St. Augustine MUST SEE

[d_m_n_n]

Hello all! In a couple of weeks we are going to be heading home from our trip and I thought about possibly stopping at St. Augustine. We will only be able to spend a few hours there...so what must we ABSOLUTELY do with DSs (12 and 8) who are both huge history buffs?

TIA!!!

[clausjo]

You should take them to the Castillo de San Marcos - it's wonderful! We were there this summer and my kids son 10 and daughter 7 loved it. It doesn't take up too much time if you don't want it to. When we were there they had a weapons demonstration and fired off the cannons. It was really great. Look on the website for the fort and see if they're still doing that. Over the summer it was a couple of days a week and multiple times each day. Enjoy!

[d_m_n_n]

Ohhhhh...they woud LOVE that!!! The cannons are always the best part of the Civil War re-enactments we've gone to!!! I'm going to check on it right now!!

Just checked...They are having it on Saturday!!! This is definitely on our list!!!! THANKS!!!

[Figment!]

Ditto, on Castillo de San Marcos. The fort was a definite highlight of a two day trip we took to the area.

Flagler College was also neat, they offer historical tours of the campus. See their official tours website for more details.

We were somewhat underwhelmed with the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. There didn't appear to be nearly as much to see there as many of the other sites around the city.

[clausjo]

Just checked...They are having it on Saturday!!! This is definitely on our list!!!! THANKS!!!

Great! Have a wonderful time!

[Disneyfun]

It sounds like you are going to be there during the day, so this might not apply - We absolutely loved the walking ghost tours!! We have done a lot of them, but St. Augustine is the BEST by far! The story tellers are great, it's not done in a let's-scare-the-pants-off-you manner, but they do tell a good amount of stories dealing with the history of the town!

Ditto on the Fountain of Youth park. It is absolutely a tourist trap! I had free tickets to go there and still felt like I paid too much. If you do find yourself in there - do NOT drink the water - Talk about water you can chew!

The lighthouse and the beach are nice, but pretty much the same that you canfind anywhere. The shops in historic downtown are very nice and fun to window shop - however - the historic city shuts down at 5PM!

The cannon demonstration can be seen from outside the fort, so you really don't have to pay to go inside to enjoy it. The fort is fun to go in once, but children that have a short attention span will find themselves wanting to do something else quickly - but you said your's love history, so they will probably really enjoy it!

[Hair_Razor]

I completely agree with the ghost tour it sounds hokey but it's a really cool way to see the city. It's a walking tour at night the kids will love it.

[mdhiggin]

We enjoyed Ripley's Believe It Or Not, but some of it is a little creepy for young children.

[wdw_bound]

The Living History museum is well done - on the main drag (St. George Street?) in the historic section. The Fountain is a trap, but it is one of those traps that you kind of have to go once, just to say you've been. It's also a good place to let the kids run around in the open fields if they've been cooped up in a car all day.

We loved the Castillo. It had something for everyone - but our kids got a little overwhelmed by the loudness of the cannons, so be prepared for that.

A non-history related must do for our family on every trip to the world: Character Premier Outlet. Get off on State Road 16, it is in the Outlet Mall on your left if you are headed south on I-95. We have found many bargains here - much of it is park merchandise that is either just past season or overstock. Last trip, we bought two adult hoodies for $30 each that we saw later that week in the parks for $65 a piece. We have often found that DD will buy a few things in the outlet store, then not get anything in the parks because she knows the outlet was a better value.

We love St. Augustine - hope you enjoy it too!

[thrillme]

Castillo definately but take the tour...I don't remember if it was a tour with a tour guide or just a headset but it was worth it. I'm still visualizing the story about the tenents of the fort patching it up at night.

The fountian of youth was touristy but we liked it.

There was a resturant there...I "think" it was called the Santa Maria...but I have no clue if it's still there. Good food...if it's still there ask for a window seat...it'll be worth waiting for. They gave us a whole loaf of ordinary bread to feed the fish. You lifted up a little door and dropped the bread down to a bunch of HUGE "catfish/gaftop"...they'd practically climb on top of each other to get their slice of bread. I was totally entertained.

[MushuGrl]

Is the Santa Maria the restaurant that's kinda out on the water? We've been to St. A twice before, just a one day stop before Disney, and next month (omg first time I've gotten to say NEXT MONTH) we're stretching into two to do the things we've not been able to do yet,and I've always wanted to eat there.

Ghost tour rules...the stories told are awesome plus you get a little history lesson.