants of the world, native nature, and our regional history. Established by forward thinking women of their time, Selby Gardens is composed of the 15-acre Downtown Sarasota campus and the 30-acre Historic Spanish Point campus in the Osprey area of Sarasota County, Florida. The Downtown Sarasota Campus on Sarasota Bay is the only botanical garden in the world dedicated to the display and study of epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, gesneriads and ferns, and other tropical plants.
Powel Crosley built the Florida winter home for his wife, Gwendolyn, in 1929. The two-and-a-half-story Mediterranean mansion was built in the southwest corner of Bradenton on a 60-acre parcel of land on Sarasota Bay adjacent to the John Ringling Estate. The 11,000-square-foot home has 21 rooms and 10 baths, and an adjacent carriage house has room for three cars and servants' quarters on the second floor. Originally the mansion had a swimming pool, a seaplane dock and yacht basin. The home featured many innovations for its time, including a steel frame encased in cast stone, embedded pipes and wiring, and a 135-day construction schedule. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, Seagate was saved from commercial development and purchased for renovation by Manatee County, which operates it as a meeting, conference and event venue. Don't forget to explore this beautiful, historic estate while you enjoy our wedding festivities!
Mote Marine Laboratory is one of the world’s few remaining private marine research laboratories and, as a nonprofit organization, is funded through federal, state and local grants and through the generosity of individual donors and foundations. Over the decades since Mote was created, the world has learned many things about its oceans. One lesson has remained constant: there is still much to discover.