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The Ringling, Sarasota, FL

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MuseumsHistory BuffRainy-Day PickFamily Favorite

The Ringling

The Ringling is a museum in Sarasota, FL. Cost: $25 to $50.

5401 Bay Shore Rd · Sarasota, FL

Why you should go…

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

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.

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Family Favorite

    Siesta Beach

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    Swim and stroll on a very wide Gulf beach of fine white quartz sand that stays cool under bare feet.

    8.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor

  • Sightseeing
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    Sunshine Skyway Bridge

    Under $25

    Drive over Tampa Bay on a four-mile cable-stayed bridge, or view the whole span from the old-bridge fishing piers.

    18 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    Iconic

    The Dalí Museum

    $25–$50

    See Salvador Dalí's paintings and drawings in a waterfront museum entered beside a 75-foot glass spiral.

    27 mi awayMore like this

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    The Florida Aquarium

    $25–$50

    See a 500,000-gallon coral reef tank, loggerhead sea turtles, moon jellies, lemurs and stingrays in downtown Tampa.

    39 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Ybor City

    Free

    Stroll 7th Avenue in Tampa's historic Latin Quarter for cigar shops, hand rollers, free-roaming chickens and the Columbia Restaurant.

    41 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    ZooTampa at Lowry Park

    $50+

    Meet manatees, elephants, giraffes and rhinos across a 63-acre zoo that also runs a hospital for injured manatees.

    44 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions