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MuseumsHistory BuffRainy-Day PickFamily Favorite

The Ringling

Walk a bayfront estate with an art museum of European paintings, a circus museum and the Ringlings' 1926 mansion.

5401 Bay Shore Rd · Sarasota, FL

About The Ringling

The Ringling is the estate of circus owner John Ringling and his wife Mable, now the official art museum of the State of Florida. The Museum of Art fills 21 galleries with European paintings, including a notable group of works by Peter Paul Rubens. The Circus Museum, established in 1948, documents circus history, and the Bayfront Gardens lead to Ca' d'Zan, the couple's Venetian Gothic mansion completed in 1926 and under restoration after the 2024 hurricanes. Ca' d'Zan needs its own ticket.

#art museum
#circus museum
#historic mansion
#gardens
#ca' d'zan

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What's around here?

The closest stops to The Ringling, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Attractions
Family Favorite
Sarasota Jungle Gardens
Under $25
Hand-feed free-roaming flamingos, watch bird and reptile shows and wander 10 acres of tropical plantings at a Sarasota garden open since the 1930s.
Transit: reachable by public transit
1.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
Attractions
Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA)
Check prices
Public aquarium in Sarasota run by a nonprofit marine research laboratory, showing its scientific work to visitors.
3.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
Museums
Sarasota Art Museum
Under $25
Contemporary art museum on the Ringling College campus in Sarasota, housed in a converted former high school.
4.4 mi awayMore like this
Museums
Manatee Village Historical Park
No admission fee
Open-air historical museum in Bradenton with preserved buildings showing Manatee County life from the 1840s to 1918.
Transit: reachable by public transit
7.7 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Bradenton Riverwalk
Check prices
Waterfront park along the Manatee River offering a riverside walking path, fishing, beach volleyball, and a skatepark.
Transit: reachable by public transit
8.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
Museums
Manatee County Agricultural Museum
No admission fee
A county museum in Palmetto, Florida, focused on local farming history and agriculture, with rotating exhibits and hands-on learning programs.
Transit: reachable by public transit
9.3 mi awayMore like this