Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Deep South meets Florida in Pensacola. The Alabama border is just a few miles down
the road and the city has the small-town friendliness and sleepy pace of its Southern neigh-
bor. Pensacola keeps things colorful with lively beaches, a sultry, Spanish-style downtown
and a thrumming military culture: southwest of the city, the Pensacola Naval Air Station
has been an intrinsic part of Pensacola's identity since WWII.
Visitors to Pensacola come for the all-American blue-collar vacation experience: white-
sand beaches, bountiful seafood and happening bars where beer flows like water. During
March and April, things reach fever pitch when droves of students descend for the week-
long bacchanalia of spring break. Beware.
Others will appreciate the city's cultured, historical side. Since Pensacola's permanent
settlement in 1698, flags belonging to Spain, France, Britain, the Confederacy and the US
have flown over the city, earning it the moniker, 'City of Five Flags'. Traces of the past are
evident in Pensacola's architecture, historical sites and museums.
Downtown, centered on Palafox St, lies north of the waterfront. Across the Pensacola
Bay Bridge from here is the mostly residential peninsula of Gulf Breeze. Cross one more
bridge, the Bob Sikes (toll $1), to reach magnificent Pensacola Beach, the ultimate destin-
ation for most visitors. Kick off your shoes, dig your toes into the sand, and, ahhh…relax!
Sights & Activities
Pensacola
Historic Pensacola Village
HISTORIC BUILDINGS
850-595-5985;
www.historicpensacola.org
;
205 E Zaragoza St; adult/child
$6/3;
10am-4pm Tue-Sat, tours 11am, 1pm & 2:30pm)
