Key West (& FL Keys) Overview

Eclectic and eccentric, wild and warm, blessed with roguish characters and spectacular scenery, the keys are Florida's Wonderland, where the White Rabbit, Alice and the Queen of Hearts frolic--and no one pays the slightest attention.

Districts

Key West got its name when it was dubbed Cayo Hueso by early Spanish explorers, who found human bones (hueso) along the shore. That name was eventually corrupted to Key West and the moniker stuck.

Duval Street is the center of Key West life, with many hotels, guest houses, inns and bed & breakfasts, plus dozens of shops and restaurants, nestled into its tropical ambiance.

All of these spots are about a conch shell's throw from each other and from Duval Street. A leisurely walk is the best way to discover this enchanting island with its secluded courtyards, cascading rainbows of magenta, peach and purple bougainvillea, swaying palms, glowing hibiscus, and intricate Victorian gingerbread woodwork.

What also might be called a "district," although you'll be hard pressed to differentiate it from the rest of the island, is an area near the tiny airport where a number of hotels and a few restaurants can be found. It doesn’t get too noisy since there are only a few flights a day.

One more possible "district" can be found just at the entrance to Key West. It's a small island called Stock Island, reportedly where the island's cattle and other stock were kept many years ago. Today the "stock" on Stock Island includes charter boats awaiting fishing fans, boaters and visitors who want to get a look at the crystalline waters that surround the islands. From here, too, you can take a ferry to what might be called another "district" of Key West, the Dry Tortugas islands, where historic of Fort Jefferson was built, once a prison housing Dr. Samuel Mudd, who unknowingly treated John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Civil War President Abraham Lincoln. Mudd spent years alone in this fortress prison.

Entertainment

In Key West, the sky—and well beyond—is the limit, with entertainment ranging from quiet guitar music—warbler Jimmy Buffet got his start here—to raucous bands. A favorite diversion is the Duval (pronounced Doo-vahl) Crawl, which consists of dedicated pub crawling to the multitude of watering holes along Duval Street.

As for nightlife, you can have it or ignore it. In the Upper, Middle and Lower Keys, well-known watering holes range from the rustic-going-on-rustic ambience of No Name Pub to Alabama Jack's, where a decidedly eclectic crowd gathers, and the Caribbean Club, where the 1948 classic Key Largo was filmed. If you're a party animal of note, take your notes to Holiday Isle Beach Resorts & Marina, where three entertainment areas feature live bands playing everything from reggae to rock for the young-on-young crowd that flocks here in large and lively numbers.

Despite its raucous nightlife, or perhaps because of it, Key West also has some cultural diversions, including concerts and theatrical presentations, most of which take place at the Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center.

Author Ernest Hemingway was sufficiently seduced by a visit to Key West to move here permanently. Here the author met Sloppy Joe, the owner of a local Duval Street bar, and the two often retired to the back room to drink copious quantities of whiskey and exchange tales. Joe's stories are said to have inspired several of Hemingway's books, and he wrote a number of his stories while living the very good life in Key West. You can tour his house, now occupied only by the descendants of his unusual six-toed cats. Hemingway was just one of a host of writers and artists who have been drawn to this end-of the-world spot, where no one much cares how eccentric or outrageous you are.

Above it all shines a relentless sun, winding up each day with a festival known as Sunset at Mallory Dock. The daily celebration is viewed by many along with juggler/street-performer/animal-trainer/jewelry-sellers. It is an eclectic gathering at which all and sundry join in a celebration of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—which has an amazing array of definitions here in the nation's southernmost city.

Dining and Drinking

Seafood is king, queen and courtier here in the Keys, and no wonder. Fat lobsters, succulent clams, toothsome shrimp, hefty tuna, bass, grouper, pompano, swordfish, and a host of other undersea creatures dwell amid the surrounding coral reefs and on the sandy bottom in water so clear you can almost see them swimming.

Chefs from the Caribbean and South America and from much of the rest of the world have found their way to these islands. Once here, they have focused their considerable talents on seafood and other local ingredients, including citrus, particularly tiny yellow Key limes, sugar cane, spices, a variety of unusual fruit and seemingly ceaseless quantities of winter vegetables. Besides well-known restaurants scattered throughout the Keys, perhaps the most fun is stopping into some rustic little find and discovering a memorable meal you'll be discussing for many a day to come.

And finally, lest we forget, those tiny yellow Key limes, turned into juice, teamed with sweetened condensed milk and eggs then baked into a tangy custard and topped with whipped cream or meringue is a mainstay of every menu in the Keys. Such a part of life is the Key lime pie, in fact, that Key West promoters annually whip up a massive pie, nearly as big as a city block, and deliver it to the state legislature as a little reminder that one should taste, but not toy with, the Florida Keys.

Where To Stay

From Key Largo at the northern end south to Key West, and all the little islands in between, you'll find a variety of places to stay in tropical comfort, from simple to luxurious.

Options range from large resorts with several hundred rooms and a host of amenities to middle-size properties with fewer than 100 rooms to small family owned and operated motels and small resorts, with accommodations ranging from single rooms to cottages to suites and townhouses.

Did You Know?

In 1938 the Overseas Highway connected the Florida Keys to mainland Florida. Key West is considered to be the most urban of the islands in the Florida Keys and is known for its thriving nightlife.

Orientation/Geography

Key West is located 120 miles away from Miami and 90 miles from Havana.


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