Newsweek Showcase
 Sunday, 23 Oct 2005 Showcase Home FAQ Testimonials Valid HTML 4.01!
 Travel and

 Property
 
 Business and Consulting
 Distance Learning
 Education Directory
 Expatriate Services
 Fertility & Child Adoption
 Franchises
 Health Directory
 Online Dating
 Private Schools
 Retirement
 Summer Camps
 Summer Programs
 Travel & Culture
 
 Marketplace

Travel and Property

Travel, Culture, Travel Insurance and Vacations

Tampa Bay

Once a small fishing village that later became the "Cigar Capital of the World," Tampa Bay has become one of the Sunshine State’s most vibrant vacation destinations. With cool bay breezes and warm sunshine virtually year-round, visitors can choose from the waterfront city’s wide array of diversions, from roaring down roller coasters at Busch Gardens or rowing down the nature rich Hillsborough River to catching a ball game from the bleachers or catching some rays on the beaches.
 

The Hillsborough River flows through Tampa and is a popular recreation site for hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, canoeing and kayaking. Canoe Escape, offers two-hour to full-day paddling trips that allow abundant opportunities to spot native wildlife such as alligators, turtles, snakes, deer, river otters and birds of prey.

Where the river meets the bay in downtown Tampa is where tycoon Henry Plant built the opulent Tampa Bay Hotel in 1891. The hotel’s Moorish minarets topped-off an interior of luxurious furnishings. Now a National Historic Landmark, the hotel is the Henry Plant Museum with all original hotel furnishings depicting the turn-of-the-century Victorian lifestyle.

Ybor City is Tampa’s Latin Quarter and one of only three National Historic Landmark Districts in the state. Ybor City was founded when Cuban cigar factory owner Don Vincente Martinez Ybor moved his operation to Tampa in 1886. Other cigar manufacturers followed and soon “Mr. Ybor’s City” became the "Cigar Capital of the World" with 12,000 “tabaqueros” rolling 700 million cigars a year in 200 factories. The cigar industry created a vivacious Latin community where Spaniards, Italians, Jews, Germans and Cubans worked and socialized together.

Ybor City’s culture and heritage lives on through its brick streets, wrought-iron balconies and globe street lamps. Historic buildings have turned into trendy boutiques, coffeehouses and nightclubs. Often referred to as the “Nightlife Capital of Florida’s West Coast,” Ybor City nighttime festive atmosphere is created by thousands of revelers strolling in and out of chic restaurants and bars along 7th Avenue.

Busch Gardens, a 335-acre African-themed family entertainment park in Tampa, offers a wild time of a different kind. The park captures the true spirit of Africa bringing visitors up close to lions, hyenas, hippos, white rhinos, crocodiles, giraffes and zebras. Busch Gardens features two of the top steel roller coasters in the world and the largest and fastest dueling wooden coaster in the Southeast. New in 2005 is Sheikra, the first dive roller coaster in North America.

Tampa Bay visitors slow down by heading to the beach to sink their toes in the sand and soak up the sunshine. With a semi-tropical climate marked by an average temperature of 71 degrees, there’s definitely plenty of sunshine here. And there’s 35 miles of white, sugary sand lining the Tampa Bay region’s coast along the Gulf of Mexico.

Tampa Bay offers a diverse selection of attractions, and enough diversions to keep visitors entertained for a weekend or a whole week. And with rich history, pristine nature, theme parks, beaches and a sizzling nightlife scene all in one waterfront destination, Tampa Bay is home to the best of everything that Florida has to offer.

Other City Articles:

Tampa Bay: Florida

Pittsburgh

Featured Travel and Property Providers

Imperial American Express Travel Services
Imperial American Express Travel Services 6900 Decarie Blvd., suite 3402
Montreal, Que.
H3X 2T8,
Canada
Tel: 1 514 341 7220
Toll Free: 1 888 344 3472
Fax: 1 514 341 7998
For more information, click here

American Orient Express
American Orient Express American Orient Express
5100 Main Street, Suite 300
Downers Grove, IL. 60515
Tel: 1-800-320-4206
For more information, click here

Brunswick Golden Isles Convention & Visitors Bureau
Brunswick Golden Isles Convention & Visitors Bureau 4 Glynn Avenue
Brunswick,
GA 315220
Tel: 800-933-COAST (2627)
Tel: 912-265-0620
For more information, click here

Intrepid Travel
intrepid Travel 2511 Ocean Ave
Venice,
Ca 90291
Tel: 1 866 847 8192
For more information, click here

Beausserie Immobilier French Real Estate
Beausserie Immobilier French Real Estate Place du commerce
87350 PANAZOL
France
Tel: 05 55 31 06 02
Fax: 05 55 31 06 03
For more information, click here

American West Steamboat Company
American West Steamboat Company 2101 4th Avenue,
Suite 1150
Seattle,
WA 98121
Tel: 1 800 434 1232
For more information, click here

Newman Dailey Resort Properties
Newman Dailey Resort Properties Vacation Rentals/Real Estate Office
12815 Hwy 98 W Suite 100
Destin, FL 32550
Tel: 850 837 1071
Toll Free: 800 225 7652
For more information, click here

International Mortgage Plans
International Mortgage Plans International Mortgage Plans
Blandings
Cobbetts Hill
Weybridge
Surrey
KT13 0UA
Tel: 44 (0) 1932 830660
For more information, click here

Telestial Wireless Solutions For Travelers
Telestial Wireless Solutions For Travelers 1804 Garnet Ave.
Suite 385
San Diego,
CA 92109
858 274 2686
For more information, click here

CFI Worldco
CFI Worldco 734 Franklin Avenue,
Suite 327
Garden City,
NY. 11530
Tel: 516 294 6030
For more information, click here

Newsweek Showcase Advertising Contacts

Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail: newsweekasia

London,
UK
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail: newsweekeurope

New York,
USA
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail: newsweekamerica

Newsweek site map

Showcase Home

Newsweek

Disclaimer

Contact Us

Last Updated 14th Oct 2005

Search Our Site

 

Top of the page Top Of The Page

© 2005 Newsweek Showcase