Florida

Although it’s the largest city by area in the continental United States (840 square miles), Jacksonville manages to feel small. Venture beyond the urban core, and you’ll discover a patchwork of historic neighborhoods.

Recently, after a particularly gloomy day of virtual school, my 11-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son were in tears. “I’m so sick of screens!” she said. “I’m sick of everything,” he said. It was all I needed to hear.

Some AAA Five Diamond resorts are playgrounds for A-listers like Sir Elton John, Cameron Diaz, and Sofia Vergara. Others have a history of welcoming American royalty like the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Astors. But few resorts can make both claims.

Since Southbound debuted in 2013, our staff and contributors have logged thousands of miles, consumed millions of calories, and taken countless notes and photos to showcase the very best destinations around the region. Although every place we’ve covered is special, some left a particularly powerful impression. Here, we give you the best of the very best, our favorite spots in the South.

Slicing through downtown Pensacola all the way to the bay, Palafox Street is known as the city’s core cultural artery. It’s a distinction the street has enjoyed for the past two-and-a-half centuries, during which it has been subject to—and shaped by—British, Spanish, and American rule.

From a Key Largo dive instructor to an Islamorada chef, a Marathon turtle rescuer to the mayor of Key West, ten locals reveal the best places to eat, drink, swim, and sightsee along America's southernmost isles. Forget the tourist traps; go where Keys residents go with the help of this essential guide.

Thirty miles east of Cinderella Castle, Winter Park, Florida, promises magic of a different kind.

The oysters are vanishing from Apalachicola. No one knows if they’ll come back. You won’t find them on most menus anymore, and oyster boats have all but abandoned the bay. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but that won’t help this charming village on the shores of the Florida Panhandle. As its claim to fame disappears, Apalachicola vows it won’t share the same fate.

For decades, recreational boaters referred to west central Florida as the “lonesome leg.” Today, the area is known as Florida’s Nature Coast, and it attracts adventurers eager to explore its renowned wildlife parks and nature preserves, crystal-clear springs and blackwater rivers.

You don't think inside the box. Why sleep in one? The South is full of unexpected accommodations, from a nineteenth-century castle to a Hobbit hut to the tree house of your dreams. Let us introduce you to sixteen offerings that are anything but ordinary.