Exploring Jacksonville's Downtown Riverfront and other Jacksonville, FL Things to Do Tips

One way to check out the city's downtown riverfront is to park by the Wyndham Hotel near the eastern end of the Southbank Riverwalk (unfortunately, there is now a fee to park here). From here, walk the length of the Riverwalk, admiring changing perspectives of the skyline as you pass statues, riverboats, skyscrapers and fountains. The Riverwalk twists and turns, going under the Main St. Bridge before reaching Friendship Park, site of the largest self-contained fountain in the world, the Museum of Science & History, a planetarium, a maritime museum and River City Brewing Company, an upscale waterfront restaurant. (Ruth's Chris, Morton's of Chicago and Charthouse are 3 upscale national restaurants also located within a block of the Riverwalk). From here, take the water taxi, a relaxing way to admire the glassy towers and river scenery, to Jacksonville Landing. (Catching the water taxi from RCBC provides a longer ride as it makes two stops along the Southbank before crossing). For a romantic treat, behold the fountain at night when it and its refreshing mist are illuminated in a changing pattern of colors, then ride the water taxi to see the skyline's colorful neon lights reflected in the river. The Landing is a complex of restaurants and assorted shops where numerous events take place. The Times-Union Center on the Northbank Riverwalk next to the Landing, hosts everything from touring Broadway shows to the Jacksonville Symphony to popular music acts. A few blocks north are the spectacular Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art and the historic Florida Theatre, home stage of the Florida Ballet and site of numerous other concerts and plays. Currently, the Northbank Riverwalk is being extended east to the Sports Complex and west to Riverside Park near funky Five Points. Catch the Skyway behind the Omni Hotel for an aerial perspective as it crosses back over to the Southbank, with stops near Friendship Park and the Hilton, or just return by water taxi. Downtown's best hotels are located near the two Riverwalks including the Hyatt Regency, Omni, Hilton and Wyndham.

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Address: Begin your tour at the Radisson Riverwalk Hotel
Directions: Southbank Riverwalk, Northbank Riverwalk, Jacksonville Landing and surrounding locations.
Website: www.downtownjacksonville.org

The setting of John Grisham's novel, The Bretheren, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach are anchored by a lively, beautifully landscaped Town Center full of funky, trendy and casual restaurants, coffeehouses, boutiques, galleries, gift shops and nightspots.

Stretching north from Town Center, Atlantic Beach boasts impressive beach houses reflecting a mix of New England, Caribbean and imaginative architectural styles. Stretching south from Town Center, Neptune Beach is lined with pastel colored beach houses that are a little more modest in size and style.

Both communities share the same stretch of soft, wide, white sand beaches backed by dunes covered with sea oats. Pockets of shell deposits and calm, shallow tidal pools are common along the shoreline.

Hip and happening yet quaint and homey, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and their shared Town Center provide a picture-perfect, quintessential beach town setting enjoyed by families, surfers and yuppies alike. No wonder John Grisham had to share this seaside paradise with the rest of the world.

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Address: East end of Atlantic Blvd.
Directions: Atlantic Beach & Neptune Beach (take Atlantic Blvd.)
Website: www.geocities.com/jacksonvillelinks

Located on the river in Jacksonville's historic and artsy Riverside neighborhood, The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is one of the finest in the South. Famous for its collections of significant European and American oil paintings, The Cummer also boasts one of the world's largest collections of Meissen porcelain. Various touring exhibitions of some of the world's most treasured and renowned master artists also call The Cummer home for months at a time.

Behind The Cummer's impeccable galleries are two acres of traditional Italian and English style riverfront gardens. Stroll through the gardens to the river for a view of the downtown skyline straddling a sharp curve in the river.

Even if you only have a casual appreciation for fine art, you'll certainly enjoy The Cummer!

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Phone: (904) 356-6857
Address: 829 Riverside Avenue
Directions: Historic Riverside, near Five Points
Website: http://www.cummer.org/

Big Talbot Island and Little Talbot Island are two contrasting oceanfront state parks contained entirely within the city limits of Jacksonville. Together, the islands are a mecca for not only sunbathers but also hikers, kayakers, birdwatchers, nature photographers, archaeologists, geologists and anyone else with a fascination and appreciation for the truly unique.

Arguably one of the most unusual and breathtaking beaches in all of Florida, Big Talbot's wild beach features a backdrop of cliffs known as "the bluffs," fronted by a maze of fallen, bleached white oak trees (many with root systems still intact) scattered along its northern stretch, a middle stretch of secluded sandy beach, and a southern stretch covered in reddish-brown rocks and outcroppings. Sheltrered by its protruding neighboring islands, Big Talbot boasts an incredible view of calm, turqoise waters framed by the wooded southern tip of Amelia Island and the bright white sand of Little Talbot's northern finger.

Little Talbot Island is located just south of Big Talbot Island and north of Ft. George Island. The centerpiece of the Talbot Island Geoparks, which includes Big Talbot, Ft. George and Amelia Island State Parks, here visitors will find a visitor center, nature boardwalk, hiking and kayaking trails, campgrounds and a couple of different picnicing & parking areas. While Big Talbot's beach is somewhat narrow, full of unusual geology and met by calm waters, Little Talbot's beach boasts wide, desert-like expanses of white sand backed by small dunes and dense woodland preserves teeming with wildlife. Exposed to the open sea, Little Talbot has waves like the rest of Jacksonville's beaches. A veteran of national "Best Beaches" lists, Little Talbot is also a very popular camping destination. Military ships stationed at Mayport are visible to the south, past the flat expanse of beach at Huguenot Park.

Both Talbot Islands are also home to hidden prehistoric fossils and artifacts.

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Address: A1A a few miles north of the St. Johns River
Directions: Talbot Islands Geoparks - in northeastern Jacksonville just south of Amelia Island.
Website: www.geocities.com/jacksonvillelinks

Recently relocated to a historic multi-level building on Hemming Plaza, right in the middle of Downtown, JMOMA is a flashy New York calibur museum proving to be a worthy modern art complement to the city's reknown Cummer Museum & Gardens. The museum, which was formerly located in the city's Southside, moved into the renovated historic structure with much hoopla and fanfare. Large projections cast on the building's exterior facade and a titilating exhibit concentrating on the human body were just two of the grand opening highlights.

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Address: Hemming Plaza
Directions: Downtown Northbank

The most populous stretch of Jacksonville's coast, Jacksonville Beach boasts a rapidly growing skyline of highrise condos and hotels.

At its active center is the new Seawalk Pavillion, an oceanfront ampitheatre, and Latham Plaza, a manicured greenspace located across the street. Together they provide a recreational focal point surrounded by numerous restaurants, nightspots and hotels. Throughout the year both venues host popular festivals that celebrate foods, cultures and music including George's Music Springing in the Blues Festival, Florida's largest outdoor free blues concert.

In terms of its natural attraction, Jax Beach, like its neighboring communities, boasts a beautiful wide strand of soft, white sand fronted by sea oats and sand dunes. On the other side of the island, Adventure Landing is a popular water park and amusement complex located near the Intracoastal.

Before undergoing a rennaissance over the past decade, Jax Beach had fallen into blight and become notorious for attracting a rowdy crowd. Thankfully, today's Jax Beach is known as a family-friendly hot spot for upscale development. The community now has a whole new image as several new boutiques, fine dining establishments, luxury condos and even the large J. Johnson Gallery now call Jax Beach home. New hotels continue to be built here as well, and a new fishing pier just opened that provides pedestrians with remarkable views of the coast and oceanfront skyline from as far as a quarter mile offshore!

While Jax Beach has become more sophisticated over the years, it's still a laid back, swimsuit and flip flops kind of place. Even though some of those flip-flops may carry the Prada label, the town is just too laid back to be pretentious.

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Address: East end of Beach Blvd.
Directions: Jacksonville Beach (take Beach or Butler Blvds.)
Website: www.geocities.com/jacksonvillelinks

In the midst of a long term growth plan, the Jacksonville Zoological Gardens is a must see for animal lovers. Covering acres of riverfront land in Jacksonville's Northside, some of the zoo's most recently added or renovated attractions include the Outback Steakhouse Australian Adventure, Great Apes of the World, Birds of the Rift Valley (aviary), Wild Florida (wetlands attraction) the 11-acre Plains of East Africa and a new giraffe overlook that literally puts you nose to nose with these gentle giants. The zoo's premier attraction, however, Range of the Jaguar, is an excellent complex of its own. Designed as a recreated Latin American village and temple, the attraction includes a restaurant with large picture windows allowing you to watch these mighty cats while you eat. The lion, elephant and aardvark exhibits are also exceptional!

In addition to the animals, the zoo also features the largest thatched-roof structure in North America, Main Camp Safari Lodge, which serves as the park's entrance in addition to housing a gift shop, meeting space and party areas. When the Main Camp was built, the zoo brought in authentic Zulu craftsmen from Africa to weave the thatching by hand.

Other attractions include a narrated train tour, medical and educational facilities, boat docks and a variety of other large and small animal exhibits. Special holiday events like Spooktacular and Christmas lighting draw large crowds to the zoo after dark.

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Address: 8605 Zoo Parkway
Directions: Northside, along the riverfront
Website: http://www.jaxzoo.org/home.asp

Along the Southbank Riverwalk in downtown Jacksonville you'll find the Museum of Science in History or "MOSH" as the locals call it. In addition to featuring dinosaurs and other special interest or holiday exhibits, MOSH can be described as three kinds of attraction areas under one roof.

First off, the main collection of exhibits focus on science and history topics of interest or importance to the nature, early settlements and modern development of Jacksonville, such as manatees, the Timucuan Indians and historic riverboats sunk during the Civil War.

The museum's second main component is the Alexander Brest Planetarium. Here, you can learn about the wonders of the night sky, like where to find constellations and planets. The planetarium is also used from time to time for special nighttime events like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd laser light shows

The third area is mainly of interest to children. This is where they can interact with a variety of hands-on science experiments dealing with topics such as electricity, optical illusions, and shadows, among others.

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Phone: (904) 396-MOSH (6674)
Address: 1025 Museum Circle
Directions: On the Southbank by the Riverwalk in downtown
Website: http://www.themosh.org/

The setting of John Grisham's novel, The Bretheren, Jacksonville's Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach communities share a lively, beautifully landscaped Town Center full of funky, trendy and casual restaurants, coffeehouses, boutiques, gift shops, galleries and nightspots. Hip and happening yet quaint and homey, Town Center is a pedestrian friendly environment covering several blocks where everyone from yuppies and executives to families and surfers all have favorite hang outs in a picture-perfect, quintessential beach town environment just steps from the sand.

Two oceanfront hotels, the 8-story Sea Turtle Inn and the 2-story Sea Horse Inn anchor the beach side of Town Center. Both hotels are ideal places to plan your vacation around, as all the amenities of Town Center and the beach are easily walkable. Plus, Town Center is a bike ride away from the noteworthy dining, nightlife and special events of Jacksonville Beach and within a 15-30 minute drive of Adventure Landing water park, Mayport Ferry, the Talbot Islands Geoparks, Fort Caroline, shopping malls, movie megaplexes, golf courses, and the museums and attractions of Jacksonville's downtown riverfront.

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Address: East end of Atlantic Blvd.
Directions: Beach Town Center, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach
Website: www.beachtowncenter.com

San Marco Square, an artsy shopping, dining and entertainment district just south of downtown, is one of Jacksonville's trendiest destinations. Its historic Italian influenced architecture stretches along the Y-shaped intersection of Atlantic and San Marco Boulevards just west of Hendricks. At the center of the Square, a giant statue of three lions watches over Bails Park and its classic white bandstand.

In the Square you can stroll through art galleries, boutiques, independent bookstores and upscale gift shops while trying to decide if you want to dine in class (e.g.: at a two-story Thai bistro and live music club, a sushi bar, an eclectic sidewalk cafe with absolutely fabulous desserts or at an elegant wine grotto) or if you would rather enjoy cheaper treats (e.g.: at a casual, pet-friendly sidewalk pizza parlor, a Chicago-style bar & grill or at a popular local hot subs chain). There's even a chocolate boutique to drool over. Don?t forget to enjoy the latest art film or first run release showing at the old-fashioned art deco San Marco Theatre as well. If live performances are more to your liking, catch the latest production of Florida?s longest running community theatre at the playhouse.

Further exploration of San Marco will uncover numerous other fine dining and trendy casual restaurants, along with nightclubs and day spas. The streets south of the Square are lined with stately old estates and riverfront mansions certainly worth a look. Peterbrooke Chocolates also offers tours of their chocolate factory located on San Marco Ave.

San Marco Square gets very busy during the lunch hour, when executives and yuppies hop over from downtown to grab a bite, and again when they return for a happy hour or dinner. Behind the shops and restaurants lining Atlantic Blvd. is a large parking lot -- good to know in case all of the on-street parking spaces are taken. A free trolley also shuttles people back and forth between downtown and San Marco Square during the day.

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Address: Atlantic Blvd. at San Marco Blvd.
Directions: Historic San Marco (just south of downtown)