Plan Ahead with our Digital Visitors Guide!

With our 2012 digital travel planner, viewers are exposed to a brief introduction to Tampa, how to get around, where to stay, things to do, dining and nightlife, and even area services.

Additionally, an interactive regional map helps visitors navigate the Tampa Bay area.

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Tampa Arts & Culture

 

Arts and Culture are a vital component of Tampa's vibrant community. Theater groups, orchestras, world-class performance halls, museums, galleries and much more provide enriching performances, inspirational youth education programs, and exhibits that showcase the world's most talented artists, actors and musicians. Tampa cherishes arts and history and keeps it a unique and powerful tool to showcase the area's heritage and diverse culture. 

It's no wonder that Tampa, FL, was recently awarded the distinction "Top Arts Destination” by American Style Magazine. With independent and foreign film, critically acclaimed opera and orchestra, a stellar Broadway series and an eclectic collage of museums featuring everything the surreal masterworks of Salvador Dali to traveling exhibitions from the Smithsonian - the Tampa area is fast becoming the cultural core of Florida’s Gulf Coast. 

In Tampa, art is everywhere. Even when visitors arrive at the Tampa International Airport they will immediately recognize the city’s ardor for the arts. Travelers will enjoy flights of imagination while moving through the airport thanks to a multitude of sculptures, tapestries, acrylic and oil paintings created by local and international artists that are on display in high-traffic areas.   

Experience the Arts & Culture Scene in Tampa BayMany of Tampa’s cultural centers are clustered downtown along the Hillsborough River in Downtown Tampa.

Amidst high-rise office buildings and fine hotels, the David A Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa Museum of Art, Henry B. Plant Museum, Tampa Bay History Center and many displays of public art can be found to peak one’s cultural curiosity.

Tampa also hosts an array of arts and cultural events year round. Make sure to check out our calendar of events and cultural calendar for updated arts and culture event information.

The cigar industry, originally brought to Tampa in the late 1800s by Don Vicente Martinez Ybor, created a 12,000-strong immigrant workforce that churned out 700 million cigars a year.

The History of Ybor CityIt also created a vivacious Latin community, a "cultural collage," where Spaniards, Italians, Cubans, Germans and Romanian Jews worked and lived side by side. Today, Tampa is as much a multi-cultural city as ever with a thriving and powerful Hispanic population that represents all different Latin American countries.

In all, approximately 10% of Tampa's population are Latino and one recent study reported that one out of every three people in Tampa bears a Hispanic surname.

Tampa is such a multi-cultural hotbed that the city was has made Hispanic Magazine's list of "Top Cities for Hispanics" three years running, topping the list in 2000. Most recently, the Tampa area was named one of the top five most diverse, integrated urban areas in the country by the U.S. Census Bureau. View our multicultural guide for a sample list of things to do.

Discover the rich arts and culture of Tampa and the many wonders that await you!

 

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Featured Listings

Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

  • 1101 W Sligh Ave. 162851475
  • Tampa, FL 33604
  • Phone: (813) 935-8552
  • Region: Central Tampa

  • Visit Website

Recognized as the number one zoo in the U.S. by both Parents and Child magazines, Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo features more than 1,700 animals on nearly 60 acres of natural habitats, water play areas, wild rides, educational shows and interactive opportunities. Interstate 275, Exit 48. Free Parking. MORE >>
David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts

David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts

  • 1010 N W.C. MacInnes Place 318249407
  • Tampa, FL 33602
  • Phone: (813) 222-1000
  • Region: Downtown

  • Visit Website

One of the largest performing arts centers in North America, David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts (formerly TBPAC) offers one of the nation's leading Broadway series and is widely recognized for its grand opera, plays, educational programs and concerts. MORE >>

MOSI - Museum of Science & Industry

  • 4801 E Fowler Ave. 499468481
  • Tampa, FL 33617
  • Phone: (813) 987-6000
  • Region: Busch Gardens/USF

  • Visit Website

Calling all chocoholics! The largest chocolate event in the southeast – the Festival of Chocolate returns on January 14-16 only at MOSI! Indulge yourself with everything chocolate, watch demonstrations, compete in crazy competitions, take chocolate classes and tour a chocolate museum. MOSI is the largest science center in the southeastern United States with more than 450 hands-on activities and home to the only IMAX® Dome Theatre in the state of Florida. Kids In Charge! The Children’s Science Center at MOSI is the largest children’s science center in the nation. Learn the science behind natural disasters inside Disasterville or learn about the body at each developmental life stage inside MOSI's permanent exhibition, The Amazing You. Conquer your fears and experience an adrenaline rush like no other on MOSI’s newest permanent attraction, the Sky Trail® Ropes Course, featuring 36 elements on a 12 – 36 foot high, multilevel structure. MORE >>
The Florida Aquarium

The Florida Aquarium

  • 701 Channelside Dr. 884422602
  • Tampa, FL 33602
  • Phone: (813) 273-4000
  • Region: Downtown

  • Visit Website

Immerse yourself in one of the top family-friendly aquariums in the country with interactive programs like "Swim with the Fishes" and "Dive with the Sharks" or take a peak behind the scenes with a shark feeding or penguin encounter at The Florida Aquarium. MORE >>
Segway Experience at Ybor City

Segway Experience at Ybor City

  • 1600 E 8th Ave. 1477673142
  • Suite#A-136
  • Tampa, FL 33605
  • Phone: (813) 455-7854
  • Region: Ybor City

  • Visit Website

Take a gliding tour around Tampa's Latin Quarter, Ybor City on a Segway Personal Transporter (PT). From the aroma of hand-rolled cigars to the freshly brewed cafe con leche, you'll effortlessly glide while seeing the hidden treasures of Ybor City. Our tours are perfect for all ages 14 and older. MORE >>
Westchase Golf Club

Westchase Golf Club

  • 11602 Westchase Golf Dr. 1545789854
  • Tampa, FL 33626
  • Phone: (813) 854-2331
  • Region: Carrollwood/Northwest Tampa

  • Visit Website

Carved out of a sprawling cypress forest, the fairways are long and narrow, the greens are fast and smooth and the local wildlife is your personal gallery. Beautiful clubhouse. GPS on every cart. Minutes from Tampa International Airport. MORE >>
Canoe Escape

Canoe Escape

  • P.O. Box 292396 1672893981
  • Tampa, FL 33687
  • Phone: (813) 986-2067
  • Region: Northeast Tampa

  • Visit Website

Explore the Hillsborough River through a 16,000-acre wilderness park and discover the natural Florida. See birds, turtles and gators on a two-hour to full-day downstream paddling adventure with family, friends or business associates MORE >>
Bok Tower Gardens

Bok Tower Gardens

  • 1151 Tower Blvd. 1843100840
  • Lake Wales, FL 33853
  • Phone: (863) 676-1408
  • Region: Regional

  • Visit Website

Experience one of America's finest gardens and nature preserve surrounding a 205-foot sculpted marble carillon tower with daily concerts and Mediterranean style mansion. National Historic Landmark. Cafe and gift shop. MORE >>
Captain Memo's Original Pirate Cruise

Captain Memo's Original Pirate Cruise

  • 25 Causeway Blvd. 1917394125
  • Slip #3
  • Clearwater Beach, FL 33767
  • Phone: (727) 446-2587
  • Region: Clearwater/North Pinellas

  • Visit Website

Young or old, Captain Memo's has something for everyone. Cruise away into the fantasy world of swashbucklers aboard, "The Pirate's Ransom."
Set your course with the cool reggae island & steel band music playing throughout the rigging of the PIRATES RANSOM. Every passenger will enjoy their choice of free soft drinks, beer, wine, and champagne, while searching for the bountiful dolphins, while aboard ship.
1 HOUR CHILDRENS BIRTHDAY CRUISES- Includes your child's very own Pirate Costume! We entertain the children with Pirate Hats, Treasure Hunts, Face Painting, Musical Games, Pirate Stories, Water Gun Battles, Dance Program, Pirates Gold, Beads and A Pirate Piñata. MORE >>

813area, LLC

  • 1213 E Columbus Dr. 0
  • Tampa, FL 33605
  • Phone: (813) 412-0366
  • Region: Regional

813area is your local connection to what's going on in Tampa where you can connect with local people and businesses, discover things to do and places to go, and share your MORE >>

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