Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice
From the Manatee River down to Englewood, this stretch pairs an arts minded city with some of the Gulf's best known sand on Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key and Siesta Key. Venice adds a walkable island downtown.
On average, strongest on boating, beaches and the outdoors. Weakest on nightlife.
Average of the 9 town scorecards. How we score
Anna Maria Island
Old Florida on a small island, with no high rises and a free trolley.
Bradenton
A river city with a long Riverwalk, spring training baseball and the Anna Maria Island beaches 20 minutes west.
Bradenton Beach
The south end of Anna Maria Island, with a historic fishing pier, a walkable Bridge Street and water on both sides.
Cortez
One of the last working fishing villages in Florida, with fish houses on the bay that date back to the 1880s.
Longboat Key
A quiet, polished barrier island minutes from Sarasota's arts scene.
Sarasota
The arts capital of the Gulf coast, with an opera, a ballet, The Ringling museum, Lido Beach just over the bridge and Siesta Key's famous sand minutes away.
Siesta Key
An island of quartz white sand so fine it stays cool underfoot, with a small, lively village at the north end.
Venice
A 1920s planned town of palm lined avenues you can walk from downtown to the Gulf, with newer mainland neighborhoods and the Legacy Trail just over the bridge.
Englewood
A laid back Gulf town with a small old downtown and beaches on Manasota Key, known for shark teeth.