St. Augustine Walking Tour

  St Augustine is a wonderful city for just strolling around and absorbing the atmosphere.The city is laid out in a grid and the entire historic area covers less than one square mile so it’s easy to walk everywhere. The flat terrain, good sidewalks and curb cuts make for easy wheelchair pushing. Start at the Visitor Information Center where you can pick up  maps and brochures. While you’re there check out the exhibit area which is like a mini-museum with changing displays. There is also a great place to park your car in the garage located behind the center or your RV in the lot which is behind the garage.

  St Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the US. It was founded in September 1565 by Pedro Menéndez but due to attacks by English privateers, who burnt and plundered the town, the oldest existing buildings are from the early 1700s. There are two distinct eras represented – the Spanish settlement era of the 1700s and the resort era started by Henry Flagler. If you have time take a day to just walk around and decide what you want to see. There’s a lot to do in St. Augustine.


  We visited some of the early historic sites - Mission Nombre de Dios Museum, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, and Fort Mose Historic State Park – and two of the Flagler era buildings that are now museums - Villa Zorayda Museum, and the Lightner Museum. We also visited a couple of the churches that Henry Flagler built and toured the lobby of the Ponce de León Hotel, now Flagler College. The attractions are a mix of historical sites and more touristy offerings such as Ripley's Believe It Or Not. It’s hard to decide what to see - what’s worthwhile and what’s a tacky tourist attraction (which can be a lot of fun! ). I couldn’t find a non-commercial attraction site but this one is fairly good - http://www.augustine.com/vacation/cat/attractions