Pensacola, FL

Address:Pensacola, Florida

If you love history, put Pensacola, Florida on your list. Sit in a fighter jet and feel what it's like to fly at insanely high speeds at the National Naval Museum; put yourself in the shoes of Civil War Soldiers; visit a prison, turned funky art museum and tour historic Floridian homes, complete with interactive characters. Treat yourself to the famous Blue Angels flying show and enjoy Pensacola's famous white-sandy beaches with plenty of entertainment day and night.

Pensacola is chockfull of history. Before it became part of the United States, it was fought over by Spain, France, Great Britain, the Confederate States of America and the United States - each controlling it at separate times. Visit the Pensacola historical museum and find out more about the city nicknamed "The City of Five Flags."

See more than 100 aircraft dating from the 1920s to the space age at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at the U.S. Naval Air Station, located just west of town. There's even a torpedo bomber flown by former U.S. president George H.W. Bush during World War II. Children and adults can sit at the controls of a jet trainer, while the mock aircraft carrier towers and hanger decks look so real you won't know they are fake. Feel the sensation of piloting a fighter jet with a 15-minute ride in a flight-motion simulator. After you're done with all the hands on stuff, take a look at some of the interesting exhibits. Admission is free, as are the hour-long museum tours given by retired naval and Marine Corps aviators. Enjoy a bus tour of more than 40 aircraft outside the museum's restoration hangar. Pensacola's own Blue Angels will wow you with their stunning shows of precision flying in the navy's fastest fighter jets. Give yourself half a day at this exhilarating and educational museum.

At the Civil war soldier's museum see how soldiers lived during the Civil War and hear stories of what they went through. Learn about the battlefield medicine used during the war and walk right up to Abraham Lincoln! There's a 6' 4" Volk life mask of Lincoln, hanging in the Lincoln/Davis President's room of the museum.

Visit Historic Pensacola Village and enjoy some of Florida's oldest homes. There are daily walking tours and you can only enter homes with a guide. Living history guides complete crafts as you visit the village - tours last between an hour and 90 minutes. The village also has a special hands-on Discovery Museum for children. There is a small admission fee to the Village, but there's plenty of easy and free parking. To see the historic sights in town, park at the Pensacola visitor center and take the Five Flags Trolley.

Kids and adults will love Fast Eddie's, with go-karts and more. There's also Sam's Fun City, Pensacola's only amusement and water park. And just 15 miles west of Pensacola is a huge zoo with over 700 exotic animals, including tigers, lions, rhinos and lowland gorillas. There's also a Japanese garden, a giraffe-feeding tower and a petting farm. A Safari Line train chugs through a 30-acre of wildlife preserve with free-ranging herds. Take three to four hours to cover the entire park.

The Pensacola Museum of art is not your normal art museum. Housed in what was the city jail from 1906 to 1954, the museum displays everything in cell blocks. You'll see an impressive collection of decorative glass, some African tribal art, and some minor works by Salvador Dalí, John Marin, Ansel Adams, Thomas Hart Benton, Milton Avery, Alexander Calder and Andy Warhol. Come back and express the artist in you at Art After Dark - use the walls of the museum as your canvas for personal, artistic expression.

Sightseeing and shopping can be done all at once in Pensacola's Palafox and Seville historic districts. Many shops are housed in renovated centuries-old buildings. Visit an art gallery, several antique shops and small flea market only 15 miles east of Pensacola.

For a fee, enjoy all-day fishing off of the 1,471 foot-long Pensacola Beach Gulf Fishing Pier, the longest fishing pier on the Gulf Coast.

There are plenty of golf courses in Pensacola as well, along with a variety of water sports.

Pensacola boasts many beautiful parks with fountains, play areas and, often times, water access. Feed the ducks at Bayview Park on Bayou Texar.

Pensacola's downtown nighttime entertainment center is Seville Quarter, an antique-brick complex with New Orleans-style wrought-iron balconies. Visit a variety of pubs and restaurants and enjoy live entertainment from Dixieland jazz to country and western music until 2 a.m.

Beach nightlife centers on Quietwater Boardwalk, a shopping-and-dining complex on Santa Rosa Sound, with a lively beach-and-reggae bar nearby. The Dock at Casino Beach has live bands nightly in summer, and on weekends during the off-season. If you love sports, Sidelines Sports Bar & Restaurant has an awesome game lineup.

Pensacola has 52 miles of beautiful, white-sandy beaches. Just across the road from Quietwater Boardwalk is Pensacola Beach, which has so much more to offer than just tanning and swimming. It has a number of restaurants and snack bars where you can relish a drink at the several walk-up beach bars with live bands. Watch your favorite game at the indoor sports bar, and enjoy the outdoor concert pavilion with its summertime entertainment. Pensacola Beach even has an arcade and a miniature golf course. There are public restrooms available on the beach. From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend the free Tiki Trolley runs the full length of Pensacola Beach. Seafood is very popular, while other restaurants in Pensacola include meat and French food. There's an ample supply of inexpensive restaurants in downtown Pensacola on Plantation Road, as well as in the adjacent mall.

If you enjoy culture and arts at night instead of the beach and club scene, you can enjoy the local opera company and symphony orchestra, Broadway musicals, touring performers and more at the Saenger Theatre, a beautiful building of Spanish baroque architecture.

The University Mall complex in downtown Pensacola has a host of chain motels. Several of the town's Victorian homes have been turned into luxurious bed-and-breakfasts. Room rates at all Panhandle beaches are highest from mid-May to mid-August. The best times to visit are April (except Easter) and September. The weather is warm, most establishments are open, and room rates are significantly lower than during the summer. The lowest rates are available during winter, but many attractions and some restaurants may be closed.

From mid-May until early June you will enjoy The Florida Springfest, a three-day music festival. You may even see yourself on VH-1 as the festival lures big performers like Bonnie Raitt, Trace Adkins, the Allman Brothers and Jethro Tull.

Visit the prison home of Apache medicine-man Geronimo on Fort Pickens