key west known for???

[kjaa0913]

what is key west known for when you go there what should you not miss when you are there?

[tomko2]

Jimmy Buffet, Schooner Wharf Bar, Sloppy Joe's Bar and Mallory Square -- laid-back people and fun in the sun.

Kathy:D

[kjaa0913]

what is mallory square??

[cusyl]

Famous for sunset activities, here's a link:

http://www.mallorysquare.com/

[Glama]

Frozen chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick, from the Blonde Giraffe. :) Yum.

 

Hogs Breath is a fun bar, but I found the bartenders to be rude.

[alphakitty]

Key Lime Pie, bars like the Hogs Breath Saloon and Sloppy Joes and sandals....there are some really nice sandal shops!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Key West is known for its special architecture, part Bahamian/part New England. The houses are trimmed with a gingerbread type of wooden decoration. The roofs are often tin. There are also one-story "shot gun" houses. Another unique style is the "eye-brow" style in which the roof actually comes down over the second story windows to offer shelter and shade. The houses are in colorful shades of paint with contrasting color trim on porches, shutters and doors.

 

Key West has a wide variety of tropical foliage.

 

Key West has some historic homes including the Hemingway house, the house where Audubon stayed while he did his studies of Keys birds, and the Truman summer White House. All offer guided tours.

 

The Butterfly Conservatory, the Aquarium, the Turtle Kraals area all are interesting tours. The Mel Fisher Sunken Treasure museum featuring the treasure from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de La Atocha is one of the most popular museums in South Florida.

 

Other sites of interest are the Pirate Soul Museum, The Shipwreck Historeum, Ripley's Believe It or Not or walk along the Historic dock area and see the tall ships. You can also tour the Key West lighthouse keeper's cozy home and climb the light house stairs.

 

Key West has an interesting cemetery similar in character to those in New Orleans.

 

Civil War buffs can visit Fort Zachary Taylor which was garrisoned by Union soldiers during that war. The fort is in a peaceful state park which has wonderful views of the sunset.

[THERUDYS]

• Keno sandals. They are made in front of you. Bought several pairs for DH ,DS and DIL as well as DD. They are inexpensive but very comfortable. DD is 22 and I thought she wouldn't care for them. I was wrong as she also took mine. We rented a scooter for two and had a blast tooling around town.

[tigerdadky]

Its a drinking town with a fishing problem

[Aquahound]

Its a drinking town with a fishing problem

 

This pretty much sums it up!

 

But otherwise, Key West is an art town with a lot of quarky people. You can find art galleries everywhere.

 

Unfortunately, the beaches are becoming more known for their bums than their sand. :(

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

This pretty much sums it up!

 

But otherwise, Key West is an art town with a lot of quarky people. You can find art galleries everywhere.

 

Unfortunately, the beaches are becoming more known for their bums than their sand. :(

 

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park beach isn't quite so bad in that regard, most likely because there is a daily charge to use that beach.

[jaspercat]

Key West is known for its special architecture, part Bahamian/part New England. The houses are trimmed with a gingerbread type of wooden decoration. The roofs are often tin. There are also one-story "shot gun" houses. Another unique style is the "eye-brow" style in which the roof actually comes down over the second story windows to offer shelter and shade. The houses are in colorful shades of paint with contrasting color trim on porches, shutters and doors.

 

Key West has a wide variety of tropical foliage.

 

Key West has some historic homes including the Hemingway house, the house where Audubon stayed while he did his studies of Keys birds, and the Truman summer White House. All offer guided tours.

 

The Butterfly Conservatory, the Aquarium, the Turtle Kraals area all are interesting tours. The Mel Fisher Sunken Treasure museum featuring the treasure from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de La Atocha is one of the most popular museums in South Florida.

 

Other sites of interest are the Pirate Soul Museum, The Shipwreck Historeum, Ripley's Believe It or Not or walk along the Historic dock area and see the tall ships. You can also tour the Key West lighthouse keeper's cozy home and climb the light house stairs.

 

Key West has an interesting cemetery similar in character to those in New Orleans.

 

Civil War buffs can visit Fort Zachary Taylor which was garrisoned by Union soldiers during that war. The fort is in a peaceful state park which has wonderful views of the sunset.

 

Almost sounded like I posted this myself -- it's very much how I feel about Key West. I love it there. Easy walking to everything and even though I've been a few times I still find something different or something I missed. Unfortuntely I've yet to be there for the sunset ceremonies -- hear they're fantastic.

[Knights on the Beach]

Cats, chickens and characters -- and I love every bit of it! :D

[aldaoust]

I was there over 10 years ago and loved Sloppy Joe's, Duval Street, Mallory Square (beautiful sunset), key lime pie and Hemmigway House. But what was with all the chickens!

 

LOL

 

Great bunch of folks!

 

:D

[peanutzmom]

Key West is a fun little town. The beaches suck, the bars rock, and the local art is out-of-this-world. You won't find a better sunset anywhere, though most cruise ships don't stick around long enough to enjoy it. It's one of those places where you can hit every historical site (fron Hemmingway's house to the lighthouse) or you can grab a drink at any of the open air bars along Duval Street and just people watch. Save your beach/snorkling days for the Caymans or Cozumel, and plan on just walking around Key West and enjoying the very unique atmosphere.

[xcarebearxoxo]

key west is one of faviort ports! like a pp said you have to go to blonde giraffe and get key lime pie on a stick it was actually featured on the food network. you definatly have to hit the lighthouse, hemmingway house, sloppy joes, and mallory square. i never do excursions here in fact i like the walking there

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Hubby and our son just did the night time ghost tour this week. They really enjoyed it and wanted to see Robert, the haunted doll, said to be the prototype of Chucky of horror movie fame. So the next day we went to the quirky museum in the East Martello Tower in front of the airport.

 

There, they keep naughty Robert under glass so he'll stay out of trouble. Also he is over 100-years old now. He was much bigger than I imgained he would be.

 

There used to be day time ghost tours too, but I don't know if they would be as scarey. The night time tour originates at the lobby of the Crowne Plaza La Concha Hotel on Duval Street. It is a walking tour.

[keywesst]

I like to think that KW is known for its hospitality--especially off Duval. The typical attitude from locals towards cruisers ("boat people") is....they'll do the train, go to Sloppy's, buy a tshirt and get back on the boat. That's such a shallow and false image of our little island....it's a shame the ships don't tell pax to get off Duval and go explore, but I suppose there's no profit in that.

If you're so inclined, walk Duval, get it out of your system (you've been in bars, right?) and then wander back into neighborhoods...Bahama Village, the Meadows....and see who we really are. Artists, musicians, dreamers, rumrunners and vagabonds....and we're SO willing to chat with people and brag about our little dot. We were all visitors at some point, we don't have an "us vs. them" attitude.

It's really upsetting to me to see posts of visitors claiming to "know" what KW is all about when they've never left Duval street or sat with a few locals and had a chat. Little yellow tour stickers on their chest, a "Crazy Shirts" plastic bag in their hands. That's not us, folks, that's a facade!

Next time you're in, take the time to go deeper and visit real island life. The ups and downs, the sacrifices and treasures, and I promise you'll leave with a smile and at least one new friend.

[satchiesmom]

We are "boat people" and Key West is one of our favorite ports. But as the last poster said, you really have to get away from Duval to enjoy what KW has to offer. We have biked and walked around the neighborhoods and met many unique and wonderful people. We absolutely love it there, no matter how many times we go, there is always something new to discover and we are never ever bored.

[zirka]

We were on the Carnival Liberty in Aug.07 We had more fun sitting in the Green Parrot having a cold beer or margarita. We also did the pirate museum and really enjoyed it. Also--back in 2000 did the Trolley tour and enjoyed that very much also.

[zirka]

:p We were on the Carnival Liberty in Aug.07 We had more fun sitting in the Green Parrot having a cold beer or margarita. We also did the pirate museum and really enjoyed it. Also--back in 2000 did the Trolley tour and enjoyed that very much also.