When Florida comes to mind, you may think of miles of sandy beaches, shady palm trees, and cool tropical drinks. Florida is the pinnacle of relaxation – why do you think so many folks retire there? What about travelers that want a blend of both the hallmark Florida offerings and an eclectic contemporary urban city? If that sounds right up your alley, Jacksonville is the spot for you. There are so many
Located in Northeast Florida, Jacksonville is home to craft breweries, museums and sprawling street art, fresh coastal cuisine, and letâs not forget 22 miles of gorgeous, white, sandy beaches. Our friends at Visit Jacksonville arranged a five day, four-night tour de force of all the city had to offer.
What To Do in Jacksonville Beach
After a short flight from Cleveland, we headed straight to Jacksonville Beach to check into our first hotel. The is mere steps from the beach and you absolutely beat the ocean view from our roomâs balcony.
Our first day in Jacksonville Beach was wholly dedicated to beaching it up, but first, coffee! Coffee and biscuits to be specific. Breakfast at was exactly what youâd expect from a southern style joint. Potato stacks, waffles, biscuit breakfast sandwiches, the works.
Everything was absolutely delicious and to top it off, to order, you had to answer a question and your answer was your order number. The question the morning we went was who would you like to have dinner with dead or alive? Naturally, the correct answer was Beyonce.
After breakfast had us heading to the beach. Jacksonville Beach is the Florida beach you see on postcards. Warm white sand, warmer water. Itâs easily the best beach Iâve been to in Florida.
To make our beach day even better, we connected with for some luxury recliners and umbrellas, but it didnât stop there. They hooked us up with a table with cup holders, bluetooth speakers, and even a cooler of Diet Coke. The dream!
We had everything we needed for a relaxing day oceanside thanks to Kurt and the team at Beach Life Rentals. He even provided us with bike rentals so we could ride back to our hotel from the beach location we had picked a bit further away. Bike locks gave us the opportunity to use the bikes to come and go for the rest of our time staying by the beach.
We lounged all day in the sun and surf until about dinner time, where we headed to for dinner at Poeâs Tavern for some seriously tasty fries and salads and checking out some of the local shops. We popped into Peterbrooke Chocolatier for some staple chocolate covered popcorn to take home with us.
On the way back to our hotel, we spotted Pelican Snoballs, and yâall know I love a snow cone so we had to stop. I was so pleased to find they had sugar free flavors, so I totally indulged!
The next day had us exploring a little more around the Jacksonville Beach area starting with (heck yes lavender lattes) and the attached Beam Thrift. I couldnât resist popping in for a quick thrift and I found the most perfect pair of sequin pumps. In the afternoon, we said goodbye to the back and headed to San Marco.
What to Do in San Marco
is one of Jacksonvilleâs historic neighborhoods and is located near downtown on the South Bank of the St. John River. Itâs full of local owned boutiques and art galleries, as well as some cute outdoor cafes. San Marco felt very much like Palm Springs meets Florence, Italy which may have to do with the amazing lion fountain right in the center of town.
We walked around San Marco for the afternoon. We stopped in a number of boutiques and unique destinations like the They had a big selection including body positive books, LGBTQ+ authors and a section dedicated to stories celebrating Black children’s experiences.
The following day, we went back in San Marco for more exploring. We poured some candles at , where we custom cocktailed scents just for us. The staff was so helpful in ensuring the scents we selected blended well together.
Not only did we get to decorate our own labels but we also got to stir the scents right into the wax before the team at Wick turned it into a candle ready to burn. The owner even offered the option to mail our candles back home for us so we didn’t have to worry about bringing them on the plane.
Right across the street, we indulged in the most amazing Pride donuts at Good Dough. Seriously best donuts ever. I even grabbed a t-shirt with a rainbow and a donut on it – my two favorite things.
What to Do in Downtown Jacksonville
For our next two nights in downtown Jacksonville had us checking into The South Bank Hotel. It’s located right on the river – we love a water view, and this hotel was immaculate. Sky high ceilings in the lobby, a glass elevator, palm trees, crystal clear pool. A dream! Our room was just as spectacular complete with a modern nautical theme, a big comfy bed, full kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, and a giant table. I was ready to move in!
From our hotel, we were picked up by a tuktuk for our . Jacksonville is a sprawling city and getting around to a lot of the pieces would be difficult sans a tuktuk and guide! Our tour guide took us all over the city to see murals, statues, and other art installations.
She was also a wealth of knowledge about the art and artists, often directly quoting the artist’s statements about their pieces. That level of information we would have never know had we gone to visit these pieces alone. One of the coolest spots we got to see was several art installations in a parking garage.
The CEO of the company decided to bring art to enliven the atmosphere for his employees, how cool is that? We would’ve never known about this location without the Go Tukin’ tour. We loved it so much, we went back to shoot several looks there the next day.
After our tour, we went to LGBTQ+ owned for some killer charcuterie boards, pickle board included. Bread & Board is located in Jacksonvilleâs Five Points Neighborhood, which is their Gayborhood. This vibrant part of the city boasts eclectic boutiques, night life, contemporary eats, and all the good vibes. Our night ended at MayDay, a unique ice cream shop with lively flavors like Key Lime Pie, Blueberry Toast Crunch, and even a 21+ Pina Colada with actual dark rum.
Speaking of the Gayborhood, don’t forget a visit to the iconic where you can shop apparel and accessories, local and small batch gifts. Tired of the hustle of Brooklyn living, designer Bobby K moved his entire operation to Jacksonville. He told us he loves the growing LGBTQ+ community in Jacksonville and it’s clear that Bobby K is a big part of what makes Jacksonville queer. I grabbed a FREE Britney tee, a hat that said THICC, a number of LGBTQ+ stickers, prints and their iconic prayer candles.
The next day, we checked out the , and this isnât just an ordinary museum. Think more art museum plus botanical gardens. The Cummer Museum is home to four beautiful exterior gardens: English, Olmsted, Sculpture, and my personal favorite for obvious reasons the Italian. Inside the museum is home to some renaissance and modern art.
The special exhibit open while we were there was , Hail The Dark Lioness and it is breathtaking. In more than 80 self-portraits, celebrated visual activist Zanele Muholi (South African, b. 1972) uses their body as a canvas to confront the deeply personal politics of race and representation in the visual archive. These images are jaw dropping and an absolute must see.
We rounded out our trip at Pride Night at the Minor League Baseball game. We got to watch up and coming stars for the Florida Marlins take on the Norfolk Tides. It was an utter blast seeing LGBTQ+ community members young and old celebrating together at this event.
A drag queen even threw out the first pitch and the seventh inning stretch had some added flavor! The Shrimps even won, an added bonus.
Why You Should Visit Jacksonville
All the natural beauty and urban fun really are just the icing on the cake. What is most impressive about Jacksonville is itâs commitment to the . The Acosta Bridge, that spans the St. Johnâs River, was lit up with 2,500 feet rainbow colored lights to celebrate Pride.
The governor of Florida later told Jacksonville that they couldnât light their bridge up as such, but the city fought back. It just really shows that Jacksonville is a city that is committed to, making it a safe and relaxing getaway.
Did we miss your favorite thing to do in Jacksonville Florida? Leave a comment below!
DISCLOSURE: This post was sponsored by Visit Jacksonville but all thoughts and opinions are my own!