A Resort-Free Trip to St. Petersburg, Florida

Before you go

Two Resort-Free Days in St. Petersburg

Day 1

Morning

• Even during warmer months, mornings in St. Petersburg are typically cool, as the breeze blows in across Tampa Bay. Join the throngs of joggers along the waterfront near the St. Pete Pier to get the lay of the land. After your run, treat yourself to a smoothie at Kaia Bowls on Beach Avenue.
• St. Pete’s art scene, especially the Warehouse Arts District, is the coolest thing about the city. Start out with breakfast at Eat, Art, Love, the brainchild of chef Mario Brugnoli, who you might recognize from Chopped. He’s doing creative stuff with fresh Florida fruits and veggies, with an ever-changing menu that makes every visit different. Also, be sure to get a craft coffee drink from the onsite coffee shop Sage’s Playground.
• Nowhere showcases St. Pete’s uniquely Floridian art scene quite like Floridarama, a 15,000-square-foot immersive exhibit that I like to call Florida Meow Wolf. Its conceit revolves around the mysterious Mermaid Motel, and a couple of guests who go missing. In exploring their disappearance, you’ll wander through Florida wildlife, a room of plastic spoons, and a UFO disguised as a Twistee Treat. Guests can gamify the experience by going on an art-filled scavenger hunt, or you can just wander around and appreciate the weird.

Midday

• Around the corner from Floridarama you’ll find the Zen Glass Studio and Gallery, where you can learn the art of blown glass in an hour and make your own St. Pete souvenir. The owner is a former professional baseball player who got into blowing glass as a way to relax during his playing days, and now he spends his afternoons showing visitors how to blow wine glasses, bowls, and other Chihuly-like art.
• Your last stop in the Warehouse Arts District is the Urban Stillhouse. It feels like stepping into a barn in the Irish countryside or Kentucky hills, and the menu is packed with comfort food that’ll fill you up after a long morning wandering the arts district. If day drinking is on the agenda, get a flight of Urban Stillhouse’s whiskeys or try one of the original cocktails.

Afternoon

• The Dalí Museum near downtown holds the largest collection of the surrealist artist’s works in the world. But even folks who aren’t Dalí fanatics will appreciate the augmented reality tools and other intriguing and educational tour enhancements.
• Creativity isn’t limited to canvas in St. Petersburg; it extends to bars and restaurants too. A collection of quirky bars sits along Central Avenue near Tropicana Field, from the kitschy, motel-themed No Vacancy to the bar-in-a-laundromat at Dirty Laundry. If you’re into craft coffee and craft drinks, pop into Intermezzo, or grab a beer and enjoy the sunshine at Green Bench Brewing. You’ll also want to make sure to get at least one beer at Ferg’s, one of Major League Baseball’s great pregame bars with two stories of outdoor drinking.
• The last bar on your Central Avenue crawl should be Sparrow, not just for the Asian-inspired drinks, but also the city’s best sunsets outside the beach. If you’ve been bar hopping, order up some sushi to refuel and try a mocktail. You’ll want to make a reservation for the patio, since the outdoor, western-facing tables are always in high demand.

Evening

• The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club is the largest shuffleboard center in the world and the birthplace of the sport as we know it today. Against all odds, the crowd here skews surprisingly spry. Go on Friday nights and you’ll find young professionals sliding discs with one hand and holding beers in the other. The club is still private, but visitors can play for $10 per person during open hours.
• Finish off your day watching crowds stroll along Beach Avenue, where every restaurant has expansive outdoor seating with views of Vinoy Park or the marina. For fresh seafood and steaks, book a table at Juno & The Peacock, which is a laid back, Floridian take on the traditional fish and chop house. For something a little more varied, try Allelo, where light Mediterranean dishes are paired with an extensive wine list.
• St. Pete’s waterfront shuts down around midnight, but you’ll find a couple of cool bars that keep it going just a couple blocks from Allelo. Flute and Dram is an interesting concept, combining a bubbly Champagne lounge on one side and a stripped-down whiskey bar with live music on the other. The dichotomy makes for an unusual end to an art-filled first day. And if the live band gets too loud, kick back on an outdoor couch across the sidewalk.

Day 2

Morning

• The reimagined, lively St. Pete Pier is perhaps the city’s best comeback story. For the rest of spring, the pier is hosting pop-up pickleball courts from St. Pete Athletic as a preview of a facility at Floridarama opening this summer. The Pier is also home to a roller skating rink, a farmers market, and other temporary installations.
• Perry’s Porch sits right at the base of the St. Pete Pier, where live music and fresh-baked bread makes for a magical morning. The small kitchen and limited seating mean wait times can be long, so either book a reservation well ahead of time or put your name on the list before you stroll the pier.

Midday

• You don’t need to stay at a resort to enjoy the perfect beaches in Clearwater and St. Pete. Public beaches are easily accessible throughout both cities, though my personal favorite is Pass-a-Grille on the southern end of St. Pete Beach. Treasure Island beach is also great for families, and even offers a public waterslide.
• You have to try at least one funky beachside seafood shack while you’re on the Gulf Coast, and in Clearwater that means lunch at Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill. Fenchy’s isn’t directly on the water, but it has all the vibes of a breezy beach bar and one of the best grouper sandwiches I’ve ever had. It’s the essence of Florida’s Jimmy Buffet mentality, where you might wander in for lunch and find yourself wasting away in Margaritaville.

Afternoon

• If you do manage to avoid getting trapped in the Parrothead vortex of Frenchy’s, head to Dunedin, which sits right along the Pinellas Trail. The 60-mile greenway runs from Downtown St. Pete to Tarpon Springs, meandering through old Florida wilderness. You’ll find about a dozen breweries within a couple blocks of the trail, perfect for a refreshing break from your ride. Palm Harbor Brewing and Brighter Days are a couple of my favorites. You can rent bikes at a number of shops in Dunedin, but Kafe Racer also has a coffee shop.
• Return your bikes, before heading over to the historic Fenway Hotel to take in the sunset. Its patio bar is a perfect place to watch the sun go down over the Gulf with a cocktail in your hand.

Evening

• Dunedin’s main drag is a tasteful fusion of Americana and beachy energy. Black Pearl, my favorite restaurant in Pinellas County, is the most elegant and intimate restaurant in town, with a smashing wine list and phenomenal food.
• Dunedin isn’t much for nightlife, so head back to the Grand Central District, St. Petersburg’s LGBTQ hangout. Start your evening with some pinball and classic arcade games at Right Around the Corner Arcade Bar, and when you run out of quarters turn it into a bar crawl around the happening neighborhood.

If you have three days

All of the above, but add...

• As you gaze out at the sunset from the Fenway Hotel you’ll probably notice a few people paddling kayaks around an undeveloped island offshore. That’s Caladesi Island State Park, St. Pete’s most popular kayaking destination. . You can rent kayaks right inside the park for a short paddle to the deserted white sand beach, though on weekends you may find long lines for a vessel.
• If you’ve got a third night, check out the food scene happening in the Grand Central District. Right now, it’s St. Pete’s best neighborhood for restaurants, where you’ll find tables perpetually packed at the New American Wild Child and the Greek-inspired Baba.

If you have four days or more 

All of the above, but add....

• The pastel, tropical art around St. Petersburg is to be expected. Sweeping plains scenes and Native American expressionism are perhaps less so. But wander into the James Museum downtown and you’ll find an impressive collection of Native and Western art. It’s a great rainy day activity if the weather isn’t cooperating, and a must if this kind of art is in your wheelhouse.
• Fort Desoto Park somehow still flies under the radar among great Gulf Coast beaches, despite sands that are almost empty during the week and an historic lighthouse. You won’t find any beach bars or big parties here, but that’s precisely the point. For seclusion along the turquoise waters, there’s no better spot.

Extra credit

• The Tampa Bay Rays called St. Petersburg home until Hurricane Milton literally blew the roof off of Tropicana Field. The stadium should be back up and running by the 2026 season, but until then you can catch A-League rookie ball in MLB spring training stadiums. The Clearwater Threshers play at BayCare Ballpark, spring home of the Philadelphia Phillies. You can also catch the Dunedin Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in Dunedin.
• The coolest interstate rest stops in America are on I-275 leading into and out of St. Pete, doubling as fishing piers on either side of the Sunshine Skyway bridge. It’s like the Golden Gate Bridge of Tampa Bay, with epic views of Tampa Bay and the Gulf beyond, and ample opportunities to catch snook, red snapper, and other Florida fish.