From art to history to outdoor fun, discover all the great things to do in this vibrant city in northeastern Florida.

Nestled in the northeast corner of Florida, where the St. John's River meets the Atlantic Ocean, the city of Jacksonville has great museums, plenty of outdoor recreation space, and a lively waterfront. Here are FTF's picks for visiting families.

Great Fun for the Kids

(Toddler to Age 8)

Jacksonville Zoological Gardens
370 Zoo Parkway
Jacksonville, FL 32218
904/757-4463
A trip to the zoo can be great for families with small children no matter what city they’re visiting, and the Jacksonville Zoo has the added draw of the recently opened exhibit "Range of the Jaguar." This exhibit covers four acres with a setting from the Central or South American rainforest, complete with jaguars, anteaters, tapirs, and other interesting animals. The zoo’s over 1,000 animals also include Nile crocodiles, wart hogs, elephants, cheetahs, koalas, kangaroos, gorillas and many more. Meerkats even get their own exhibit. (Remember Timon from The Lion King? or Meerkat Manor?)

Metropolitan Park and Kids Kampus
1410 Gator Bowl Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32202
904/630-0837
Located in Jacksonville’s beautiful downtown, Metropolitan Park offers plenty of space for families to run around or relax. The park has hosted concerts such as the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and top artists including Faith Hill, James Taylor, Tony Bennett, and the Beach Boys. There’s a picnic area for lunch, a playground for letting off some steam, and landscaped gardens for strolling. Right next door, the Kids Kampus is an additional 10-acre outdoor recreation facility developed with the help of local educators. Here, kids can climb, dig, slide, and explore miniature Jacksonville landmarks to learn without even knowing it!

Museum of Contemporary Art
333 North Laura Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202
904/366-6911
The MOCA, recently celebrating its second anniversary in a newly renovated building, features both permanent and temporary modern art exhibits. Their most recent exhibit is "Why Look At Animals: Photographs from George Eastman House," featuring over 200 pictures from 1852 to the present. The exhibit explores the complexity of the relationship between humans and animals, our interactions with animals, and how we perceive them. Future exhibits include "Balance and Power: Performance and Surveillance in Video Art," which will be open throughout the summer season. The museum's Sunday ArtFusion program is designed especially with families in mind. On Sundays from 12:00pm to 4:00pm, a helpful museum educator assists groups with hands-on activities including painting, playing musical instruments, tree drawing, mask making, ramen noodle sculptures, printmaking, and more. The rotating activities reflect the museum's current exhibits and themes, where families can explore the galleries together and learn.

Fun for Older Children

(Up to Age 18)

Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens
829 Riverside Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32204
904/356-6857
For a glimpse at some older fine art, visit this museum right near the bank of the St. John’s River. The Cummer Museum displays European and American paintings, early Meissen porcelain, and antiquities including Egyptian funerary objects. The awesome, interactive Art Connections area is a great place for kids, with opportunities to make a collage, walk through a painting, listen to a sculpture, and engage in other art awareness-raising activities. Finally, the formal historic gardens surrounding the museum are one of Jacksonville’s many great places to walk, with their rare plants, sculptures, and fountains.

Adventure Landing
1944 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
904/246-4386
This action-packed recreation area offers mini-golf, an Adventure Speedway for go-kart racing, batting cages, and games of laser tag. The Wacky Worm roller coaster is appropriate for kids 42" and taller (or 36" when riding with an adult) for a thrilling ride. Little ones can have their own roller coaster fun on the Frog Hopper or Max Flight. Don't miss the arcade, teddy bear factory, now hosting birthday parties, and the Jacksonville area's only waterpark: Shipwreck Island. This interactive waterpark features a 65-foot tall pirate play village complete with 12 slides, Hydro Half Pipe, the Rage and the new Eye of the Storm, and over 200 nozzles that spray and squirt.

Timucan Ecological and Historic Preserve
12713 Fort Caroline Road
Jacksonville, FL 32226
904/641-7155
All within Jacksonville’s city limits, this 46,000-acre preserve protects one of the last unspoiled wetlands in the area. In the Theodore Roosevelt area, recreation-loving families can have a picnic in a specially designated area, hike through hardwood forests and wetlands, and watch marsh birds from a special observation platform. History buffs will enjoy the preserve as well, since it’s home to both the Fort Caroline National Memorial and Kingsley Plantation. Fort Caroline commemorates the French La Caroline, the first European attempt at colonization in northeastern Florida. Its visitor center provides an introduction to both the colony’s history and the area’s natural environment. Kingsley Plantation was once home, 175 years ago, to cotton-field owner Zepahniahs Kingsley and a large community of slaves. Though the main plantation house is now closed for structural work, visitors can explore the slave quarters, barn, and an interpretive kitchen house and garden. Ranger talks are available once daily, at 2 pm.

Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum
829 North Davis Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202
904/632-5555
This popular art-deco era theater and its adjoining museum are hot spots of African-American heritage. They are located in an area that was once referred to as “The Harlem of the South” for its rich arts scene. The theater once jammed to the likes of Ray Charles and now hosts some of Jacksonville’s premier cultural events and receptions. The LaVilla Museum features several permanent exhibits tracing local African-American history from antebellum to the present, through photographs, artifacts, folk art, and special presentations on native musicians James Welden Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson, entitled Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing, illustrating the history of these men through music, images, dialogue, and theatrical lighting. The presentation includes narrations by renowned educators and artists, including actor Ossie Davis.

Jacksonville Maritime Museum
1015 Museum Circle, Unit 2
Jacksonville, Florida 32207
904/398-9011
Entice your kids with visions from Pirates of the Caribbean before visiting the Jacksonville Maritime Museum. There are currently a dozen models on display ranging from the USS Porter Submarine, Chinese Junk, Mayflower, and a 16-foot model of the Saratoga. The museum also houses local artifacts and manuscripts in an effort to preserve Jacksonville's history.

Fun for the Family

Jacksonville Landing
2 Independent Drive, Suite 250
Jacksonville, FL 32202
904/353-1188
There’s a lot happening along the St. John’s River in Jacksonville. There are Riverwalks on both the north and south banks of the river for a pleasant walk through a happening area. For even more relaxation, take a water taxi and see the city from the river itself. Also on the river, Jacksonville Landing offers over 40 shops and all kinds of dining, from Japanese to Mediterranean to hamburger cuisine.

Trolley Rides
100 North Myrtle Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32204
904/630-3100
Ride downtown in style with a free trolley from the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. It's an ideal way to see the city and make stops to all your favorite attractions including Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, City Hall, Ritz Theater, Amsterdam Cafe and more. The trolley lines include the Beaches trolley, which is seasonal, the Beaver Street and Laura and Ocean lines, running from 6:00am to 7:00pm on weekdays, the Bay Street trolley, which runs from 6:20am to 7:00pm during the week, and the Riverside trolley, operating from 10:30am to 2:30pm. There is no trolley service on Sundays.

Jacksonville Museum of Science and History
1025 Museum Circle
Jacksonville, FL 32207
904/396-6674
Also affectionately known as the MOSH, this museum is unique for its combination of science and history in a series of interactive, kid-friendly exhibits. Museum-goers can view an Allosaurus skeleton and other prehistoric fossils, see turtles and fish swim among pools in the native plant courtyard, peruse Jacksonville Jaguars memorabilia, and even watch a “mad scientist” demonstrate scientific principles. For marine mammal fans, the Atlantic Tails exhibit offers hands-on kiosks and life-sized models of the whales, dolphins, and manatees around northeast Florida. In addition, the Planetarium offers "cosmic concerts" set to rock music and more traditional star shows. The littlest scientists (ages five and under) can play in their own “Kidspace,” complete with indoor tree house, kooshy building blocks, and an interactive Water Table.

Tree Hill Nature Center
7152 Lone Star Road
Jacksonville, FL 32211
904/724-4646
Tree Hill is a 50-acre urban wilderness situated in the Arlington section of Jacksonville. Visitors can enjoy the outdoors on four nature trails and in herbal, organic, and butterfly and hummingbird-friendly gardens. 45-minute tours highlighting native plants and animals are available between 8:00am and 4:30pm from Monday-Friday. An on-site natural history museum features an overview of the prehistoric life that once occupied the area.

The Jacksonville Suns
301 A. Phillip Randolph Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL 32202
904/358-2846
You've probably heard of the Jaguars, Jacksonville's professional football team, but have you heard of the Suns? If you visit during baseball season, catching a reasonably-priced minor league game might be just the way to get some local Jacksonville flavor. The Suns play in the red brick Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, one of the newest and nicest minor league stadiums in the country. During the game, kids may have a run-in with Southpaw, the team's canine mascot, and events for children and families (like Reading Day and Southpaw's Birthday Party) occur at games throughout the season.

Peterbrooke Chocolatier Production Center
1470 San Marco Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL 32207
800/771-0019
It won't be hard to talk your entire family into a free tour of this chocolatier center. Learn about the process of creating fine chocolates and taste an array of heavenly samples. Founded in 1983, the center prides itself on blending European chocolate traditions with an American flair, all in a welcoming setting. Use the money you saved from this tour's free admission and spend it on treats from the gift shop. They are open Monday through Friday 10am to 5pm, and are closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Jacksonville Beach
11 North Third Street
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
904/247-6100
A trip to Florida isn't complete without a day at the beach. Dip your feet, go swimming in the surf, build sand castles, and play beach games along 22-miles of sand. You can also window shop at the many boutiques for free, browse the galleries, and take in a free concert or festival. Past beach events included the Great Atlantic Seafood Festival, a competitive sandcastle contest, and the Moonlight Movies Series at Sea Walk Pavilion, which shows classic movies from 9pm to 11pm on Friday nights, beginning in May. Prior to the movie, there is a children's play area from 6pm to 8pm.

Art Walk
100 W. Laura on the corner of Forsyth
Jacksonville, FL 32202
904/634-0303
Even if your little ones aren't all that enthusiastic about art, they'll still love playing outside, running in the fresh air, listening to live music, and exploring the Art Walk in downtown Jacksonville. The self-guided tour takes visitors through dozens of art galleries, restaurants and local hotspots all featuring work from local artists. Past kid-friendly stops included Firehouse Subs with tasty sandwiches and historical fire-fighting artwork, and Shugar Shack Chocolatier with free samples.

For more information about the area, contact the Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800/733-2668 or visit www.jaxcvb.com. You can also get an overview of what downtown has to offer at www.downtownjacksonville.org.