Jacksonville Travel Guide
For details of what to do and see in Jacksonville check out our Jacksonville guide to car hire in Jacksonville.
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Long seen as the gateway to Northern Florida, the city of Jacksonville lies in the so-called panhandle, and was the first major tourist destination in the whole of north America, until the railway extended further south towards Miami. The city was also the centre of the country's film industry until local politicians, believing that film was a flash in the pan fad sacrificed the benefits of being the home of the movies and chased the cinematographers out of town into Hollywood California.
Jacksonville remains one of the most historic cities in the sunshine state, and is also the largest (in terms of size not population). Amid the pleasant tree lines park paths along the St John's Riverbank area, Jacksonville has a modern skyline of glittering buildings including the distinctive Modis building, and the Bank of America building - the city's tallest at 188m with an observation deck on the top from where you can enjoy stunning views over the city and the sea.
The city offers many great hotels and a pleasant climate to welcome visitors, and amongst the many attractions on offer, many revolve around the fact that Jacksonville is one of the most important east coast naval bases, and home to the submarine fleet of the US navy, and within a short drive of the city, you can visit theme parks, and museums as well as seeing some lovely countryside.
There are tonnes of attractions in Jacksonville to keep you occupied when you aren't relaxing on the quiet beaches that front the Atlantic Ocean. Many of the sights to see seem to revolve around golf, and aside from the huge number of top class courses that you can choose from around the city, you can stock up on new clubs and paraphernalia at Golf Village, or see exhibits about the greats of the game at the International Golf Hall of Fame in downtown Jacksonville.
America doesn't have the greatest reputation for brewing quality beer, and more often than not, a pint of the local offering is as appetising as sewage, although you can't complain when it's free. In Jacksonville you can visit the River City Brewing Company, who will allow you to take a guided tour of their buildings in order to see the process by which they convert grain into lager (yawn); then they'll take you into a large tasting area where you can try out their products for free (yippee, Free Beer).
