Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
354
YBOR CITY
Northeast of downtown, the city's historic Latin district takes its name from Don Vicente
Martinez Ybor (
Ee
-bore), a Spanish cigar maker who arrived here in 1886 via Cuba and
Key West. Soon, his factory and other ones in Tampa were producing more than 300,000
hand-rolled stogies a day.
It may not be the cigar capital of the world anymore, but Ybor is still a smokin' part
of Tampa, and it's one of the best places in Florida to buy hand-rolled cigars. It's not on
a par with New Orleans's Bourbon Street, Washington's Georgetown, or Miami's South
Beach, but good food and great music dominate the scene, especially on weekends, when
the streets bustle until 4am (note to claustrophobes: Avoid it at all costs then). Live-music
offerings run the gamut from jazz and blues to rock.
At the heart of it all is
Centro Ybor,
a dining-shopping-entertainment complex that
sprawls between 7th and 8th avenues and 16th and 17th streets (
&
813/242-4660;
www.centroybor.com). Here you'll find a multiscreen cinema, a comedy club, several
restaurants, and a large open-air bar. The Ybor City Chamber of Commerce has its visi-
tor center here (see “Essentials,” earlier in this chapter), and the Ybor City State Muse-
um's gift shop is here as well (see below).
Check with the visitor center about walking tours of the historic district.
Ybor City
Ghost Walks
(
&
813/242-9255
) will take you to the spookier parts of the area. The
tours cost $11 for adults, $7.50 for children, last 75 minutes, and are by reservation only.
Tampa Bay Ghost Tours
(
&
727/398-5200;
www.allthebesthaunts.com) offers the
ultimate in morbid curiosity—a $32 for adults, $19 for kids, 3-hour ghost tour of the
Tampa Bay area—in a customized Cadillac hearse limo! For those who enjoy an even
darker side,
Secret Ybor: Scandals, Crimes, and Shady Ladies,
explores the more scan-
dalous side of the city. Tours depart at various times from
Gaspar's Grotto,
1805 E. 7th
Ave. (
&
813/831-5214;
www.historicguides.com), a wacky, pirate-themed entertain-
ment venue, bar, and restaurant. Cost is $15 per person.
Even if you're not a cigar smoker, you'll enjoy a stroll through the
Ybor City State
Museum
, 1818 9th Ave., between 18th and 19th streets (
&
813/247-6323;
www.
ybormuseum.org), housed in the former Ferlita Bakery (1896-1973). You can take a
self-guided tour to see the collection of cigar labels, cigar memorabilia, and works by
local artisans. Admission is $3. Walking tours of Ybor City are every Saturday morning
at 10:30am, cost $6, and start at the Ybor City Museum State Park. Depending on the
availability of volunteer docents, admission includes a 15-minute guided tour of
La
Casita,
a renovated cigar worker's cottage adjacent to the museum; it's furnished as it was
at the turn of the 20th century. The museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm, but you
have the best chance for the guided tour if you visit between 11am and 3pm. Better yet,
plan to catch a cigar-rolling demonstration (ongoing; no specific schedule), held Friday
through Sunday from 10am to 3pm.
Like any area with trendy bars and restaurants, things are always changing, opening,
and going out of business, so you may want to check www.ybortimes.com for the latest
in Ybor City.
10
ORGANIZED TOURS
When in the Tampa area, be sure to check out the
Tampa Bay Visitor Information
Center,
3601 E. Busch Blvd. (
&
813/985-3601
), opposite Busch Gardens, which oper-
ates guided bus tours of Tampa, Ybor City, and environs. Tampa native Jim Boggs will
guide you through the city on 4-hour tours, which are given from 10am to 3pm daily,
