Whatever your choice...there's a lifestyle for you.

A beautiful bay awaits where dolphins play and swaying palm trees line quiet streets lead to many options:  live theater, world-class shopping and dining, and the world-famous white sandy beaches of sun-drenched islands that stretch along the beautiful azure waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Sarasota is a European-style city where you can walk around, take in the water views, visit interesting boutiques and galleries, see a show or play, chat over a cup of Espresso, sail around the bay, or stroll through your favorite park.

There's far more to Sarasota than white sandy beaches.  Stroll through an art museum where the architecture is as much as art form as the masterpieces within.  Gaze upon rare exotic orchids.  Find the perfect gift in one of the most renowned shopping areas in the world.  Paddle through lush tropical forests.  Listen to a full orchestra ensemble.  Make a tee time, or if you prefer, make time for tea.  No matter what your distraction from the beach, the Sarasota area has a multitude of activities.

FLORIDA'S "CULTURAL COAST"
With its professional theaters, symphonies, ballet and opera, Sarasota County is known as Florida's "Cultural Coast." We're home to more than 30 art galleries, artist communities, the Ringling Museum of Art, and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. The arts community here surpasses that found in counties five or six times the size of Sarasota.

Out and About
You'll be amazed at the diversity of natural beauty you'll discover canoeing or kayaking South Lido Park's watery trail through a tunnel of mangroves, or examining marine life on a bay cruise. View bromeliads growing in the wild along the new Canopy Walk at Myakka River State Park, and picnic by a lazy creek at Oscar Scherer State Park. Make it a day to stretch yourself with windsurfing lessons, parasailing, or fishing for the big ones. There are plenty of great courts serving up tennis, and don't miss the opportunity for an autograph when Major League Baseball begins spring training.

Days on the Greens
Every Sarasota day is a golfer's dream with more than 30 golf courses sprinkled throughout the county, challenging all levels of play and budgets. Of the Top 20 Southwest regional courses voted by the readers of Florida Golf News, nine are in the Sarasota area; four local courses are in the top 100 places to play in the whole state. Always looking to improve your game? Top instructors can show you how to trim a slice and get to the green in two. So grab your clubs and make the most difficult decision of the day — which fairway to play.

Boating
With 17,000 pleasure boats -- sailboats to speedboats -- registered in Sarasota County, boaters discover an aquatic bliss on area waterways.  Public boat ramps are located all through the county, often serving as the launching spot for boat parades and sailboarding.  The annual Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix Festival attracts thousands of speedboat racing enthusiasts to the area each July.

Fishing Sarasota
Sarasota is home to some of the best fishing -- game or otherwise -- in the state of Florida.  Snook, redfish, kingfish, trout, amberjack, mahi-mahi, and grouper can be found lurking in the backcountry mangroves.  Past the sandbars, big-game tarpons cruise the deep waters of the ocean.  Anglers can find a bounty of fish whether they drop their lines from a dock, boat, bridge, jetty, beach, or public pier.  Snook, Florida's official game fish, is the most sought-after catch in the state.

Even More to Explore
Kids of all ages love getting up close and personal with sea critters at Mote Aquarium or the flocks of shrimp-pink flamingos and entertaining reptile and bird shows at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.  Be "wowed" by the interactive science exhibits at G.WIZ.  Relive local history at Historic Spanish Point with its 4,000-year-old ancient Indian settlement. Or lose yourself in the world-class Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, a wonderland of tropical plants and over 6,000 orchids.

Savor the Flavors
Sarasota is known for its restaurants, and their extensive menus of flavors are sure to satisfy. Rub elbows with locals while downing cold brews and munching big juicy burgers in the '50s feel of open-air diners. Amish restaurants serve heaping portions of comfort food, and French bakeries tempt with delicate pastries. Elegant dining is always in vogue, and the region overflows in award winners famous in gourmet circles. Seafood reigns supreme and there's no better taste in the world than Sarasota's delicacy -- Florida stone crab claws plunged into dipping sauces.

The Art of Shopping
Explore the uniqueness of St. Armands Circle with its collection of upscale shops and specialty stores. Downtown Sarasota offers small-town Americana on Main Street, while the art galleries on Palm Avenue remind you of New York and L.A. Turn the corner onto Pineapple Avenue and you'll find fine antiques to true 1950s Florida kitsch. A little further south into Venice and you'll be standing among shops that look out onto one of the best-planned downtowns in America. If you like your shopping action packed, enjoy the variety of several indoor malls or the bargain bonanzas at the nearby outlet mall.

Aahh, The Weather!
With an average annual temperature of 74 degrees, Sarasota has near perfect weather all year long. The temperature of the gulf water ranges from 60 degrees in the winter months to the low 90s at its warmest in the summer.

Average Annual Rainfall
57.11 inches, mostly during the summer afternoon.

Tide Tables
Florida Weather Links