About Tampa
Once Tampa was known for these attractions and zoos. It is now evolving to a place in which old is new, such as historical buildings have been returned to life. These buildings are currently home to trendy restaurants, shops, and retail shops. With all this urban renewal, business leaders have been following, and it has a great foodie scene in Florida. The best time to visit Tampa is around September to December, when the flight prices drop by an average of 15%. In contrast, May to August is the peak season when the flight prices increase at an average of 13%.
Tampa features several tourist attractions, most notably Busch Gardens, which features an amusement park and a holistic approach to animals, fauna, and nature. Also in the region are fantastic attractions devoted to wildlife and animals, like a zoo, and aquariums.
Downtown Tampa is a sizeable hub for office towers. Moreover, it also has a rich collection of historic quarters, including Ybor City and Old Hyde Park. Franklin Street is the pedestrian heart of the city where you’ll find lots of shopping, restaurants, and attractions.
Things to Do in Tampa, FL
1. Busch Gardens
Busch Gardens is a theme park in Virginia featuring tons of thrill rides, live entertainment, performances, and sorts of wild animals in their natural habitat. You can go on safari to watch wild animals grazing by replicating African villages. Here you can also gaze scenes of the camp, and the special “Serengeti Night Safari” is one of the most popular available. You can cuddle with kangaroos and giraffes.
Busch Gardens has many exciting activities for people of all ages, including kiddie rides and roller coaster rides that are an extreme thrill experience. There are many ticketing options for Busch Gardens, such as multi-attraction passes and packages with meals included.
Address: 10165 North McKinley Drive, Tampa, Florida
2. Florida Aquarium
The Tampa Aquarium is great fun for the whole family. It has a variety of animal habitats, and activities designed to educate and entertain everyone. The habitats emulate traditional watershed areas so that visitors can view the wide range of fish and marine life. You’ll be able to handle starfish, anemones, as well as other sea life in addition tons of land-dwelling life like the lemur. You’ll have the chance to get hands-on with the Florida Aquarium’s admission to skip lines. This aquarium features the outdoor Splash Pad, where kids can cool off.
4-dimensional theaters offer enhanced immersion for their visitors by adding sensory elements to a 3-Dimensional film. Visitors can experience spectacular activities and behind-the-scenes tours for an additional charge.
Address: 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, Florida
3. ZooTampa at Lowry Park
The zoo formerly known as the Tampa Zoo at Lowry Park has been renamed to the ZooTampa at Lowry Park. Here, you’ll be able to see more than 2,000 exotic animals living in natural surroundings, along with animals from Africa, Asia, and Australia, as well as indigenous Florida habitats, a primate area, and an aviary.
our facility offers a large, on-site aquarium consisting of several pools in which injured and sick manatees are treated. Get to know the “backstage” opportunities that the zoo has to offer, including being able to interact with penguins and tortoises while having a rhino feed you.
Popular Presbyterians at the zoo include the African elephants, African penguins, Florida panthers, and the Bornean Orangutan. The park has rides, too, including a safari ride within the African habitat, a miniature-train ride, and a family-friendly roller coaster.
The zoo also hosts events and programs throughout the year, and visitors as well as locals alike are drawn to it.
Address: 1101 West Sligh Avenue, Tampa, Florida
4. Ybor City
The United States National Historic Landmark District in Tampa is named after one of the founders of Ybor City, Vicente Martinez Ybor. He arrived in the late 1800s, following workers at his Panama City plant threatening to unionize.
At some time, the cigar-making production center of Ybor, Florida, was the largest in the world. However, the Great Depression and the introduction of mechanical rollers operating at high speeds brought an end to the boom, and many factories were closed and destroyed.
The area in more recent years has seen an increase in tourism. Around Seventh Avenue in Ybor City, in Spanish “La Septima,” are some of the city’s most historical buildings, some of which are listed among National Register of Historic Places.
Columbia Restaurant Ybor City’s is the state’s oldest and largest Spanish restaurant. Famous for its Spanish food, live shows, and beautiful architectural design, it was established in 1905 by Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hern ndez, Sr.
5. Tampa Riverwalk
When staying in downtown Tampa, if you’re seeking a relaxing place to go for a stroll, head over to the Riverwalk. It is a 2.4-mile walkway along the waterfront. It begins at Sparkman Wharf and ends at the Armature Works.
The Riverwalk has a wonderful assortment of public art along its length. An array of artwork ranging from murals to sculptures. Key Tampa sightseeing spots are also located along the route of the walk, including the Florida Aquarium and the Tampa Museum of Art. For kids, four playgrounds are available, two of which contain splash pads.
If you work up an appetite or thirst along the way, a fine collection of restaurants have sunny patios that serve up tasty dishes and even better people watching. Following the beginning or end (or beginning or end) cards at Sparkman Wharf is some of the finest restaurant real estate in North America, with choices of “box” restaurants or the industrial Armature Works.
6. Adventure Island
Florida can be hot most of the year and what better way to cool off as a family than hitting Tampa’s most popular water park, Adventure Island. Here, you’ll have your choice of nine major waterslides.
How brave are you? You may find out after reviewing the names of the waterslides: Vortex, Aruba Tuba, and Caribbean Corkscrew. Some more water parks are Colossal Curl, Vanish Point, Water Moccasin, Calypso Curl, and Riptide.
New in 2022 are the Rapids Racer and the Wahoo Remix. The brand-new Rapids Racer is a side-by-side dual raft run, where you can compete against your friends to see who can get to the bottom first. Moreover, the Wahoo Remix is an audio assault on your senses.
Adventure Island is conveniently located across the road from Busch Gardens.
7. Sunshine Skyway
Sunshine Skyway is a toll bridge located on I 275/US 19. This multi-lane “highway on stilts” is 12 miles long and curves gracefully across the entrance to Tampa Bay. Its most impressive feature is a 4.25-mile-long, high-level bridge. Bridges’ middle section of which is suspended from two gigantic pylons, allowing the passage of large ocean-going vessels beneath.
As you drive over the new bridge, check out the beautiful views over the ocean. Additionally, the bridge itself is also an impressive sight and often photographed by tourists. If the wind is up, keep an eye out for kiteboarders racing across the water beneath their colorful kites.
8.Take an Evening Dinner Cruise
One of the best things to do in Tampa is to take a dinner sunset cruise on the Yacht StarShip. This large triple-decked ship sails out from its berth at Sparkman Wharf into Tampa Bay. Catch the sunset and watch the city lights come on as you enjoy a fine dinner.
Later on, after dinner, wander up to the top deck, where you’ll find incredible views out over the water with the cityscape lit up in its full glory. A live DJ spins classics along with new music and requests as the dance floor pulses under the starry skies. Stuck with two left feet and not a dancer? Don’t worry, grab a seat along the deck rail and enjoy the view of some of Tampa’s finest homes.
