Known as Florida's First Coast, Jacksonville is a riverfront city home to the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as major businesses like CSX Transportation, PSS World Medical and Medtronic. Colleges like Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida call Jacksonville home, as do medical facilities like Mayo Clinic, Nemours Children's Clinic and the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute. JAXPORT, the city's port authority oversees a bustling cruise ship and shipping industry.

Jacksonville Beach offers lots of sun, sand and surf, and places like the Intercoastal Waterway are perfect for kayaking. If sport fishing is more to your liking, there is plenty to be found with fishing charters offshore, or on inshore waterways, bays, tidal creeks and saltwater marshes. For golf lovers, there are many courses in Jacksonville and nearby St. Augustine to keep you busy, including the famous TPC Sawgrass, where THE PLAYERS Championship is held.

Centrally located in Jacksonville's Southpoint area, BEST WESTERN Hotel JTB/Southpoint offers comfortable accommodations as well as amenities like free Wi-Fi, a free hot breakfast buffet, and a shuttle service for a nominal fee to areas near our hotel.

Arts & Culture in Jacksonville

Museums

For a little culture, stroll the halls of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. Located overlooking the St. John's River, the Cummer features collections of ancient Roman, Egyptian and Greek art, as well as pieces from Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, and American and European art from the 18th-21st centuries. Their formal gardens overlooking the river are not to be missed.

If you're interested in modern art, head to the Museum of Contemporary Art, where you'll find a collection of modern works from 1960 to the present, including paintings, printmaking, sculptures and photography.

Kids and adults alike will have fun at the hands-on Museum of Science & History, where there are exhibits like The Body Within, where you can walk through a giant digestive tract. The museum also has a planetarium where you can see shows about the final frontier.

Live Performances

See world-class musical and dance performances, comedians, Broadway musicals and other events at The Florida Theatre and the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. For rousing orchestral performances, spend an evening with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

The Riverside Arts Market

The Riverside Arts Market is an outdoor arts and crafts market open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from March to December. Located under the Fuller Warren Bridge in downtown Jacksonville, the Market is festival-like, with face painters, entertainers and musicians contributing to the lively atmosphere. Visitors can purchase all sorts of art there, as well as freshly made pizza, seafood, funnel cakes, sausage dogs and other guilty pleasures. You can also buy fresh fruits, vegetables and honey from local farmers and beekeepers. After strolling through the stalls and grabbing a snack, head toward the river, where there's always some live music on the waterfront main stage.