Florida Guide > Days Out
A days sightseeing in Tarpon Springs
If you fancy a little flavour of Greece during your Florida holiday then head off to Tarpon Springs. Greek people were brought to Tarpon Springs to dive for sponges in the heyday of that industry. Today, Tarpon Springs has more Greek/ American residents of any U. S. city. This is very evident as you walk round the town.
What to do when you get there?
Well, if history is your thing, well they have it in spades. Of course, a lot of it is based on the sponge trading and there are still a couple of sponge packing houses to visit. Apart from tourism, sponge trading has always been their main income generating trade.
Shopping; enough for even the most confirmed shopaholic and not the chains either! Natural sponge outlets, gift shops, jewellry shops and even an olive oil cosmetics store. In all there are over 100 shops to choose from. We found some of the more interesting ones were off ' the front'
Water sports are good here; wind surfing, of course and my favourite way to spend a couple of hours, a boat trip.
Choose from a nature tour, a sponge diving expedition or a plain old sightseeing trip. If you just want to swim and sunbathe then there are good beaches within easy reach.
Among the many eating places are Mama Gs Cuisine in Dodacanese Boulevard, Sawgrass Tiki Bar in Athens Street and Eco Bean in Pinellas Avenue. This last place is where to go for organic coffe or tea, fruit juice or a wicked smoothie! All the ingredients used here are organic and fair trade sourced.
Once you are suitable refreshed it is time for some culture. You should not miss St Nicholas Cathedral which is based on St Sophia of Constantinople and is considered to be one of the most beautiful orthodox churches in the World.
There are 5 places in Tarpon Springs which are on The National Register of Historic places.
Safford House
Old Tarpon City Hall
Old Tampa City High School
Tarpon Historic District (now awash with antque shops)
Arcade Hotel
It would be good to take a look at all of these during your day.
In the unlikely event that you have some time left after you have thoroughly explored this quaint city then there is a nearby State Park. This is Anclote Key which is an island that boasts an old light house and also has some most gorgeous beaches.
Whatever you chose to do, this charming town is sure to lure you back!
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