The Gulf Coast’s Cultural Haven: A Day Trip Guide to St. Petersburg, Florida

At the start of the year, Michael and I resolved to visit one Florida destination each month.

After a year of fun trips, we still felt like we barely scratched the surface of all the Sunshine State has to offer, and trying to choose the twelfth and final Florida destination for our monthly trips was tough.

We considered Key West (cheap flights from Tampa suddenly cropped up!), but the cost of staying on the island in December was too high to justify the trip. We also considered visiting Daytona or Tarpon Springs, but those felt a tad too touristy. So we landed on the city of St. Petersburg, an art-loving city just south of Tampa.

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It’s a place we’ve visited once or twice before, but always as part of a trip to its northerly neighbor. So we decided to finally do the city justice, dedicating a whole day to St. Petersburg alone. The city has a lot to offer, from art culture to beer culture, at a calmer pace than some other destinations. Here’s how we spent our day in the city – and all of the things worth your precious travel time and money:

THINGS TO DO IN ST. PETERSBURG

St. Petersburg offers lots to see and do, but with only one day in the city, we chose places in close proximity to one another to get the most out of our day. We missed the city’s beautiful beaches on this trip, but if you have time and great weather, don’t skip the Gulf Coast!

Saturday Morning Market

Saturday Morning Market | 230 1st St SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

St. Pete’s Saturday Morning Market boasts a large number of farm vendors, artisans, and prepared food trucks and stands. It beats our own town’s weekly market by a wide margin. Even if you’re not able to purchase anything perishable, come hungry and follow your nose. We had breakfast plans, but still managed to share a Liége waffle.

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The Dalí Museum

The Dalí Museum | 1 Dali Blvd, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

The Dalí Museum may not be a behemoth of a museum, but it houses an astounding number of works by the Spanish surrealist. And, as an exciting treat, our visit coincided with the opening of the exhibit Magritte & Dalí (now closed). The exhibit featured the two artists’ work sorted by theme and displayed in stereo alongside each other. And, for the Instagram generation, there are a few interactive opportunities to discover and participate in.

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Sunken Gardens

Sunken Gardens | 1825 4th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33704

I’m always intrigued by the nostalgia for Old Florida (see here, for example). Sunken Gardens is over a century old, and one of the nation’s oldest roadside attractions. We purchased a Groupon for our visit on the drive over and arrived about an hour before closing. Except for a handful of visitors and a crew preparing for a wedding ceremony that would take place after closing, we had the place to ourselves. A visit instantly slows your pulse and pours time back into your afternoon.

WHERE TO EAT IN ST. PETERSBURG

The local cuisine of St. Pete is similar to what we have in our hometown – so we wanted to branch out and try their take on other cultures’ cuisines. Because our day started so late, we missed a chance to have a third meal in the city – a good excuse to go back, no?

The Wooden Rooster

The Wooden Rooster | 104 2nd Ave NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

The crepe menu at The Wooden Rooster is a little overwhelming and the place is counter-service, so I highly recommend getting an idea of what you want before you arrive. Are they as good as the ones we’ve had in France? Perhaps not, but there is a lot of creativity and freedom to be found on their menu!

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Casita Taqueria

Casita Taqueria | Multiple Locations

We’d planned to eat at the 4th Avenue location of Casita Taqueria after visiting Sunken Gardens, but we got a call from friends in the area and headed to their spot on Central instead. Go ahead, get the chips, salsa, guac, and queso, and then order two or three tacos per person to share. You’ll be like, really full, but it will be worth it, promise!

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Swah-rey (now closed)

Swah-rey | Now Closed

The dessert bar trend is a little tired but my sweet tooth doesn’t mind. Our last stop in the city was at this busy spot on Central (now closed). As we were hitting the road we passed on the booze (you can order a “hookup” – a mini dessert stacked on top of your favorite adult beverage), and went straight for the sweets.

ST. PETERSBURG BARS AND BREWERIES

If there’s one thing St. Petersburg does right, it’s beer. You could easily spend all day on Central Avenue, trekking from brewery to brewery. We didn’t have time for that (plus, we needed to drive back that evening!) so we picked just a few places to try different local beers throughout the day.

Park & Rec

Park & Rec | 100 4th St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Park & Rec is part video game bar and part oversized outdoor game bar. During the day it’s family friendly, so if playing giant beer pong with your ten-year-old nephew is your thing, you can do that here. We stuck to a few video games and some rousing rounds of Connect 4, the game where I always beat Michael.

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Right Around the Corner

Right Around the Corner | 2244 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

If you haven’t had your fill of video games, Right Around the Corner is well, right where you’d expect. This is the first video game bar I’ve been to that doubles as a brewery. Their selection is small and a bit IPA and sour-heavy.

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3 Daughters Brewing

3 Daughters Brewing | 222 22nd St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

3 Daughters Brewing is one of the more well-known St. Pete breweries, and it shows. The place was packed solid. Live music meant we couldn’t carry on a conversation with our friends, so we didn’t stay any longer than it took us to finish one round and check out their holiday train display.

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Cage Brewing

Cage Brewing | 2001 1st Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

Cage Brewing gave us the quiet atmosphere we needed to catch up with our friends (though I don’t suspect it’s always that low-key), and we were able to enjoy the balmy December weather outside with a flight to share. No food is served, but there was a food truck onsite on the night we visited.

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The Dog Bar

The Dog Bar | 2300 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

We couldn’t muster up the courage to order a drink at The Dog Bar (it’s a bit, well, messy), but we enjoyed watching the good boys and girls who were hanging out and drinking with their human friends. If day drinking with your pup is your jam, just enroll your doggy in an annual membership so you can make it a regular thing.

ST. PETERSBURG COFFEE SHOPS

I found the coffee scene in St. Petersburg a little less exciting than I expected. Thankfully, we just needed one cup to get through the day!

Black Crow Coffee

Black Crow Coffee | 722 2nd St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Black Crow Coffee feels a bit in the middle of nowhere, but it’s definitely a busy shop. Parking was tough to find around this progressive shop; it’s clear that patrons enjoy relaxing all day in the space. We had places to be, so we took our coffees to go – and also grabbed beans for brewing at home.

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Bandit Coffee

Bandit Coffee | 2662 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

We were pretty heavily caffeinated from our coffees at Black Crow, but that didn’t stop us from popping into local favorite Bandit Coffee for more beans for home. Prices for their coffee are a bit high; we like to enjoy mugs of this stuff on the weekend when we can savor the brew.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO + FINAL THOUGHTS ON VISITING ST. PETERSBURG

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is located about 15 minutes from downtown and is served entirely by low-cost carriers (primarily Allegiant). Tampa International Airport (TPA) is just across the bay about twenty minutes from downtown St. Petersburg, and is served by over twenty airlines. Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is another option for certain destinations and airlines, though it is about forty minutes south of St. Pete. Having a car to explore the city and its neighbors is ideal, though rideshare services Uber and Lyft are available.

The area offers many more things to do than we were able to accomplish over the course of a day. Families with little ones may appreciate the Great Explorations Children’s Museum. St. Pete offers plenty of opportunities to get in touch with nature, particularly on the Gulf of Mexico, with places like Fort DeSoto, John’s Pass Village, and Pass-A-Grille Beach. The Florida Holocaust Museum offers an opportunity to reflect both on the past and the future. And of course, The Dalí is not the only place to get your arts and culture fix – The Museum of Fine Arts and The Chihuly Collection offer plenty for the art-lover.

Looking for more? You may enjoy these other Florida guides:

Have you ever visited Florida’s Gulf Coast? Which city is your favorite?

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3 Comments on “The Gulf Coast’s Cultural Haven: A Day Trip Guide to St. Petersburg, Florida”

Jeff Douglas says:

July 23, 2019 at 8:47 am

Glad you had a good time in st.pete.what you didn’t let your reader know is its the most racist part of the state.cop don’t enforce laws like solicitation,loud music,homeless begging for money.you only touched on the good parts of Florida.why not let people know the truth.its corrupt,and isn’t a good place to live.

Running Betty says:

August 4, 2023 at 5:12 pm

Swah-rey doesn’t exist anymore 🙁

1. Alyssa says:
  
  August 11, 2023 at 11:38 am
  
  Such a sad loss!