photo by gusto

This city on the Gulf Coast is the state’s second-largest metropolitan area and is a major industrial, commercial, financial, and cultural center. Tampa (population 280,500) is at the mouth of the Hillsborough River at the head of Tampa Bay.

The downtown area is the central business district, and the southern part of the city sits on a peninsula with Old Tampa Bay to the west and Hillsborough Bay to the east.

The Port of Tampa is one of the nation’s busiest seaports. It is the closest deepwater port to the Panama Canal and is a popular stop for cruise lines. Tampa is also home to the MacDill Air Force Base, headquarters of US Central Command.

Spanish explorer Panfilo de Narvaez arrived here in 1528 and Hernando de Soto came in 1539.

By 1823 white settlers had established a plantation. In 1883, the discovery of phosphates, used to make fertilizer, gave the economy a boost and in 1884 Henry Plant, a Georgia industrialist, brought the railroad. In 1886, Cuban tobacco processor, Vincente Ybor, brought cigar-making to the city.

The climate here is humid subtropical, and the area records more days of thunderstorms than any other location in the nation. The Calusa word for lightning, tampa, gave the city its name.

Busch Gardens brings more tourists here than any other attraction. It has one of the top-ranked zoos in the country, containing several thousand animals, and is a massive amusement park—it was built before Walt Disney World.

Adventure Island is a 25-acre outdoor water park. The Florida Aquarium and Lowry Park, with a zoo and a section of fairy tale and nursery rhyme character statues, are also popular family attractions. The Museum of Science and Industry, Henry B. Plant Museum, Tampa Museum of Art, and Tampa History Center are popular attractions, and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center offers theater and concert performances.

Ybor City, a colorful historic district and destination, was named after Vincente Ybor, the Cuban cigar maker. As in Havana, in Tampa there are cigar rollers to be seen everywhere. The Ybor City Brewing Company offers microbrews, and the district comes alive at night with jazz and blues music.

Hyde Park is a popular tourist destination for shopping and dining.

Fishing, golf, and tennis are popular and Bayshore Boulevard attracts joggers, walkers, cyclists, and in-line skaters to its 7-mile promenade. Day trips to St Petersburg are also popular.

The city is serviced by Tampa International Airport and trains.