Travel to Florida, the land of theme parks

Where to go and what to see The North West

The big attraction here is Florida's ?panhandle' - the narrow strip across the north-western region - is Panama City Beach, an extensive resort destination of hotels, restaurants, attractions and nature parks with abundant wildlife, both on land and at sea. A feast for the eyes!

The North East

Jacksonville is the main city in the northern quarter, a lively and modern development with a stretch of eye-catching riverfront, nightlife, shopping, beaches and the world-renowned golf resort of the Tournament Players Club in Ponte Verde. Golf buffs will enjoy the World Golf Hall of Fame at nearby St Augustine, where the Spanish established their first colony in 1565. The town is also home to the Castillo de San Marcos, one of the state's most iconic monuments and America's oldest fort.

Central

Orlando tends to take centre stage in Florida, both metaphorically and geographically. Almost two-thirds of British visitors arrive here and spend at least a week exploring its theme parks, water parks, dinner shows, nightlife and other attractions, including golf, outlet shopping and some 4,000 restaurants. This is the home of Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and, just to the south in the town of Winter Haven, the fast-developing Legoland Florida. With the motorways I-4 and the Florida Turnpike offering good access to both coasts and the south, it's easy to get to the Kennedy Sapce Centre, which is not to be missed. Some of Florida's most eco-friendly developments can be found in and around Kissimmee, just to the south of Orlando, notably the Forever Florida centre on a ranch to the south, plus the chance to go ballooning, boating, kayaking and bass fishing.

Gulf Coast

West and south from Orlando, visitors have the pick of 210 miles of brilliant sun-bleached beaches, from Greek-tinged Tarpon Springs to the southern tip of Marco Island, on the edge of the Everglades. Immediately west of Tampa are the popular communities of Clearwater and St Pete's Beach, which mark honeypot sites for families, while the seafront towns and resorts tend to become more exclusive and ?grown-up? as you head south through Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice, Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, Captiva, Sanibel and Naples.

South East

Westpalm Beach is a hideaway for the rich and famous, with a mix of condos and hotels dominating the seafront for miles, plus world-class shopping along Worth Avenue, the Flagler Museum and Flager's The Breakers Hotel.West from Fort Lauderdale on motorway I-75 is the home of the Seminole tribe at Big Cypress, where the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum is part of their ?living village? of history and culture, along with the Billie Swamp Safari, a fascinating delve into the Everglades.

The Keys

South of Miami on Highway 1, visitors soon reach the chain-link islands known as the Keys, which challenged Flagler's great railroad-building empire. The islands begin in Key Largo, home to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, a scuba-diving Mecca. Islamorada and Marathon are the two other main towns along the Keys trail before you arrive in the USA's southernmost point, Key West, where Hemingway roamed the bars, periodically, from 1928-39, and deep-sea fishing is a quasi-religion. You will truly fall for it - hook, line and sinker.