Tampa is the Cigar City turned Florida’s happiest bayfront: a 2.6-mile Riverwalk, a century-old Cuban-Italian neighborhood, dolphins in the bay and Gasparilla pirate spirit in the air. This guide gathers the best of Tampa, with the places and tours our readers love most.
The Riverwalk and downtown parks
The Tampa Riverwalk is 2.6 miles of pure Tampa joy linking everything downtown: Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, the Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park across the water, and the minarets of Plant Hall — Tampa’s fairytale on the river, now the University of Tampa.
Bayshore and the bayfront
Walk or bike Bayshore Boulevard, the world’s longest continuous sidewalk, with the bay on one side and grand homes on the other. It ends at Ballast Point Park, Tampa’s front porch on the bay, past the village-in-the-bay of Davis Islands.
Ybor City: food and culture
The cigar capital’s neighborhood still rolls with flavor: the Ybor City food tour packs five tastings into one delicious afternoon, the food and culture walk tastes the neighborhood that built Tampa, and the Ybor walking tour makes its story — cigars, clubs and the Columbia — come alive.
Ghosts and Tampa after dark
Tampa’s spooky side is famous: hunt it on the downtown ghost hunting tour through its oldest buildings, walk the official Ybor ghost tour into its most haunted rooms, and roll through four neighborhoods on the golf cart bar crawl — Tampa after dark, the fun way.
Cruises: dolphins, history and the floating tiki bar
Meet the locals on the dolphin sightseeing cruise, sail through the past on the Tampa history cruise, and board the floating tiki bar — Tampa’s happiest cruise down the river, BYOB and all smiles.
Golf carts and city tours
The breeziest way to see the city: the golf cart tour guided by a Tampa native covers the best sights in 1.5 hours, the Best of Tampa ride adds history and waterfront views, and the small-group bus tour is the one locals recommend first.
The Aquarium, CityPASS and the sky
Dive into The Florida Aquarium, bundle the bay’s best with the Tampa Bay CityPASS — five adventures, one pass — and see it all from above on the helicopter tour or the iFLY indoor skydiving thrill.
Planning your days? Our Tampa itineraries — from one perfect day to five — map out the Riverwalk, Ybor and the bay hour by hour. And subscribe to the Happy City News newsletter for Tampa’s best events, every week.
