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The Ringling

Photo: HMSyume / CC BY-SA 4.0

🎡 Attractions

The Ringling

Sarasota, FL · Tampa Bay

About

John Ringling built his fortune on the circus and spent it on Italy, and you can read that whole story across one bayfront estate. Ca' d'Zan, the Venetian Gothic mansion he and Mable raised on Sarasota Bay, anchors grounds that also hold an art museum full of Old Master paintings (the Rubens canvases are enormous) and a circus museum where the Howard Bros. miniature recreates a full big-top show in tiny detail. Walk the rose garden, find the old banyan trees, and end at the water where the gilded tower throws its reflection.

Highlights

Ca' d'Zan Venetian Gothic bayfront mansionMuseum of Art with monumental Rubens paintingsCircus Museum and the Howard Bros. miniatureBayfront rose garden and historic banyan trees

Getting there

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Florida Attractions44 places

Florida Attractions

For much of the world, Florida means the attractions. The theme parks that built Orlando, a working spaceport on the Atlantic coast, mermaids who have performed underwater since 1947, and a coral castle one man carved by hand. This is the big statewide guide to what people fly to Florida for, the giants and the roadside icons alike, from the Keys to the Panhandle.