We booked the Uncovering Ca' d'Zan Guided Tour ($40 per person) before flying to Florida. The tour…read morelasts about 60-70 minutes and includes the main rooms on the first floor, a peek into the Tap Room with stories about indulgence and Prohibition during the 1920s, as well as select spaces on the second, third, and fourth floors of the Ringlings' magnificent waterfront mansion. I'm so glad I booked this tour! it was the highlight of our Florida trip. Our tour guide, Susan, was professional, knowledgeable, and full of humor. She made the entire experience both informative and relaxing. Ca' d'Zan is simply breathtaking. This stunning Mediterranean Revival mansion sits on the shores of Sarasota Bay and was built in the mid-1920s as the winter retreat of American circus magnate, entrepreneur, and art collector John Ringling and his wife, Mable Burton Ringling. Although the mansion is over 100 years old, it still radiates the glamour, elegance, and artistic vision of the Ringlings. Every room is filled with exquisite craftsmanship and thoughtful details that reflect their passion for art and architecture. One of my favorite features was the magnificent ceiling paintings by the Hungarian artist Willy Pogany. Each one tells a story from another era, preserving its beauty for generations to admire. Standing on the terrace overlooking Sarasota Bay, I couldn't help but be reminded of the atmosphere from the movie Great Expectations. There was something incredibly romantic, mysterious, and timeless about the view. To me, Ca' d'Zan feels alive. If you slow down and listen carefully, the mansion tells its own story. There is glamour. There is longing. There is sadness. There is hope. And somehow, there is a place for you within it. I absolutely fell in love with this place. Without a doubt, this was the best attraction we visited during our trip to Sarasota. I would highly recommend the Uncovering Ca' d'Zan Guided Tour to anyone visiting the area, and I will definitely return to explore the Museum of Art next time.

The Ringling is absolutely beautiful and there's way more to see than I expected. You get…read moreeverything from circus history to ancient art and artifacts, contemporary pieces, gorgeous grounds, statues and the rose garden. The roses were supposedly in season, but honestly that part was a little underwhelming. My personal favorites were the ancient artifacts and the circus miniature. There are also some parts of circus history that definitely haven't aged well, including minstrel depictions, but history is history and I appreciated that it wasn't sanitized. My biggest issue was being asked THREE separate times to show our wristbands while walking the grounds. Normally, no big deal, but we watched larger groups walk right by without being questioned while our group of three kept getting stopped, despite our wristbands being just as visible. By the third time, it was hard not to feel like we were being profiled. That was disappointing, especially after driving an hour for a close friend's birthday. I usually don't spend my money where I feel unwanted, but I wasn't going to let it ruin her day. Beautiful museum and absolutely worth experiencing, but that part of our visit left a bad taste in my mouth.

Great place peaceful environment with the outdoors and plants and flowers and great staff to help…read moreyou with anything you need

Very disappointed!!:: for three of us paying almost $70 when half of the things are closed!! they…read moreshouldn't charge you full price or they should tell you on the website.. the museum is closed we came her specifically to go in the historic home/ museum,one of the huge exhibits closed everything is under construction I do not recommend coming here now!

The Sarasota Jungle Gardens is a hidden gem. There's so much to do and it's one of the places in…read morethe world that you can feed flamingos. They have so many animals from turtles, parrots to baby alligators. This place is family friendly for all ages. Don't forget to see the bird show! There's free on site parking available.

Ok, not great. If you want to pay $25 to hand feed a…read moreflamingo, this is the place for you. The live bird show at noon was good. The cafe is still closed, so there is only one small restroom at the gift shop for the whole park! The animals in cages looked sad. While walking on the main path, I saw a rat! Another lady said she saw many.

An old cottage, mangrove, former ice house & jail make up the island historical site & museum…read more This free museum building from 1920 was originally an icehouse. It went on to serve as an automotive garage, a sea turtle hatchery, & a public administration building. In 1992, the City of Anna Maria turned it into a Historical Society for use as a museum. The Historical Park is the site of a fresh water well established on the Island. Then it became a park used for picnics in the early 1900s. The Historical Park is now planted with drought & disease resistant native plants. The goal of this park is to educate everyone about native plants & provide an example of eco-friendly landscaping. The one room city jail was built in 1927 to "quarter rowdies" who had had a bit too much to drink at the local tavern & dance hall. It was used until the 1940s, when it caught fire. The wooden roof burned away, but the original structure remains. The city decided to use the old jail as a photo op for visitors, so it was left standing & painted with its current slogan. Strangely, this is one of the most photographed attractions on the Island & you know I could not resist.

This is a nice little spot to catch up on the history of this beautiful island getaway we call Anna…read moreMaria Island. We didn't get to go into the actual Historical Museum Building, but we did explore the few areas on ground. First we viewed the Old Jail. Hard to imagine this actually was a jail in the 1920's for the loud drink crazy people. They had bars so they could not get out, but the ceiling was exposed so they could get badly bitten by the bugs. It is now known as the number one place to get pics on AMI. We then checked out the old cottage. This cottage was called Belle Haven. It was built in 1920 on the City Pier down the street, but it fell in the Bay. They decided to include it in the Historical Society for Anna Maria Island. It reflects what cottages looked like back in the day. You can peak through the window which I did. Lastly is the mangroves. This use to be a park for picnics in the 1920's. This is a nice spot to check out history. It is small and just right.

I like coming here for Christmas. felt like this place has a lot to offer and a lot to give, sad…read moreto see only open one day a week. We had an excellent tour guide. The fact this experience was free. Makes me believe they're still hope for the society we live in. love the people here love the environment.

Went here with my Dino-loving grandson for his birthday and had a blast! The area is small, but…read morewith a devoted and informed staff that put together a truly special "fossil dig" experience for him! The place feels like "Old Florida" as the two buildings are nestled under oak trees and have meticulously catalogued finds labeled in protective cases. The adventure isn't a long one, but getting to see the fossils and walk the trails is a wonderful use of a Saturday morning!

Small place, but very nice. I enjoyed spending a bit of time when I was visiting Sarasota, Florida.read more

What a very beautiful garden…read more I loved getting the chance to stand along the pond with a Tibetan nun admiring the beautiful nature and grounds. A beautiful crane and another native bird were coexisting together and she showed me pictures how a month ago the same birds were in the same location just enjoying the day! There were different kinds of trees and it was very beautiful There is a wonderful staff member name Alec, who is taking care of the inside of the center for an event. Alec was very helpful and kind and help me find where I was supposed to be ultimately, he knew the area very well and so helpful and courteous and chivalrous. I'm very grateful. Because of such people... It touches my heart because they really do something special by showing their kind heart. How wonderful!

Parking was easy. You can tell how much live and work went into this festival-everyone very…read morefriendly and wishing to share details of the their heritage. The food was authentic and tasty!! Will be going again next year!!

We had a great time at the Hungarian Festival in Sarasota state Fairgrounds! The Hungarian festival…read morefeatures Tons of big named musicians flown in from Hungary! My favorite was Animal Canibals, the Hungarian rap group! The festival featured about 4 rows of venders under tents offering a wide range of Hungarian foods and various other Hungarian products. The festival had a huge tent where all the musicians performed with plenty of seating in the shade with fans. The lines were not bad at all to get food, drinks, or go to the bathroom. They had a ton of cool games including this hamster ball through a maze, bubble boy on water, ride the shark, tree house slide, trampoline super jump, an inflatable maze, archery, and some lego games for the kids. I was To drink, I was A little disappointed there was no Hungarian beer but there was plenty of German and Czechoslovakian beer. I really liked the shirts the festival workers had on featuring a large Hungarian crest but I was disappointed they didn't sell it in black. To eat, We had chicken paprikas, beef stew, mashed potatoes, szekey kaposzta, Langos, cremes torta, raspberry tekercs. All of them tasted great, authentic, and just like grandma makes! This festival is the closest I've gotten to Hungary since 2009 so it was nice ! I look forward to visiting next year!

I didn't attend the festival, but I walked from the Botanical Gardens to the restaurants along Main…read moreSt and the route clearly took us past Chalk Festival locations. For three blocks or so, every square of sidewalk was painted with unique, inspiring, humorous art. Sometimes there were quotes, sometimes sea life, sometimes--well, clearly anything the artist felt inspired to paint! This was a wonderful detail of Sarasota to stumble across, and I'd certainly recommend a short walking detour to check it out.