Blue Heaven
Home to the most “heavenly” breakfast in Key West (think seafood eggs Benedict and homemade banana bread), this shuttered blue building has a century-old history of entertaining islanders on Petronia Street in the historic Bahama Village neighborhood. Through the years, the venue has hosted cockfighting, gambling, and Friday-night boxing matches refereed by Ernest Hemingway. Today, diners enjoy Keys, Caribbean, and seafood specialties and memorable meringue-topped Key lime pie. The ambiance is so tropical and chill, and the food will not disappoint! It's a great way to start off your day in Key West.
See MoreSouthernmost Point of the Continental U.S.A.
Next stop of the day: check out the famous 'Southernmost Point Sign' for a picture! This is an iconic landmark because it's the southernmost point of the United States and is only 90 miles from Cuba! It's actually closer to Cuba than it is to Miami. I recommend coming here earlier in the morning for a picture because a long line forms in the afternoon, full of people waiting for their picture.
See MoreThe Hemingway Home and Museum
Just up the road is Ernest Hemingway's home, where he lived and wrote for nearly 10 years, finding solace and great physical challenge in the turquoise waters that surround this tiny 2 x 4-mile island. At this Whitehead Street property, guests can step back in time and visit rooms and gardens where the Nobel Prize winner spent the most prolific period of his writing career. Notable features include the island’s first swimming pool and a colony of cats, many of them six-toed, supposedly descended from a sea captain’s feline given to the author. He wrote many of his classic works in the second-story studio that adjoins the Whitehead Street house. Among them: “Death in the Afternoon,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” and “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” He used Depression-era Key West as the locale for “To Have and Have Not,” his only novel set in the U.S. This is a must-visit spot in Key West, and you can purchase a pass on the spot!
See MoreKey West Lighthouse
The current lighthouse opened in 1848 with a woman as its Keeper—nearly unheard of during the 19th century. In the years following, the lighthouse underwent a number of upgrades until 1969, when the U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned it since there was no longer a need for a full-time Keeper due to new technology.
Today, this sentinel of the sea stands as a museum dedicated to maritime heritage and to the men and women who bravely kept the light burning through the threats of war and weather. Visitors can walk up the 88 steps to the top, as well as explore belongings, photographs, and words of the lighthouse Keepers and their families who lived a now obsolete, yet never-forgotten, way of life.
See MoreClarence S.Higgs Memorial Beach
My favorite beach on Key West! If you want some time to relax and soak up the rays, I recommend coming here.
See MoreSebago Watersports
After a fun-packed day of sightseeing, it's time to end it with a relaxing sunset cruise! I did mine through Sebago Watersports, and we really enjoyed it! They provide free drinks and a relaxing cruise around the coastline of Key West on a spacious catamaran. It's the perfect way to end your day.
See MoreConch Republic Seafood Company
After your sunset cruise, I'm sure you will have worked up an appetite. So, I recommend stopping by the famous Conch Republic Seafood Company for dinner! They serve fresh dock-to-dish dining in the building formerly known as the Singleton Fish House and Ice Plant. For many years, local shrimpers unloaded, processed, and shipped thousands of pounds of Key West pink shrimp from this location.
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