Jacksonville, FL is rightfully known for its 22 miles of beaches, but there’s more that this “flip side of Florida” has to offer. Sure, there’s sand and surf, but there’s also an amazing art scene, fascinating African-American history, impressive shopping and restaurants, and even a cat sanctuary (for felines of a formidable size).
Jacksonville covers a huge area of more than 840 square miles, making it the largest city by landmass in the continental U.S. While you probably can’t see everything in one visit, here are some highlights to make your trip planning easier.
Art and History
You can’t go wrong by starting in downtown Jacksonville, a walkable area that includes public parks, outdoor art, and restaurants and shopping galore. At the heart of the city is James Weldon Johnson Park, named for the Jacksonville-born civil rights activist, writer, professor, and former president of the NAACP, who wrote the lyrics to ”Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the national Black anthem. The oldest city park in Jacksonville, this space is a hub of activity and hosts events including Jazz in the Park, Art in the Park, and the First Wednesday Art Walk, featuring works by local artists, food trucks, and live music.
James Weldon Johnson had a huge influence on Jacksonville, as did numerous other African-American leaders. The best way to discover more of this fascinating history is through the Explore Jax Core tour, led by retired deputy sheriff and tour guide extraordinare, Yollie Copeland. A descendant of formerly enslaved persons, Copeland started the tours as a way to preserve Jacksonville’s Black history, which has undergone “urban removal” since the area’s heyday of Black culture in the 1920s-40s.
Cruising around in Copeland’s electric van, visitors can gain a wealth of information on the neighborhoods of Hansontown, Sugar Hill, and LaVilla, once considered the “Harlem of the South.” By routing the Jacksonville Expressway (now part of I-95) through prosperous Black neighborhoods in the 1940s, the federal government erased more than 300 Black-owned businesses and communities. Sugar Hill, for example, was per capita the wealthiest neighborhood in Florida during its time and was home to numerous Black millionaires.
The city does pay tribute to a number of Jacksonville hometown heroes at the Jessie Ball duPont Center, where stunning mosaics by the artist Celso recognize anthropologist, educator, and first female African-American president of Spelman College, Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole; humanitarian, philanthropist, and businesswoman Eartha M.M. White, who parlayed the more than $1 million she made back into humanitarian causes; Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr., a civil rights activist, author, and historian; baseball star Rutledge Pearson, a civil rights leader, coach, and educator; Ebony Payne-English, a poet, lyricist, playwright, and educator; and Zora Neale Hurston, an anthropologist, folklorist, and novelist.
While much of the city was wiped out in 1901 due to a fire that started in a LaVilla mattress factory, not all of the buildings were completely destroyed. For example, parts of the Ritz Theater, where Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Ray Charles once performed, were incorporated into the design of the new theater on the same site. The area is also dotted with bright murals and outdoor sculptures, as well as Lift Every Voice and Sing Park, where more information can be found on James Weldon Johnson and his contributions to the community.
Located in the city’s San Marco neighborhood, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens was founded in 1961 after the death of Ninah Cummer, who bequeathed her home, gardens, and personal art collection to the city. The collection, which began with 60 paintings, now contains more than 4,000 works.
The museum houses everything from an Egyptian stela from c. 2100 BC to Renaissance portraits to an Andy Warhol series of paintings, as well as the Wark Collection of Early Meissen Porcelain. The most significant collection of its type in the U.S. and one of the top three collections in the world, it consists of more than 700 items dated to the earliest years of the firm’s production in Germany, when porcelain was actually more valuable than gold.
Established in 1900, the 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, which includes the Fort Caroline National Memorial, tells the story of the first French colony in the United States, established in the 1550s. The preserve features a replicated French fort, an indigenous Timucua village, and Kingsley Plantation. In addition to a museum on-site, visitors can walk down to the shore to see the fort, where a French flag still flies above the Saint Johns River.
Beaches Museum pays tribute to the culture and history of Jacksonville’s beach communities, which include Mayport, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Atlantic Beach, as well as other Sunshine State beach communities. The museum is a wealth of information about Florida’s early settlers as well as a fun look into the past, showcasing everything from old-time Florida boardwalk treasures to vintage resort keys. A docent-led tour takes visitors through the museum’s History Park, which includes a 1903 Pablo Beach Post Office, a 1911 steam locomotive, a railway depot, homestead, heritage garden, and chapel.
Food and Libations
While visiting Jacksonville’s beaches, one must stop at Pete’s Bar on Neptune Beach, the first bar to open in Duval County after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. You’ll be in good company as both Ernest Hemingway and John Grisham drank here, and Grisham even used the bar as a setting in one of his books. The Lemon Bar, just a short walk away, is also a nice stop where you can sit beside the dunes and enjoy a frozen fruity cocktail as well as old-Florida ambiance.
Of course, it’s not a visit to the beach without sampling local seafood, and the Mayport Shrimp Trail provides plenty of opportunities to do so. Considered Jacksonville’s signature dish, the shrimp is caught fresh every day off the coast of Mayport, and you can enjoy this local delicacy at The Local, Salumeria 104, Slider’s Oyster Bar, ABBQ, and North Beach Fish Camp, among others. One note: if you’re allergic to seafood like I am, Salumeria offers an amazing Chitarra Cacio e Pepe prepared tableside; watching the waiter spin the pasta in the cheese block is mesmerizing, and the meal is absolutely delicious.
Jacksonville also offers a Coffee & Donut Trail for early risers, and for those looking to satisfy a sweet tooth, Sweet Pete’s is a must-do. Basically a Willy Wonka Wonderland, Sweet Pete’s even includes a framed golden ticket on the wall. Located in a 100-year-old building, it is decorated to the ceiling with treats of every imaginable kind. Visitors can take a tour of the 22,000 sq. ft. store and restaurant, which includes a look at the candy-making process. You even get to create your own candy bar on-site!
Unique Finds
While many visitors flock to Jacksonville’s more popular beaches, my favorite sandy shore was the three-mile-long Boneyard Beach in Big Talbot Island State Park, where the skeletons of driftwood trees stick up out of the sand, creating striking natural sculptures. An added attraction is that you can take the St. Johns River Ferry from Mayport Village to Ft. George Island, a five-minute trip that saves you the longer drive.
The Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary Tour is also a must-see. This nonprofit, volunteer-powered sanctuary houses numerous exotic animals, including lions, tigers, bears, foxes, caracals, and more that have been rescued from private owners or facilities that can no longer keep them. There’s nothing quite like listening to the roaring of numerous tigers as they get ready for a night feeding, and seeing them up close and learning more about these endangered cats is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
To learn more about all there is to do in Jacksonville, check out www.visitjacksonville.com.
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